Headlines everywhere are talking about school budget cuts. Reductions
in force will happen in many localities as well as wage freezes for
teachers, administrators, and support staff. Where is the bailout
coming from and when will it get here? PARENTS will have to bail out
the schools and will have to start NOW.
Some school principals will just say "no" to everything and if that is
the case in your school, neither I nor any other fundraising company
can help you. Your kids will just be deprived of many things you want
them to experience. Other principals will roll up their sleeves and
get to work on building community support and raising money for the
school. If this is your school, I can help and will be glad to do so
by providing a quality fundraiser with outstanding motivation for
students and parents alike.
It will take two main ingredients to make it work:
1. A product that people will buy at the price at which it is offered.
2. Enthusiasm on the part of everyone at the school... so much so that
parents become enthusiastic enough to take action and sell.
The first of these is up to me. The second is up to you. Getting the
kids really excited is pretty easy. Keeping them and the parents
excited for two weeks requires effort.
Our Fall 2009 offerings are about ready. There have been some changes
in product on our web site with more to follow. For the local service
area where we actually visit schools there will be a mailing that
includes our product line and service information. If you are serious
about raising a large sum, we are here to help.
You do not have to wait until fall. You can do a Spring "fill up the
treasury" fundraiser or one for a specific purpose. Last May we had a
sale with a school of around 600 students on our frozen food line
"Food Court" and they sold over $19,000 in frozen food. The prize
program was very simple... sell 1 items and you're in the draw for a
cash prize of $50. Sell 15 items and choose any free food item on the
brochure, and if you win in the drawing, the cash prize doubles. The
parents believed in the cause and the teachers got excited. It worked.
If you read previous posts on this blog, you will see that the world
financial crisis has affected the fundraising industry just like it
has many other industries. So far we are doing just fine financially
as are our major suppliers. We anticipate good product flow and
excellent services for our clients this Spring and through the year.
One important point is that there will be a fixed supply of brochures
available. Once they are sold out, they are gone forever without a
reprint. Product is already ordered for August delivery on our
catalog shoppers. We can only have as many catalogs as we have
product to support them and the ordering deadline is now for wrapping
paper, gift items, kitchen gadgets, and other non-food items. So, we
guess on how much to order and hope, just like we have in past years.
Now, however, the option of air freighting in product from the Orient
is not available, because of the cost. We have ordered boldly, and
have means of disposing of unsold inventory, so things should move
along smoothly. On the other hand, schools and leagues that put off
deciding on a fall fundraiser may be out of luck with us and with just
about every other fundraising company in the nation. The time to
decide is during the time period from March 1 through April 30. After
that brochures will be sold out quickly.
Another important thing to consider is the participation of the
Principal and Teachers in your school or the Coaches in your league.
Strong and effective leadership, and the building of excitement is
going to be essential if you are to have a successful fundraiser.
Because of fixed costs, we are going to expect that at least 40% of
your enrollment will turn in orders on any Spring or Fall fundraiser.
There will be a "less than minimum participation surcharge" of 3% of
retail for groups that fail to meet that level. This is necessary to
the financial survival of ANY fundraising company in today's economy.
BUT getting 40-60% of your enrollment to sell isn't "rocket
science." We know how to do this and can teach you how.
On a school-wide sale your Principal MUST endorse the project and
build excitement in it. Some sort of "stunt" will probably be the
best way to do this. There are many that have been done.... top
sellers get to duct tape the principal to the wall; principal kisses
a pig or cow or whatever; principal spends the night on the roof;
principal goes through a "carless car wash"; let your creativity soar
and your profits will soar too. There are some excellent suggestions
on the PTO Today web site.
Your Teachers MUST endorse the project and build excitement in it.
One tried and true way to encourage this is to allocate a specific
percentage of sales profits to each classroom, based on that
particular class's sales performance, toward classroom supplies.
Having the teachers each write a note to parents in their own
handwriting is a strong method of getting parents to support the
project. Daily promotions that involve the teacher's participation
also help immensely. We can teach you how to do this.
Finally, it is going to be necessary for the school to join with the
fundraising company in providing a strong prize and motivational
program. Daily PA announcements about the sale are a must, as are
send-home letters 3 days after the sale starts encouraging parents to
participate and again 2 days before the end of the sale reminding them
that "there is little time left".
So watch our web site, look for our packet in the mail (or request
one) and then decide early. Then reap the rewards.
