Selecting a Fundraiser
Choosing the right fundraising program for your school or group takes thought and consideration. Read about how to select the right fundraiser
It seems that more and more school districts across the nation are becoming stricter about ensuring that students are eating properly, at least while they’re at school. Schools are not only enforcing new guidelines at school by making changes to cafeteria food and what vending machines can provide but they are telling parents what is allowed at school for birthday celebrations. What effect has this health shift had on group fundraisers?
One of the most commonly asked question prior to a school agreeing to work with us for their school fundraising event is which sales brochure sells the most? It is obvious that they want to make the right choice that will give their consumers the best possible product offering in order to maximize sales. Our most customary answer is any brochure is capable of selling very well in a given area. It just depends.
You’ve heard it time and time again. The actual fundraising product was much smaller than it appeared in the brochure. Or, this product doesn’t work anything like I thought it would. Is it no wonder that people who decide to support a school fundraiser look for the lowest priced item in the brochure? After all, they really don’t want anything that the brochure is showing them. Often times customers purchase out of guilt or just to get someone off their doorstep because they can’t say no.
There are many reasons why many people struggle with whether they should do their own school fundraiser, like have a school carnival, or simply hire a fundraising company. Schools that have grown tired of the same old company product brochures and prize programs may be experiencing apathy, or even complaints, from their parents and are therefore being pressured into considering a change. Fundraising sales may be trending downward as well which makes changing to something new, like a school carnival, seem even more appealing.
Anyone who’s ever been to a school fundraising kickoff assembly can tell you how excited students get once they initially see the prizes that they have a chance to win. Their first reaction is usually one of optimism and expectation. They can’t wait to start selling once they get home. The discouragement often doesn’t start kicking in until they realize how many items they actually have to sell in order to win the bigger and more worthwhile prizes.
More people are holding onto their money these days and are thus more careful about how much they spend on items when they buy. Let’s face it, some people may see school fundraising as a “necessary evil”; therefore you will want to put your best foot forward by presenting the most appropriate sales brochure to those who will be supporting it.
More and more school fundraising companies are offering coupon vouchers that can be redeemed online by the customer at their convenience as opposed to receiving the actual product from the student. Companies are realizing that when people go to their online store to redeem their coupons they may see additional items that can be purchased so this makes good business sense.
We recently had someone inform us that a particular school was very interested in using our Big Event Magic Show as their school fundraising prize program along with one of our fundraising brochures until they saw how much they thought they had to sell in order to get it. They were a new school in a young neighborhood that was adding on grades each year so their student population was only about 250. Without reading any further they moved on.
Schools are often restricted on the number of fundraisers they are allowed to do each year so there’s a lot at stake when it comes to making sure that the right school fundraising programs are chosen. Another factor that limits the number of fundraisers is that schools hear complaints from parents who have grown tired of seemingly endless fundraisers. There’s only so much that people are willing to do to help.