Fundraising Success #47
Fundraising Success - Issue #47 - Article: "Halloween Fundraiser";
Supplier Spotlight: "Reindeer Lane"; Free ebook: "Let's Celebrate
Halloween"
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Fundraising Success #47 - October 2006
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=> Kimberly's Column: "Fundraising Ideas"
=> Reader Q & A: "Selecting The Right Fundraiser"
=> Feature Article: "Halloween Fundraiser"
=> Supplier Spotlight: "Reindeer Lane"
=> SiteSeeing, Bonus & more: "Free Maybelline mascara"
=> Your Ebook: "Let's Celebrate Halloween"
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Kimberly's Column: "Fundraising Ideas"
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Hi everyone!
Now that the fall fundraising season is well underway, it might be time to start
looking ahead to the holiday fundraising period.
Usually groups tend to repeat what's been successful for them in the past,
but sometimes you want to consider a whole lot of new ideas for different
fundraisers.
So, where do you find these newfangled ideas? Well, there's a lot of great
fundraising ideas in our
Fundraising Forum.
You can also find out a lot more about the latest in
fundraising ideas in our newest articles: Fundraising
Articles.
This month's Bonus is a free sample of Maybelline mascara.
This month's free ebook is Let's Celebrate Halloween.
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Readers Q & A: "Selecting The Right Fundraiser"
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Question: How do we go about selecting the right fundraiser? It
seems like every time I bring the subject up, our PTO committee starts arguing
about what works best!
Amanda H.
Answer: There are so many factors to consider that it's impossible
to say which one would be best for your group or for any other group.
However, I did a lengthy article on the major decision factors in picking the
right fundraiser and you can use that as a guide to choosing what you all think
is best.
http://www.fundraiserhelp.com/selecting-the-right-fundraiser.htm
Hope this helps!
Kimberly
You will find my book, Fundraising Success, very helpful in any
fundraising endeavor.
Buy a copy today because you'll save both time and money!
Yours for only $17:
http://www.fundraiserhelp.com/fundraising-success.htm
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Halloween Fundraiser
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Autumn is probably the most popular season for fundraising. School has just
started, sports team are beginning their season, and non-profit groups are
looking to get a piece of the holiday spending action. While other groups are
selling candy, wrapping paper, and magazines for their fundraising activity, how
about looking into doing something different this year: organize your own Halloween Pumpkin
Patch.
Sure you can buy a pumpkin at the grocery store or home improvement superstore,
but many families, like mine, like to make choosing the Halloween pumpkins an
event; sort of like choosing the Christmas tree.
We bake cookies, make cider,
rent a kid friendly ‘scary movie’, and prepare to make a day of it. We bundle up
in our jackets against the first real chill of the year and go on a pumpkin
mission.
What Will I Need?
First of all, you need a pumpkin supplier. Go local if you can and don’t be too
ambitious in the amount you order. Many suppliers will deliver.
Second, you need a location to have your ‘pumpkin patch’. Depending on the type
and size of your group, you may be able to use a portion of a parking lot at a
visible business, the school yard, or a vacant corner lot (with permission of
the owner).
Third, you’ll need volunteers. Some will sell pumpkins in shifts, some will help
with advertising, and so on. Send a sign up sheet around at a meeting, via
email, whatever forum works best with your group.
How Do I Get the Word Out?
Advertising is an important part of this type of fundraiser. Along with a highly
visible location, your fundraising advertising plan will make or break you. For
non-profit groups, press releases and newspaper advertising is often free.
Use signage at every available location. Have volunteers stand with signs at
heavily traveled intersections directing passersby toward your pumpkin patch.
Make your pumpkin patch visually appealing. Twinkle lights, some synthetic
spider webs with obligatory plastic spiders, and any other Halloween decorations
your volunteers can supply will make your fundraiser more successful. After all,
it’s an event right?
Other Considerations
Timing is everything. You don’t want to get stuck with unsold pumpkins. A month
or two after pumpkins appear in the grocery stores and discount superstores is
the time to strike.
Rent or borrow a free standing tent. The weather can be unpredictable this time
of year and you’ll want to keep your volunteers and customers comfortable.
Offer other items like mini pumpkins, gourds, and baked goods. Don’t forget to
ask for donations as well.
Always make sure your customers know who you are and why you are raising money.
Be specific. ‘We are raising funds for new sports equipment’ or ‘Our team is
going to the regional championships, can you help us get there?’
And, as always, never allow children to perform any fundraising function without
adult supervision. Safety first.
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Supplier Spotlight: Reindeer Lane
---------------------------------------------------------------- (Excerpt from my book, Fundraising Success!) Supplier: Reindeer Lane Gift Shop
Phone: (877) 378-0403
Fax: (770) 554-2961
Website: http://www.reindeerlane.com
Email:
reindeerlane@reindeerlane.com
Address: 1770 Tullie Circle
City: Atlanta
State: GA
Zip: 30329
Description: Reindeer Lane is a fun and profitable fundraising event for schools
and organizations.
Reindeer Lane Gift Shop © offers a wide variety of quality products priced
from 25 cents to ten dollars, all within a child's gift giving budget.
Supplies all promotional materials and decorations for your gift store. All
items are clearly marked and packaged so your volunteers can identify, check-in
and set-up the merchandise with ease.
The gifts are boxed according to gender type, such as Men, Women, Child, Boy,
Girl, etc., making the set up and selection process easy.
Product Lines: Christmas Store, Holiday Gift Shop
Terms: Net terms available to qualified organizations.
Notes: Free freight.
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Places To Go, Things To See, Bonus Item & More
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Places to go:
National First Ladies Library
Certain major edifices dot many college campuses (and a few seemingly outlying
locales) around the United States that generally don’t seem to fit into the
normal campus plans.
No, they are not demonstration farm buildings, but rather those all-important
presidential libraries. Of course, some have pondered two questions after seeing
such buildings: What about the First Ladies? Where might people go to research
and learn about these important and influential individuals?
Such questions (and many others) may be answered at the National First
Ladies’ Library (and its accompanying website), located in scenic Canton, Ohio.
While the site does provide a great deal of information for researchers seeking
to make a trip to Canton in person, the online “Resources” section may also sate
the demands of the web-browsing public. Here, visitors may consider a timeline,
an extended bibliography, and biographies of each of the First Ladies.
http://www.firstladies.org/index.htm
Things to see:
Frontline: Return Of The Taliban
Much like the janjaweed bands that have devastated parts of the Sudan since the
early days of the Darfur crisis, the Taliban continues to dominate their own
region, which happens to be around the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
With noted Frontline correspondent and producer Martin Smith leading the way,
visitors to this site can learn more about their role in the region, and what
the future might bring.
While visitors may eventually want to watch the complete program in its entirety
(it’s available here as well), they may begin by reading the introduction to the
program, and then proceed to taking a look at the “Inside the Lawless Tribal
Areas” section.
As it combines first-hand descriptions with video clips, this area is quite
remarkable, and visitors will certainly want to look at Winston Churchill’s
commentaries on this area from 1897, as some of his observations ring true
today.
The site is rounded out by a section of interviews with such personages as
Richard Armitage and President Pervez Musharraf. This documentary and its
website are both troubling and thoughtful, and one can think of a diverse set of
classroom uses for such a program.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/taliban/
Bonus Item:
Free sample of Maybelline Mascara!
Click this link to score a free sample of Maybelline mascara!
Free Sample of MAYBELLINE
Your Free Ebook:
Let's Celebrate Halloween. A nice ebook covering all the different fun kid's
activities you can put together for Halloween.
Download here:
http://top411.tripod.com/halloween-ebook/
That's all for this issue. See you next month.
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Copyright 2006 by Kimberly Reynolds. All rights reserved.
Maximize your fundraising success!
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