Fundraising cards for schools have long been one of the easiest and least stressful methods of raising money for school groups and organizations. Most schools have several fundraisers during the year, whether for updates to the library, an educational trip for students, or other needs. Raising the necessary funds involves a great deal of preparation and work, to say the least. Does it have to be so involved, laborious and time consuming? Not when you choose a product that holds incredible value for the customer and is reasonably priced.

Naturally, you want your school fundraiser to be as successful as possible, but reducing the amount of work involved sounds pretty enticing. Fundraising cards for schools are perfect when you are trying to raise money for the band, the prom, athletic program needs or any other school function or activity. Many items that are usually associated with fundraisers don’t really provide much value to the customer, which makes them hard to sell. Fundraising cards for schools are the number one choice because of the price, and because the offers on the cards allow consumers to save money on all types of products and services.

When you are responsible for organizing the fundraiser you are involved in many tasks, one of which includes making sure the participants are happy. You want the crew to enjoy selling the product and you want to make great profits, so choosing the right product is essential. It’s necessary that you consider the size of your group, and which products offer the highest profit margins with a minimum of fuss. Products that have high shipping charges or high minimum orders are probably not a great choice. Fundraising cards for schools involve no shipping or minimum orders, and the product is available on the spot when the customer makes a purchase.

When you consider that those supporting the school fundraiser will likely be parents, relatives, friends and others that live in your own community, choose a product that makes sense! Fundraising cards for schools offer savings and discounts to 12 or more local and national merchants in your area. This means that families and people in your own community can save on dining, auto services, flowers, video rentals and other goods and services people frequently spend money on anyway! Add to that the support of merchants in your local community, and it just makes great sense – and HUGE profits for your cause.

Fundraising cards for schools sell at $10, which is easily within most budgets, especially considering the amount of money the customer will save over one years time. People feel good when they know that they are getting a real bargain and supporting the school along with local merchants. Kids love selling them because they are so easy to sell, and there is no order-taking involved. It is a very simple and profitable way for your group or organization to raise the needed funds without a great deal of work and stress.

The next time your school needs to raise money for any cause, fundraising cards for schools are a natural choice. The ease in which they sell, easy profits, support of local merchants and value for the customer are four very good reasons you should consider them for your next fundraiser. There is no better solution when you want to keep things simple with a minimum of fuss AND make incredible profits!

Mark South
Easy Fundraising Cards

Are you planning a fun trip for the kids, but need more funds than you have available to see it through?  School fundraising cards are a great solution when you need to raise money quickly and easily. Not only will you generate huge profits to fund your trip, the kids will enjoy selling the cards – especially if they are motivated with an award or prize for selling the most!

People in the neighborhood are always ready to support a good cause, but when you offer them a really good deal it becomes even easier.  School fundraising cards offer your buyer a great deal that is not overpriced.  In fact, they will save quite a bit more than they spend on the card by saving money on products and services they already use!  Friends, neighbors and relatives will be glad to put their money to good use by helping out the school and supporting local merchants at the same time.

If you are new to fundraising, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all of the ideas and options available to you.  Candy, greeting cards, jerky, candles and catalog items are commonly used to raise money for different groups or organizations. Think about it this for a moment; some of these products are quickly consumed, and usually overpriced.  Greeting cards are only used during certain times of the year, and customers have to wait for catalog orders to come in.  School fundraising cards provide real value, and are usually good for one year before they expire.  This means your buying customers will get good use out of something they spent very little money on.

Many people like to have something in hand when they spend their money, and would rather not wait for weeks to receive an item they have already paid for.  School fundraising cards are easy to sell because of the affordable price and real savings they offer.  Plus, the kids will have the cards in hand, ready to turn them over instantly upon payment!

Raising the money you need for a school trip to the zoo, new playground equipment or any other cause should be fun for the kids.  It also helps them to feel involved so that they develop a sense of their importance as part of a team.  School fundraising cards make the entire process simple and easy; no catalogs or candy to lug around, and a great product that people in the community will gladly spend money on!

Depending on your need, school fundraising cards are extremely popular.  The more you order, the higher your profit margin!  In a school situation, you will likely have hundreds of kids involved in raising the needed funds for your cause.  When you multiply hundreds of kids by 10 cards, which is the average number of sales that one person makes, you are raising a substantial amount of money.  If you order only 1,000 school fundraising cards, your cost is reduced significantly and your profit margin is 100%.  There aren’t many fundraising items that can produce exceptional results as easily as these valuable cards.

When it is time to raise money for any activity or equipment needed at school, you want to choose a company that is easy to deal with and offers assistance.  Fundraising can be labor intensive and involve a great deal of time, so make things as simple as possible.  Contact a reputable company who not only offers school fundraising cards, but does most of the legwork for you and educates you on effective ways to sell.  You will find that this is the absolute easiest method to raise the money you need while providing value to your customer and supporting your local merchants.

Mark South
Easy Fundraising Cards

Most organizations need to raise money at one time or another, and fundraising discount cards are an effective way to do it. Schools, churches, youth groups and other organizations often want to raise money for trips, new playground equipment, and other things that may be beyond their budget. Fundraising discount cards are a fun, simple way for your group or organization to raise the necessary funds for any purchase or event.

Some of the common methods used to raise money are candy and jerky sales, catalog sales and candles. While these do work, they do not provide continued value. Fundraising discount cards allow the user to save many times the price of the card. When you offer discounts and savings for as many as fifteen merchants in your area, those who buy will use the card over and over. Because of the value, selling fundraising discount cards is even easier than selling goods that are consumed. People want to perceive value in any purchase they make, especially in light of the economy.

When you decide it is time for your group to raise money, you need to provide a specific cause to potential buyers. People are much more apt to buy fundraising discount cards if they feel they are contributing to a good cause. You will want to inform prospective buyers that the money is going to be used for new band instruments, summer youth camp, or whatever your purpose is. Another reason that these cards sell so well is that buyers get instant gratification – you have the cards with you, so no waiting for a product to come in.

Why would merchants want to participate by offering discounts, free goods, or cheaper services? When hundreds or thousands of fundraising discount cards are in circulation, this drives new business to that merchant. This means new customers and increased profits. Most are happy to oblige, and you don’t even have to contact them yourself! By choosing a company that only deals in fundraising discount cards, you can rest assured they know how to communicate and negotiate with merchants, so that you have great deals to offer on the cards your organization sells.

Additionally, when you choose this route to raise the money you need, you support your local community. Those who purchase fundraising discount cards from your group will patronize local vendors, which is good for businesses in your area. As you can see, not only does your organization benefit from the cards, but those who buy them as well as the businesses who offer their services all win. Your group can easily raise the needed funds, those who buy get great deals, and merchants draw in new business.

When you decide that using fundraising discount cards sounds like a great solution for your group, make sure you choose a company that is dedicated to exceptional customer service. They will secure the merchants for you, print the cards and even educate you about organizing your fundraiser. Add to that the fact that there is no up front cost to you, and this is an excellent way to raise the funds your group needs. The best fundraising discount cards are very impressive! Your organizations name and logo, along with the expiration date, are printed right on the front of the card. These cards are the size and consistency of a credit card; not thin paper cards that are easily destroyed or lost.

For your next project, do something different. Instead of offering candy, popcorn, candles or catalog items, offer fundraising discount cards! The entire community will benefit, and you will have the funds you need. This is an easy and fun way to raise the funds you need and support your own community!

Mark South
Easy Fundraising Cards
http://www.easyfundraisingcards.com

If you are struggling for school fundraising ideas, what better way to raise money for your cause than return to the basics and include a raffle at your next fundraising event!

Raffles are a regular feature in many a fundraiser and can be a great success if they are run well. They are fun for everyone involved, providing excitement for the buyers of tickets that can be shared with the organizers. In addition raffles can be very lucrative for the organization that are raising the money. In this article I will outline how to implement this classic fundraising idea, and how to run a successful raffle.

It is possible to run many different types of raffle. The choice is yours and the decision may rest on the venue in which you are running your event, the time that is allocated to the event, or to the number or value of the prizes that are available to be won. The two raffles that will be outlined in this article are the tombola and raffle draw.

Where do the prizes come from?

One major benefit of running a raffle is that the prizes are donated. This means that any tickets bought provide practically a hundred percent profit. There are a number of ways in which a school can gain donated prizes.

One is to get the children to solicit the prizes from local businesses by writing letters to them, explaining what the school is raising money for, how they intend to do so. The letters should then ask for support for the cause in the form of a physical item to be used as a raffle prize. Success rates will be much higher if the children write the letters. This could also be done in class, as the writing exercise can be very educational and can also be beneficial for the children’s confidence.

Another way to achieve donations for prizes is through parents. Send letters home with the children appealing to parents to donate unwanted items for use at the school’s fund raising event. Again explain the cause and what the money made will be used for.

Promoting the raffle by gauging the desire of prizes

Before the raffle, the most valuable or desirable donations should be split from the least. The more desirable should be used in the raffle to entice people to buy tickets, whereas the less desirable should be sold at cheap prices in a car boot/junk sale type manor.

As the children will provide the majority of excitement for buying the raffles tickets, they should be used to gauge which items will be the most desirable prizes. Get them to clap or cheer at varying levels depending on how much they would want the various prizes. The items that create the most excitement and noise will be the best prizes to promote the raffle with.

Hampers, wine, and other prizes that will appeal to the parents rather than the children, should also be used to engage the parents in the raffle. Parents may get bored of buying their children raffle tickets with the chance to only win prizes that cater for the children. However, by including prizes which appeal to adults, the raffle more fun and worthwhile for the parents.

Running a tombola

One way to run the raffle is to number all the items allocated as raffle prizes and put them on display. Place the raffle tickets in a raffle drum (also known as a tombola). Charge people to spin and pick tickets from the raffle drum. Tickets picked can be exchanged for prizes if the numbers match.

The tombola can be run continuously throughout the fundraising event, or until prizes run out. This, however, also presents a negative aspect of the tombola; if prizes run out, then the ticket sales will stop. One way to try and prolong the lifespan of the tombola is to fill the raffle drum with many more tickets, and charge slightly less to buy them.

It is also a good idea to give people who do not get a prize a cheap sweet. This will keep the children happy!

Announcing the winners

An alternative to the tombola is a raffle draw. The tickets are sold throughout the event, and then, at a specified time, numbers are drawn from a hat for each prize. For this to work the prizes must be desirable. However if a raffle draw is run well with good prizes, the winners can be announced at the end of the event, giving people an incentive to stay at the fundraiser for longer. This will give you, the organizers, a longer period of time to sell, feed, and entertain people attending the event, providng the opportunity to raise more money for the school.

A benefit of the raffle draw is that tickets can be sold everywhere, as there is no need for a raffle drum. Ticket books can be given to volunteers preparing and selling the food, volunteers selling items at the ‘junk’ stall, and volunteers can approach people in order to sell the tickets and promote the raffle.

In both cases, incentives should be given to buy more tickets. For example, you could offer tickets at a dollar each, or a strip of eight tickets for five dollars. This will increase the volume of tickets sold, and help increase the profits made from the raffle.

Raffles are a great way to add money to the amount you raise at fundraising events. They are very low cost and are a proven school fundraising idea. Also, the children can get involved, but above all they are great fun!

One of the most common promotional fundraisers, fundraising discount cards can raise the greatest profits for your fundraising cause.

Fundraising discount cards are a great option for a close community, especially if you have specific, local merchants in mind. Most fundraising groups know where everyone in their area goes for oil changes, flowers, and pizza.

How Fundraising Discount Cards Work:

Groups sell the fundraising discount cards to their supporters, just like they would sell candy bars or pop corn. They sell typically for $10 and cost as little as $1.50 each. Each supporter can usually sell 10 – 20 cards. The fundraising discount cards can have one to a few offers from local and major chain merchants. The discount cards are the size of a credit card with the details of the offers written on them. Some cards have scratch off dots or some sort of counter to control the amount of times the card can be used. Merchants usually prefer a counter since they can calculate the exact cost to them.

Customized Fundraising Discount Cards:

A few companies offer this popular option with their fundraising discount cards. It allows you to pick the merchants in which the cards can be used. The offer with each merchant can be negotiated as well, but most merchants are ready with a standard offer. A typical offer is ” buy one get one free ” or ” get a free drink when you buy a sandwich ” and many more. If this is not the way you want to proceed, only a few companies offer to get the deals for you for a fee.

Fundraising Discount Cards Tip:

Since a discount card fundraiser is also a great opportunity for the merchant, most of them will stay with a group fundraiser year after year. That means that most of the setup work is done. For the next one, the merchants on the card just need to be asked if they want to change their offer for the following fundraiser. Some groups actually form waiting lists of merchants to get on their fundraising discount cards.

Things to look out For:

Quality Of Printing – Make sure the company will guarantee the printing on the card
Return policy – Some companies will offer returns for unsold cards, consider these first.
Watch for quality – Choose cards that can last so your supporter can benefit from the card offer for the entire period.
Offer Counter – Most merchants prefer a counter, so this option may work better in your area.
Free Shipping – Make sure you can get free shipping included so you don’t get surprised at delivery time.
Name & logo – Some companies will print both your group name & logo on each card free of charge, some will only print your name and some not at all. Try to get both as it will show your participants and donors you are serious about your fundraiser.

Reprinted from an extremely helpful site http://www.fundraisingideas.com/fundraising_discount_cards.htm , These guys offer great information about fundraising check them out!

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.