Do you lead or participate in school fundraisers? Most parents do to some extent. There are fundraising programs and strategies that work well for schools but not for other groups.

About a year ago I started a site just for school fundraisers. Unfortunately I got very busy and it still has not reached its full potential. There’s a lot of information for different groups still to be added. But in the meantime I added a “blog” section which has school fundraising tips, timely news and fundraising idea tidbits.

Check it out… Top School Fundraisers Blog

And let me know if you have any suggestions!

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Creating a good match between your organization and an appropriate fundraiser will result in a higher return on your time and investment. Not just higher overall donations but higher quality donations, that is from people who will be willing to support you again in the future.

So how do you go about the process of matching? Primarily this is an information gathering and discussion oriented process that occurs during the initial planning stages. This should happen months or even a year or more ahead of the expected date of your fundraising event or program.

The 5 Matching Points:

1. Mission – Consider the mission and purpose of your organization. If you plan a fundraiser that fits well with the mission of the group, a consistent harmony will be created that not only raises money but also supports the cause that your group represents.

Examples:

Art museum: opening night party, art auction, craft show

School band: special concert

Social Services: Direct gift requests using fundraising letters, a house party or direct
solicitation of key donors.

2. Style – Consider the personal preferences and interests of the members, donors or volunteers in your organization. What type of fundraiser would appeal most to your audience?

Examples:

Casual: picnic, ice cream social

Formal: gala, dinner

Socialites: gala events, fashion show

Competitive: contests, ticket sales challenges, prizes

Sporty: walk-a-thon, sports tournament

Busy: no-bake bake sale, online sales, direct donation

3. Donation Capacity – One of the most important factors is your audience’s capacity and inclination toward giving. Would they be willing to donate at levels expected for a live auction, formal dinner, or other gala? What ticket price would be appropriate for your audience?

4. Planning Time – How much time will it take to plan the fundraiser? How many months in advance does planning need to begin? How many man hours, by staff and/or volunteers, will be required to plan the fundraiser? If it’s an event, how many volunteers will be needed on the actual day of the event? Evaluate whether your group has the capacity and willingness to devote the time needed for the fundraiser in question.

5. Return on Investment – Does the potential revenue justify the costs that would be incurred by the fundraising program? Will the fundraising event or program bring in much more than what it cost?

Perhaps you’re wondering what weight to give each of these five matching points. It all depends upon what will most benefit and appeal to your audience. Often it’s a combination of factors. The first time a fundraising program or event is used should also be viewed as a learning experience. You’ll likely discover ways to raise more and create an even better match the next year.

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Has your group tried an ink jet recycling program yet? It’s a year round program that give you a chance to get a little cash back on all of those used printer cartridges.Instead of throwing them in the trash, just toss the cartridge in the recycling box provided by Funding Factory.

Plus now you can get an extra bonus… free gift cards or extra credit for your organization.

When you use the Funding Factory program any new participant that registers through a link from Step by Step Fundraising will be able to earn a prize of their choice when they send at least one full* box of cartridges or cell phones within 45 days of registration.

Sign Up Now For The FundingFactory Recycling Program

Prize choices:

• Extra credit for your group
• GeoSafari CD set
• Blockbuster gift card
• Borders gift card
• Cinemark gift card
• Loews Cineplex gift card
• Pizza Hut gift card
• Regal Entertainment gift card

You can use the gift cards as prizes for volunteers who collect the most cartridges. Or just take the extra credit toward your fundraiser.
FundingFactory offers a free cartridge and cell phone recycling program that provides collection boxes, free shipping, promotional materials, online accounting and more!

About FundingFactory: Since 1997 FundingFactory has been offering a free fundraising-through-recycling program for educational and nonprofit organizations. The recycling fundraiser is a year-round program that helps accumulate reliable income for its participants. Many of the most popular brands of inkjet cartridges, laser cartridges and cell phones are accepted through the program. FundingFactory pays the highest average prices for these items and offers extra incentives throughout the year.

Sign Up Today The FundingFactory Recycling Program

*One full box is defined as having at least 8 qualifying laser cartridges, 18 qualifying inkjets or 8 qualifying cell phones. The list of qualifying items is available at www.FundingFactory.com.

Related Articles:
Inkjet Recovery and Recycling: A Good Fit for Your Organization?

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Hershey brand chocolate is one of the most recognizable candy brands in the USA. Everyone has grown up with Hershey, Reese’s and their other great chocolate bars.

Since Hershey is such a popular candy bar it has great appeal to buyers, giving them incentive to support your fundraiser. Many people buy chocolate bars on a regular basis anyway, so why not buy from you?

Hershey chocolate bars can be sold at most schools and places of business. They are easy to transport and most candy bar fundraising companies offer carrying cases or display boxes.

Hershey Bar Fundraisers include straight or variety packs. Each variety box includes Hershey Milk Chocolate bar, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Kit-Kit and other popular bars.

There are several variety packs to choose from. Each box is a self contained storage, carrying case and display box all in one.

Click Here to Request More Information About Hershey Bar Fundraisers or Call 1-866-450-5794

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After receiving over 100 questions by email about Raffle Fundraisers, Chris Brisson and I hosted a teleseminar on October 4th 2006 to address some of the top questions.

Chris and I discuss advanced raffle strategies and tips. We were really on a roll, even going over our allotted 70 minutes for the call! Now even if you did not get in on the exclusive LIVE call in, you can listen to an excerpt of this call for free.

Listen to the answers to the Top 5 Raffle Fundraising Questions

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iGive is an online portal to a wide variety of online merchants. Instead of going directly to the merchant’s online store, members start their online shopping experience at iGive.com.

There are over 650 online stores represented, with at least 1 new store being added every week. Some of the most popular online stores include Lands’ End, Barnes & Noble, Staples, eBay, Target, Dell Computers, The Vitamin Shoppe, Petsmart, QVC and Petco.

With iGive up to 26% of the purchase is donated to charity.
The percentage varies by merchant, but one of the great things about
iGive is that you know beforehand how much that percentage will be.

Some stores offer flat dollar donations (rather than a percent-of-purchase). This is particularly true for magazine/newspaper subscriptions, financial services, credit cards, loans, and similar services.

Just browse through the mall directory and you can view stores by category or alphabetically, see a description of the store and the donation percentage.

Benefits for Shoppers & Non Profits

iGive is equally concerned about the shopper’s experience and the
benefit to non profit organizations. The system is free and simple for
both members and organizations to use. Members can support any cause.
They can choose from a list of thousands of charities already registered
or add a new one.

Besides offering shoppers the ability to help a worthy cause, iGive offers members a steady stream of coupons, sale announcements, and exclusive discounts.

At a conference in July of this year I met Nassim Nazemi, who has been with iGive since 1999 and manages its website content. We talked about the site and how fits into the growing popularity of online shopping.

She points out that, “Whenever possible, we try to partner with
stores that have been suggested or requested by our members, dozens
of whom write in every week to tell us about stores they’d like to see
at iGive.com.”

iGive also adds a layer of comfort and security in what can be an
uncertain world of online shopping. Nassim comments that “by partnering
only with high-quality, reputable online stores, we’re able to
reduce much of the anxiety that online shoppers may experience.”

In fact on the off-chance that you have a bad experience with one
of their stores, iGive will jump in and provide an extra level of support
to make sure that shoppers receive the proper attention from the store’s
customer service folks.

“Our commitment is to the iGive member, and we will discontinue any
relationship with a store that proves itself to be unreliable or dissatisfying
to our members.”

iGive Helps A Wide Variety of Causes

iGive has advantages over other online malls. Bahareh Sahebi, who
works closely with registered causes, said that “sites like Schoolpop
and UPromise limit the types of charities which can be supported. In
those two cases, it’s limited to educational organizations and money
for college.”

In contrast, members of iGive can support any cause in the U.S. or
Canada and it doesn’t need to be 501(c)3 to qualify.

Support for the charities that sign up for the service is available
in the “Cause Toolbox.” Printable flyers, pre-written emails, graphics
and other tools are included to help groups get the word out.

How much can a charity expect to raise using iGive?

Since its inception in 1997, iGive has given over 2 million dollars
to worthy causes all across the US and Canada. In fact it has sent
checks totaling $374,892.95 for the 2006 year to date.

The amount that individual organizations can raise depends largely
on the number of shoppers that participate. iGive estimates that groups
receive an average of $20 - $50 per shopper per year.

One thing to keep in mind is that even a seemingly “small” percentage donation on a big ticket item (such as most computers and electronics) will mean a sizeable donation.

To get a better idea, you can view a list of organizations and check amounts sent out over the past 120 days.

Unlike other fundraisers, iGive is more of a long term fundraising program. Checks are issued monthly, 75 days in arrears to allow the merchants time to report merchandise returns. So it may take a few months to start seeing the benefits.

Of course the more people use it, the more funds will be raised. Plus aside from publicizing the program to supporters, there’s really not much work involved. People are shopping online anyway, so why not participate in a system where everyone benefits?

Nassim sums it up by saying, “We’ve found that simply presenting iGive.com
as a free, easy, supplemental way to raise funds for the organization
is quite effective. In our experience, once folks realize how easily
iGive.com works, their only question is “why isn’t everyone doing this?!”

Related Articles:

Online Magazine Fundraiser - Add this separate online shopping fundraiser, just for magazines and your group can earn 40% on each purchase your supporters make.

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