Fundraising Success #27

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FUNDRAISING SUCCESS!
Issue #27

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=> Kimberly's Column: "Thankful for a lot this year"
=> Reader Q & A: "Tips on Winter Fundraisers"
=> Feature Article: "The Power of Thank You in Fundraising"
=> Supplier Spotlight: "Hale Groves"
=> SiteSeeing, Bonus & more: "Cosmo Girl"
=> Your Ebook: "222 Sizzling Youth & Beauty Tips"

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Kimberly's Column: Thankful for a lot this year
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Hello everybody,

Hard to believe it's already Thanksgiving! It's such a great
holiday. I know I have a lot to be thankful for this year.

I've enjoyed everything about this year. We've had fundraising
success, shared a lot with others, met tons of interesting folks,
and haven't had any negative events on US soil (despite a lot of
scary events elsewhere).

I'm thankful for family, friends, good neighbors, all the love in
the world around us, and hopeful that the future will provide
healing for all the pain and strife in the world.


What are you thankful for this year?

That's a question we always answer in turn around our holiday
table. It's wonderful to hear the children each year, as they
grow toward adulthood, expand their viewpoint to encompass an ever
larger slice of the world around them.

I hope you also have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.



This issue features a guest article on "The Power of Thank You
in Fundraising and in Life" by Katherine Khalife.

The Supplier Spotlight is on Hale Groves. A super fundraising
supplier of fresh citrus fruit for almost a quarter century.
Selling oranges and grapefruit is a great fundraiser for small
to medium-sized groups.

This month's Bonus is an interesting site called EverSave.com.
You can signup for a free sample of P&G's Olay product line,
special offers from Wal-Mart and Kohl's, and local deals from
area merchants.

This month's ebook is "222 Sizzling Youth & Beauty Tips." There's
something in here for everyone. 40 pages packed with excellent
ideas on how-to look your best.


*-----------------Hot Tip------------------*

Google Language Tools

This page full of language tools, developed by Google, will be
most helpful to persons looking to translate short passages of
text or entire Web pages.

First, the page provides an engine that allows users to search
for pages composed in over thirty languages. The most helpful
feature, though, is a translator that lets users translate text
passages and Web pages from English into five different
languages, and several different European languages back into
English.

*-----------------Hot Tip------------------*

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Readers Q & A: Tips on Winter Fundraisers
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Question: Kimberly, Any tips on good winter fundraisers for a
small group? - Janice Peters

Answer: Janice, I like these: citrus fruit, chocolate roses for
Valentines Day, music CD's (particularly holiday music), and
holiday flowers (poinsettas, etc.), and holiday wreaths.
- Kimberly

You will find my book, Fundraising Success, very helpful in any
fundraising endeavor. Buy a copy today because you'll benefit
from every chapter:


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FEATURE ARTICLE: The Power of Thank You
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The Power of Thank You - In Fundraising and in Life

by Katherine Khalife

"I was in line at the grocery store the other day. The cashier
was really rude to people. When it was my turn, I handed her my
money, she grabbed it, gave me my change, and that was it. I
couldn't help myself. I asked, 'Would it kill you to at least say
thank you?' She looked up and snapped, 'It's printed on your
receipt.'"
­ Jay Leno


Don't assume that people know you appreciate them or their help.
Tell them. You know yourself how much a thank you means -- and
how good it makes you feel when someone says it. Take the time
to thank people no matter how busy you are. It's not only good
for the soul, it's also the best public relations booster there
is.

Be sure the words "thank you" are in your voice mail greeting.
Nothing is more irritating than negotiating the endless hurdles
of phone system hell -- especially when you don't even get a
thank you for going to the trouble. Thank your listeners for
calling, thank them for being willing to leave a message, or
thank them for their patience. It doesn't matter exactly what
you thank them for, just that you thank them for making the
effort to reach you.

Send thank you notes and, whenever appropriate, hand write them.
Send them to donors, to volunteers, to colleagues, and to anyone
else who does you a good turn. In this day of form letters and
printed receipts, handwritten thank you notes are cherished
goodwill builders. And the networks of gratitude they build can
boost careers as well. Management guru Peter F. Drucker, honorary
chairman of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit
Management, attributes much of his success in life to his early
habit of writing 10 to 12 thank you notes a day.

Always thank donors. When it comes to fundraising, saying thank
you is essential. It's hard to imagine it not being a priority
for some nonprofits, especially since people are giving money
that they aren't required to give. But according to Penelope
Burk, author of Thanks! A Guide to Donor-Centred Fundraising,
the number one donor recognition problem "is not acknowledging
gifts, period."

When thanking donors, promptness counts. It can even make a
difference in how much they'll contribute in the future. In a
thanks test Burk conducted in conjunction with the Ontario
chapter of the Canadian Paraplegic Association, she found that
new contributors who were called and thanked within 24 hours of
receipt of their gift gave more in subsequent appeals than did
those who were not thanked promptly. How prompt is prompt?
Donors who were called more than 48 hours after their gifts
were received thought they were being solicited for another
donation.

Make your donor thank you letters warm and personal. To the
recipient, a canned, overly formal thank you can sometimes feel
worse than not receiving one at all. But unless you're one of the
lucky ones who has a natural talent for it, writing creative,
meaningful thank you letters can be a challenge. Burk says you
can force yourself to be more creative by leaving the thank you
for the end. She suggests, "You might say, I just got your
donation, I can't tell you how important it is, we're putting
it into this program, this is what it's going to do, here is the
time line, and you can expect to hear from us again next October
when we're going to tell you what the money has accomplished.
And then say thank you."

Consider running a Thank-a-thon. In addition to thanking donors
at the time of their actual gift, Terry Axelrod, author of
Raising More Money®: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Lifelong
Donors, suggests taking thank you one step further by holding a
holiday thank-a-thon. Making holiday calls to those who gave to
your organization during the year, Axelrod says, conveys the
message that "We noticed you gave. It mattered. We appreciate
you."

A sincere thank you is one of the mightiest marketing and
fundraising tools there is. Use its power often and well.

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Copyright © 2001 Katherine Khalife All rights reserved.

Katherine Khalife is the publisher of MuseumMarketingTips.com
and the Museum Marketing Tips e-newsletter, used every month by
thousands of cultural organizations seeking practical tips to
improve their marketing.


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Supplier Spotlight: Hale Groves
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(Excerpt from my book, Fundraising Success!)

Supplier: Hale Groves
Phone: (888) 373-7848
Fax: (561) 589-8889
Website:

Address: P.O. Box 701330
City: Wabasso
State: FL
Zip: 32970

Description: Raise money with fresh Indian River citrus.
No-risk plan. Free sales material. Offers navel oranges,
tangelos, and red grapefruit in different sizes in
attractive shipping boxes.

Sizes:
1/5 Bushel =10 pounds
Bags = 14 pounds
2/5 Bushel = 20 pounds
4/5 Bushel = 40 pounds

Generally, you can expect to pay about $8 for a 2/5 bushel.

Doing fundraisers since 1978. Hale Groves remains a family
owned and operated business. Hale Indian River Groves has
become a national company shipping fruit all over the United
States, Canada, and Europe.

Their fresh squeezed juice can be found in stores, hotels, and
restaurants throughout Florida.

Delivery is two months after you order. Estimated profit range
is $3 a bag up to $6 for the 4/5 bushel.

Product Lines: Fruit

Terms: Prepay or terms available. Prepay saves 1%.

Notes: Has mixed cartons and bags available. Free shipping on
orders over 600 2/5 bushels or the equivalent. Orders under
that amount pay a $50 shipping & handling fee. Always ships 1%
extra fruit with your order at no extra charge. Truckload sale
of 2,000 2/5 bushels earns a $250 bonus.


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Places To Go, Things To See, Bonus Item & More
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SiteSeeing Tip:

Hot Lingo 2.0
This handy little application offers form and applet spell
checking for Internet Explorer 5.0 and higher. Hot Lingo uses a
75,000 word English dictionary. Their Web site also contains a
FAQ section. Hot Lingo is compatible with all Windows operating
systems.


Places to go:

Exploring the Future of Learning

ThinkQuest explores "youth-centered learning on the Net." This
website presents articles written by student journalists. The
articles highlight technology trends and new innovations, as
well as the experiences and impressions of the students.
Some specific items that are discussed include tele-immersion,
augmented reality, and video conferencing.

Life in the White House [Quick Time]

This new virtual exhibit takes visitors on a tour of the many
different rooms and areas of the White House. Each video tour
is led by a different member of the Bush administration,
including George W. Bush. Other video tours on the site include
a tour led by the White House curator, William Allman. Finally,
information about touring the White House in person is also
provided.


Things to see:

Bonus Item:

EverSave.com
A site that features exclusive email updates from merchants
you know and trust. I couldn't believe some of the offers
I received. I'll take a sample tube of Oil of Olay's anti-
aging cream any day!



Your Free Ebook:

This month's ebook is
Lots of great tips on how-to make yourself look your best.
There's a ton of good information here. 40 pages, PDF format,
319kb download.


That's all for this issue. See you next time.


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WE WANT YOU IN AN UPCOMING ISSUE
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We're always interested in hearing what you have to say
about fundraising. We'd love to publish your article, your
question, your success story, or any other relevant topic
or comment.

Full instructions are on the website. Click on this link:

Thanks for sharing!
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Copyright 2004 Kimberly Reynolds

Fundraiser Help - Great Fundraising Ideas
Maximize your fundraising success!

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