Sally Foster Gift Wrap Gift Card School Fundraiser

In 2010, Sally Foster changed the way they did business.  They introduced a gift card sale where anyone purchasing for a school fundraiser would go purchase a gift card.  They would take that gift card and purchase online with it on their fundraising sales website and items would be shipped to the home.

I was skeptical of the program and posted on my blog previously (Is Sally Foster Cost-Cutting or Revolutionizing Fundraising in Schools?), but in reality, I would have liked to see this fundraiser succeed.  I would have like to see a new form of effective school fundraising.

In tons of conversations, blogs and message board posts, people have expressed an interest in a new way to fundraise.  I agree that there should and will be new ways for schools to raise money in the future. 

But, new is difficult.  

Sally Foster realized the hard way following the release of the program.  So, how, when and where will a new type of fundraiser take hold?  Nobody knows.  What we are left with today is that incremental changes in profitable fundraisers work. 

As new products emerge, marketers will wonder if the fundraising industry is right for their product distribution.  The thing is, new fundraisers, although interesting, may not be the type of 'new' people are talking about.

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Post comments below or keep the conversation going on twitter - twitter.com/believekids.  I realize that not many people are as into fundraising as I am, so I get it if you lay low and just enjoy the material yourself.  In the case you'd like to share the address of this blog is believejay.blogspot.com

Thanks!

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school fundraisers
 

Should schools accept early sign-on bonuses for school fundraisers?

This time a year, a lot of fundraising representatives start calling on schools.  School fundraising companies will bring their newest offers.  Are the offers any good?  How will you decide if you should take one?  Which one will you take?

Let's just cover the facts... In Fall, there is no incentive for schools to give extra product, prizes or incentives.  Groups that register late, will not be getting more.  This is because fundraising companies are running fundraisers, not selling them.  So, the fact is, earlier is better.

So, should you get suckered and mesmerized by the offers?  The answer is absolutely not!  As a parent group member, your goal is to systematically determine what's best for your group - Not what is the flashiest. There are flashy offers out there without the substance behind the scenes.  In this way, an offer should just be icing on the cake, not the cake itself. 

As you consider the various fundraisers and offers available to you, are you prepared to take into consideration some of the following differences between fundraisers?

• Profit Margins
• Included Participation Programs
• Incentives for Teachers / Principals
• Included Prize Programs
• Product Differentiation / Diversity
• Product Prices
• Product Quality
• Overall Value to Customer
• Marketing Package Included
• Online Features
• Sales Averages Per Student
• Dollar Averages Per Sale

• Order Processing
• Volunteers Needed
• Delivery Specifics
• Report Generation
• Customer Service
• Delivery Efficiencies

Really, who's got the overall package capable of delivering the profits you need without letting you or your customers (neighbors, friends' parents, community members) down?

All I can leave you with today is that an early sign-on-bonus, although it may seem outrageous or awesome, is only great in combination with other greatness.

Ok, Until Next Time!

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Twitter.com/BelieveKids
School Fundraisers

8 out of 10 Public Elementary Schools Use Product Fundraisers

<--begin rant-->

I just realized something.

8 out of 10 public elementary schools use a traditional product sale of some sort in their fundraising efforts.

I'm not really sure what constitutes a product fundraiser in the study that produced the statistic but that means that most of those have to be gift & wrap fundraisers and frozen cookie dough. There just aren't many other school-wide product sales that I know of besides magazines and those are usually the middle schools.

So, stop and think about that number for a minute. 80% use product fundraisers!

The fact is, product sales are heavy-hitting fundraisers - that work!

I have noticed a bit of a groundswell recently on messageboards and comments on my blog from companies that want to build their businesses out. The thing is, they are so quick to say that nobody wants to buy gift wrap or magazines or chocolate or cookie dough.

And that's their marketing strategy!

I mean, seriously? I think what they really mean is, they want to spread the rumour that nobody wants to buy that stuff so they get some traction on their fundraisers.

The truth is, it's just NOT TRUE!

They don't market that they have a more profitable or effective fundraiser, just that they have a better option if you truly believe nobody will buy cookie dough.

<--end rant-->

Crushing School Fundraising Myths - A Not So Nice Take on a DIY Fundraising Idea

I just read a post about fundraising on a parent group message board. It was from Kris. Here is an excerpt about what she had this to say:

"Times are tough for parents. There are children that their parents can't afford hot lunches. They are not going to buy over priced wrapping paper, cookie dough, candles, etc."

She goes on to say that if they had a haircut night the school could charge $5 per haircut and the school can get 100% of the money using volunteer hair stylists. She offers some additional revenue by combining this effort with a bake sale by selling baked goods also and she finishes up with this point:

"Everytime you have a fundraiser company involved, they have to make their money too. Your going to be paying 4 times the amount the product actually costs."

Ok, Here's the Real Deal!

First off, parents will buy over priced wrapping paper, cookie dough and candles and so will their friends and coworkers and relatives if the cause is worthy.

Secondly, Kris would have you believe that a $5 per haircut plus bake sale proceeds would raise money - It won't. Take just a moment to stop think about it for a moment. I think you will discover for yourself why this is not effective.

If you haven't stopped reading, get ready for the spoiler: at $5 per participant, you can't make any money. If 25% of students show up you'd make $437 on a school of 350. The bake sale may contribute to things a bit but freshly cut hair and baked goods don't mix. Without bragging about our numbers, let me just say that a catalog sale will consistently generate many, many, many times this in profit.

By using a fundraising company and paying them for their products and service, schools benefit from the programs, promotions, experience and proven systems that not only make it easy but make it many times more effective than fundraisers held on ones own.

Here is an example. Let's say you want to travel via air without using an airline. You can learn to fly and you can rent a plane but it's not going to be easy, cheap or efficient.

Here are Kris' assertions against fundraising companies:

• Nobody can afford to buy over priced stuff
• Companies charge more than items are worth

Here are her reasons for hosting ones own event:

• Can host your own events without expenses
• Adding a bake sale will improve revenue
• Volunteer hair stylists will be interested
• It's easy to host your own event

Yikes, at this point it kinda sounds like I'm being mean doesn't it? It's not my intent. It's just that the rational doesn't work.

I know some things about how Kris thinks. It's because I have a tendency to do the same exact thing.

I am always thinking I can do something better or cheaper than a company that charges money for their products and services. I am a perfectionist and an artist and I like to create things. In the end, I know now that in most cases, it's not worth it. I can rely on others to create things so I don't have to start from scratch and learn everything from square one, making all the rookie mistakes along the way.

In the end, if you are able to create and host a successful event, I have all the respect in the world for that. I absolutely love seeing a 10th annual event. It's a marketing powerhouse and it works. Creating a successful and repeatable event takes work and consistency but if one picks the right combination of simple factors, your event can be tremendously successful.

When it comes to saying that product fundraising doesn't work then suggesting an event that without a doubt would be difficult with a good chance of failure, I just gotta step in to say that there is a reason fundraising companies offer value - because the fundraisers we produce are proven successes. They raise more money with less work than the vast majority of fundraisers ever run. They are consistent and are improving. I can only speak for my company when I say that product quality and value to the consumer are improving consistently.

Here are some fundraising truths:

• People buy fundraising products
• Sales averages are often much higher
• Fundraising companies offer value-added services
• Product fundraising requires less volunteer help
• Typical retailers don't give margins away (let alone 50%)

I guess what I am saying is be careful what you believe. I'm not advocating you use my fundraising company, it's not about that. Here it is... Don't let someone lead you down the path to an under-performing event fundraiser because they don't understand the value that a company provides.

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Jay Moneta is the Vice President of Believe Kids Fundraising and is feeling rather bad about bagging on Kris' ideas so badly. If you want to leave a mean comment for me here on my blog, I would totally understand. I can also be yelled at on twitter - twitter.com/BelieveKids for my lack of understanding or barraged via my homepage at www.BelieveKids.com

Simplify Your School Fundraisers and Avoid Fundraising Fatigue.

I just posted a comment on the highly acclaimed greatschools.org website about how some fundraisers should be reconsidered. It's a 'less is more' comment as I will explain in this post. Since their article was originally written, smaller and less productive fundraisers have gained popularity because folks are looking for new and unique fundraising ideas but they do not have the same profitability in most cases as larger traditional fundraisers. Here is my take on why focusing on what works and keeping it simple when it comes to school fundraising.

It's about time school fundraising got a bit simpler. Let's return to the days where fundraisers were sent home and parents happily contributed and encouraged the community to get involved. It's harder and harder to get parents involved and the reason is becoming clear:

There are just too many fundraisers.

When parents realize another fundraiser is coming around the bend in a week or two, they have an excuse to not participate in the current school fundraiser. Doesn't sound like much of a problem does it? They will contribute on the next one, right?

Here's what happens. Schools are generally used to a huge fall fundraiser such as a gift catalog (shameless plug - Believe Kids has the best fall gift catalog!). This one is the important one that the school counts on. Let's just say there was a bake sale and a book fair and a promotion for donating box tops in the weeks previous to the fall catalog. The pool of folks willing to participate in the next one is very likely to dwindle. There is some money to show for those efforts no doubt but it's very likely to have consequences.

The more fundraisers, the more money raised... right? Not necessarily. The problem in a nutshell is called 'fundraising fatigue' and it's completely avoidable. Fundraising fatigue is a simple concept, it's a backlash from parents when they feel they are the target of too many fundraising events throughout the year. Parents will complain and in general stop participating in events, fundraisers and perhaps even classroom related activities as well. Over time, this can result in schools that complain they have no parent involvement.

A very big factor is that the other fundraisers don't have the dollar averages a fall catalog sale will generate. So, for every parent that doesn't participate in the big fundraiser, more money is lost than was gained by the batteries or box tops or whatever stole the gift catalog 'thunder'.

Focus your efforts on what works.

Take into consideration the ease of use, reputation with parents and the community and profitability so that when you know you have a fundraiser that will make the community happy while raising the big bucks, you can put ALL your efforts into it and minimize the other fundraising 'noise'.

Just in case this appears to be a negative take on single product fundraisers, box tops, book fairs, it's not. There is a time and a place for these fundraisers but if they are interfering with the turnout at your main fundraising event, frozen food or gift catalog fundraiser.

Promote the fundraisers you want people to participate in. Make it a huge thing. Involve the principal and faculty. Create hype! Then, minimize the hosting and promotion of smaller less valuable fundraisers. Pass on anything that you believe could lower your average sale or anything that will interfere enough to have less students participating. Then put all your efforts into the fundraisers that put the most funds back into the school.

Simplify.

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Jay Moneta is the Vice President of Believe Kids Fundraising and blogs here at fundraising-advice.com Please comment if you would here or join me on twitter - twitter.com/BelieveKids Thanks for looking!

New & Improved! See our new corrugated shipping box - before and after photos...

We just reprinted our currogated boxes. These are what all our catalog fundraising products are packed in for UPS delivery to schools and groups nationwide. We work a great printer here in town and they worked hard to produce a top-notch box print. We were truly impressed. Bigger, higher resolution, crisper print. Schools should really enjoy seeing these nice boxes at their fundraising product delivery. We're very proud as you can tell... Not really the best photo from my web cam but here ya go...

Before:


















After: (oh, yeah! Drum roll please...)