Posted on 08/28/2006Fundraising for school can sometimes be the difference maker in the quality of education children in America receive these days. The fact of the matter is that school districts can simply not afford programs and equipment that not too many years ago had been taken for granted.
Fundraising for school and school groups has become a huge business now. In fact, you can look through your local yellow pages and search all of the major internet search engines and find tons of companies specializing in fundraising for schools.
So how do you choose a company to work with on your fundraising events at your school? Here are some things you should consider when choosing one:
- Does the company have experience working with school groups like yours? With such a large number of different types of fundraising groups, make sure the company you choose has worked with similar sized groups.
- What profit potential can you expect when fundraising for your school? School wide fundraisers should expect to earn at least a 40 percent profit margin on their sales. There are plenty of options that offer profits in excess of 50 percent. Do not settle for less unless there is a particular product you feel strongly about and are willing to sell for lower profits.
- Does the company provide all materials your school needs for fundraising? Are order forms free? Do they provide kick off letters and everything else that explains all aspects of your School Fundraising program?
- How and when do you pay? Are there specific products that need to be paid in advance? Do they have pre sell or brochure fundraisers that do not require any up front investment?
- Does the company accept purchase orders on fundraising for schools?
Once you have the above information you can begin to narrow down the companies that are want to work with on your school fundraising project. At this point it is time to choose the best fundraising program for your school.
The major decision now is whether to do a direct sale or brochure sale for your School Fundraiser. Here is the difference in the two types of fundraisers:
