| Ah! So, you want to know the secret of school | | | | making a dollar on each one, then you have to make |
| fundraising success? | | | | 5,000 sales to raise $5,000. |
| Well, it's actually quite simple once you break it down. | | | | If you're selling pizza discount cards for $10 each and |
| Consider this math equation: Multiply number of | | | | making $8 on each one, then you only have to make |
| motivated sellers x unit price point x high profit margin | | | | 625 sales to raise $5,000. Would 625 sales be easier |
| = successful school fundraiser. | | | | to make than 5,000? Most definitely! |
| So, you want all this: | | | | Similarly, in December you can raise a lot of money |
| Your sellers should be highly motivated and | | | | selling Christmas trees, wreaths, citrus fruit, and |
| enthusiastic. | | | | poinsettias from a pre-order list. Each item produces |
| Your product should have a fairly high price point. | | | | significant revenue, has a high profit margin, and most |
| Your product should have a high profit margin that's | | | | people will order more than one item. |
| real, not inflated. | | | | Sell smart and you'll always do well. Sell cheap and |
| Those are the secrets to school fundraising success! | | | | you'll always struggle to reach your goal. |
| For elementary schools, I always recommend that you | | | | Maximizing Profits |
| do at least two events a year and one product | | | | Many products offer profit margins of 50% or more |
| fundraiser. Do some sort of athletic-based event in the | | | | such as cookie dough, gift wrap, gourmet candy, |
| fall, a product fundraiser in the late October-early | | | | calendars, etc. The key is making sure that the price |
| November timeframe, and a school carnival in the | | | | point offers a good value for your customers. If the |
| spring. | | | | product is overpriced, your customers will resent |
| As far as the best product for elementary schools to | | | | having to pay extra for something just to benefit the |
| sell, I recommend a catalog-based product sale, but it | | | | school. |
| has to be the highest quality merchandise and not | | | | That means selecting products whose profit margins |
| overpriced junk. And I always recommend offering a | | | | are real, not inflated to make it a 50% margin. Think |
| secondary product at the same time. My favorite | | | | from the customer's perspective. They will be much |
| profit booster is the two-for-one pizza discount card. | | | | more willing to support your school's fund raising effort |
| Each $10 sale adds $8 in profit to your results. | | | | if the product is a good deal. |
| Motivating Your Sellers | | | | For example, if you are offering a variety of gourmet |
| In school fundraisers, we often forget to follow basic | | | | cheesecakes for $17 each, make sure that similar |
| selling techniques. Here are three things you can do to | | | | items aren't being offered in the supermarket for $9 |
| motivate your sellers: | | | | each. People will gladly pay a higher price for |
| 1- At your kickoff meeting, have kids vote (by noise | | | | something that's truly exceptional, but not foe same |
| level) on which prizes they want | | | | thing they could have bought down the street. |
| 2- Offer multiple levels of rewards by seller, class, and | | | | Another easy way to maximize profits is t offer a |
| grade | | | | supplemental item with a high profit margin. Most |
| 3- Don't reward those who under perform or don't | | | | families eat a lot of pizza, so offer a two-for-one |
| participate at all | | | | pizza card for $10 because it's $8 or $9 of profit on |
| And don't forget that you can do great business by | | | | every sale. It's the prefect offering for people who |
| offering products outside retail locations like grocery | | | | don't want to order something from your catalog, but |
| stores and Wal-Mart. Organize parent teams to | | | | would still like to support your effort. |
| supervise the sellers who are really motivated to be | | | | Summary |
| top producers and line up several weekend sales | | | | The secret to school fundraising success is properly |
| locations. | | | | motivating your sellers, choosing products to sell that |
| Obviously this works best for immediate sales | | | | are in demand with prices above $7, and sell only |
| products like pizza discount cards, food items or raffle | | | | products with profit margins of 50% or more. |
| tickets. You can still do a considerable sales volume | | | | If you don't motivate your sellers, sales will be |
| for catalog sales if you are selling within your | | | | mediocre. If you sell inexpensive products, then |
| attendance area and you offer convenient delivery | | | | revenue will be too low. If you don't sell products with |
| options. | | | | high profit margins, it will be difficult to meet your |
| Product Price Points | | | | funding goals. |
| In general, you want products that are in the $7 and up | | | | Sell products people really want, that offer good value, |
| range. Why? Because you have a limited number of | | | | and that provide good profits. Do that and your school |
| prospects to sell to and you want maximum revenue. | | | | fundraiser will be a big success. |
| If you're selling silicone wristbands for $2 each and | | | | |