When starting a fundraising campaign, whether you are fundraising for a school, church or any other organization, an effective way to encourage people to donate is to provide incentives. Gaining support from local businesses and corporations through fundraising letters is a good way to bring in incentives such as prizes or exclusive discounts. It is possible to pay professional copywriters to produce fundraising letters for you, however this is not necessary. By writing and sending the fundraising letters yourself, you will save money and you will add a personal tone to the letter, which will allow you to outline the benefits of your cause with passion.

What are the benefits for the community AND the sponsor?
When writing a fundraising letter, it is important to emphasize the benefits that would come of the target company donating to your cause. Outline what you are raising money for. Why do you need this money? How will it benefit people in the community?

It is important not to forget that there are advantages for the company too, and it is your job to remind the recipient of this through the fundraising letter. Tell them how it will raise their profile in the community. Tell them how donating will align the company with the good cause for which you are raising money for. What will they receive for their sponsorship exactly? Where will you put their logo? Who will see this and what does that mean for them?

What? How? When?
It is important to be as clear and to the point in the fundraising letter. Be clear as to what you are asking from the company. This may be items which you would like to give out as prizes, exclusive discounts to include on a fundraising discount cards, or money. If you are asking for money, give a suggested donation size, and what that amount of money would provide. Give a tangible amount example if possible. An example of this can be found from charities such as water aid: “$3 a month, over a year, is as little as it could cost to help give a person safe, clean water for life”.

Make it clear how they should send the donation to you. Provide an address and a phone number. Make sure to include who they should make cheques payable to. Are you willing to pick up items that are donated in person? Make it as easy as possible for them to donate.

In order to stop the receiver throwing the letter in the to-do later pile, put a time restriction on the donation. Tell them when you are running your fundraising event. Tell them your goals. How much money do you aim to raise? When do you want to raise it by?

Increase the open rate and attention paid to your letter
It is likely that the person you are asking money from will receive other post a long with your fundraising letter. It is important to try and grab their attention from the start. By using a rubber stamp and an ink pad, stamp “IMPORTANT! Fundraising Discount Card enclosed” in red ink on the front of your letter. This should deter the recipient from throwing your letter straight in to the bin with promotional mail.

Make sure to use a P.S. In a single sentence reiterate what you are asking for and why, and thank them for reading your letter, and for any possible donation they can give, on behalf of your organization.

Make your letter easy to read
Break down the fundraising letter in to easy to read paragraphs. Separate different parts of the text with headings. Make sure to use easy to understand, positive language, but also appeal to the emotions of the recipient. Make it clear from the start who you are and what the aim of the letter is.

If you receive a donation…
Make sure to follow up donations with thank you letters and invitations to fundraising events! Send them a letter after the fundraising event to let them know how much you raised. Did you meet your target? Keep in touch with them and let them know what good comes out of their donation. This will encourage them to donate next time you are looking to raise funds!

Mark South

Fundraising for your non-profit organization is one of the most time consuming aspects of community inspired work. There is however, a huge and largely untapped pool of funds just waiting for you to collect.

When you say the word ‘grants’ to many non-profit organizations it instills fear and trepidation. Often they don’t have a dedicated grant writer so it’s a matter of pooling resources and even then, no-one has direct grant experience or knows where to start.

The government, large companies and philanthropic agencies have to give you their money. It’s the law. Well not so much for the companies, but government grants and some philanthropic agencies are governed by mandates to return funds to the community and they are eager to comply. Unfortunately, or fortunately for you the fundraiser, the quality of some applications is not all that great, but they have to award it to ‘somebody’.

So where does this leave you? In a very good position to raise funds without baking one more cake, or selling chocolates.

Like most fundraising, it’s essential to determine your cause or project that you want the funds for. Then it’s a matter of finding a grant that will give you the money. Finding a grant can often be the most time consuming part but again, the government is there to help – seriously. They provide all the information. Check out http://www.grants.gov for all the grants you can stand. They also provide handy hints on how to apply.

Don’t worry about the paperwork, they make it seem worse than it is. The most important documents you need to support your grant are:

Copy of incorporation (or similar documents proving your status as non-profit organization)

Copy of last financial audited report

List of all executive officers, their titles, signed on organization letterhead

The Grant application.

The application form itself is not as daunting as many fundraisers think it will be. Your supporting evidence is the most crucial part. To give the grant credence, it’s wise to get letters of support from other community and non-profit organizations in your area who would benefit – the broader the benefit the more likely the grant.

If you want to raise funds for a landscaping project for example, take photos to show them what you want to do. Contact the government department directly, to discuss your grant, try to get a representative to come out and inspect the project for, example lighting for a sporting field. Even if you’re confident about your application it’s always better if the department or organization know you’re applying and what your project is about.

Fundraising will always be a part of the non-profit organization and in my view it actually strengthens that organization. Grants can give this a huge boost and provide funds for larger projects or even staff members to do nothing else but apply for more grants.

What is a cookie dough fundraiser?

The basic concept is the same as all order taker fundraisers. You equip your sellers with a brochure, an order form, and a basic sales script.

Your group does catalog sales of a three-pound tub of cookie dough. Average retail price is $10 per three-pound tub.  The dough comes in a wide variety of flavors, including some that are sugar free.

Some suppliers are now offering the dough in pre-sliced packages to further simplify the baking process. Others are offering it in a dry mix that doesn’t need refrigeration. All you do is add water, mix by hand, and you have your cookie dough ready for baking.

Click here for a free fundraising kit and free samples from our preferred cookie dough fundraiser supplier.

Profitability

Most fundraising companies offer the three-pound tubs of cookie dough at a 40%-50% discount. Some suppliers also offer a larger four-pound tub for slightly more money.

Cookie dough needs to be refrigerated, so this fundraiser requires a little more delivery preparation. Schedule a delivery pickup day where pre-bagged orders can be handed to drivers on their way home.

Kids like selling this because it’s something that they enjoy themselves. The average seller sells ten units or approximately $100 in revenue. That translates to roughly $50 in profit per seller, which is quite good.

Factors affecting your cookie dough fundraiser profitability include freight charges, quantity discounts, quality of the brochure, number of available cookie dough choices, and the need to keep the dough refrigerated.

This product works well for both elementary school and high school fundraising. Larger groups can easily earn a quantity discount above 50%. As always, do an RFQ fax quote to companies and get your best possible discount up front.

Sample Fundraiser Sales Script

Here’s what they need to do to sell:

1. Smile, use their name in greeting, and introduce yourself
2. Use the power of “because” (give a reason why)
3. Ask for their help (ask for the order)
4. Make eye contact and suggest a favorite

Example sales script: (Keep it short & sweet)

Hi, Mrs. Johnson! (Smile and make eye contact)

I’m Jimmy Roberts from down the street. (Hand over sales flyer with large bold print)

Our school is doing a cookie dough fundraiser because we need new computers.

Can you help us out with a $10 contribution? That gets you a three-pound tub of cookie dough. My favorite is the chocolate chip, but peanut butter is real popular too!

(Pause and wait for their response)

The important points are to smile, use a sales flyer, use the word because, ask for their help, and suggest an order size, then wait for a response.

Each prospect has a potential dollar value to your organization. Don’t waste prospects by not being prepared. Make sure all your sellers know what to say and how to say it.

Cookie Dough Fundraising Summary

The product is an easy sale because kids like it and their parents appreciate the convenience factor of a ready-to-bake mix. Profit margins are high and sales are generally multi-unit.

Most suppliers have an excellent selection of flavors and fairly competitive prices. It pays to shop around though and make sure you’re getting the best deal possible.

In addition to the brochure, use an easy to read flyer explaining your fundraiser. prep your sellers on exactly how to ask for help and explain what the funds raised will be used for.

Good luck with your cookie dough fundraising efforts!

Reprinted from an extremely helpful site http://www.fundraiserhelp.com/school-fundraising-ideas.htm , These guys offer great information about fundraising

Ah! So, you want to know the secret of school fundraising success?

Well, it’s actually quite simple once you break it down. Consider this math equation: Multiply number of motivated sellers x unit price point x high profit margin = successful school fundraiser.

So, you want all this:

1. Your sellers should be highly motivated and enthusiastic.
2. Your product should have a fairly high price point.
3. Your product should have a high profit margin that’s real, not inflated.

Those are the secrets to school fundraising success!

For elementary schools, I always recommend that you do at least two events a year and one product fundraiser. Do some sort of athletic-based event in the fall, a product fundraiser in the late October-early November timeframe, and a school carnival in the spring.

As far as the best product for elementary schools to sell, I recommend a catalog-based product sale, but it has to be the highest quality merchandise and not overpriced junk. And I always recommend offering a secondary product at the same time. My favorite profit booster is the two-for-one pizza discount card. Each $10 sale adds $8 in profit to your results.

Motivating Your Sellers

In school fundraisers, we often forget to follow basic selling techniques. Here are three things you can do to motivate your sellers:

1. At your kickoff meeting, have kids vote (by noise level) on which prizes they want
2. Offer multiple levels of rewards by seller, class, and grade
3. Don’t reward those who under perform or don’t participate at all

And don’t forget that you can do great business by offering products outside retail locations like grocery stores and Wal-Mart. Organize parent teams to supervise the sellers who are really motivated to be top producers and line up several weekend sales locations.

Obviously this works best for immediate sales products like pizza discount cards, food items or raffle tickets. You can still do a considerable sales volume for catalog sales if you are selling within your attendance area and you offer convenient delivery options.

Product Price Points

In general, you want products that are in the $7 and up range. Why? Because you have a limited number of prospects to sell to and you want maximum revenue.

If you’re selling silicone wristbands for $2 each and making a dollar on each one, then you have to make 5,000 sales to raise $5,000.

If you’re selling pizza discount cards for $10 each and making $8 on each one, then you only have to make 625 sales to raise $5,000. Would 625 sales be easier to make than 5,000? Most definitely!

Similarly, in December you can raise a lot of money selling Christmas trees, wreaths, citrus fruit, and poinsettias from a pre-order list. Each item produces significant revenue, has a high profit margin, and most people will order more than one item.

Sell smart and you’ll always do well. Sell cheap and you’ll always struggle to reach your goal.

Maximizing Profits

Many products offer profit margins of 50% or more such as cookie dough, gift wrap, gourmet candy, calendars, etc. The key is making sure that the price point offers a good value for your customers. If the product is overpriced, your customers will resent having to pay extra for something just to benefit the school.

That means selecting products whose profit margins are real, not inflated to make it a 50% margin. Think from the customer’s perspective. They will be much more willing to support your school’s fund raising effort if the product is a good deal.

For example, if you are offering a variety of gourmet cheesecakes for $17 each, make sure that similar items aren’t being offered in the supermarket for $9 each. People will gladly pay a higher price for something that’s truly exceptional, but not foe same thing they could have bought down the street.

Another easy way to maximize profits is t offer a supplemental item with a high profit margin. Most families eat a lot of pizza, so offer a two-for-one pizza card for $10 because it’s $8 or $9 of profit on every sale. It’s the prefect offering for people who don’t want to order something from your catalog, but would still like to support your effort.

Summary

The secret to school fundraising success is properly motivating your sellers, choosing products to sell that are in demand with prices above $7, and sell only products with profit margins of 50% or more.

If you don’t motivate your sellers, sales will be mediocre. If you sell inexpensive products, then revenue will be too low. If you don’t sell products with high profit margins, it will be difficult to meet your funding goals.

Sell products people really want, that offer good value, and that provide good profits. Do that and your school fundraiser will be a big success.

Reprinted from an extremely helpful site http://www.fundraiserhelp.com/school-fundraising-ideas.htm , These guys offer great information about fundraising

Contact Liz Chang at lchang@dailycal.org.