Fundraising Success #57
Fundraising Success - Issue #57 - Article: "Seasonal Fundraisers";
Supplier Spotlight: "Mister Z's"
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Fundraising Success #57 - August 2007
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=> Kimberly's Column: "Thank You!"
=> Reader Q & A: "Unique Event Ideas"
=> Feature Article: "Seasonal Fundraisers"
=> Supplier Spotlight: "Mister Z's"
=> SiteSeeing: "Physics To Go, Global Warming"
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Kimberly's Column: "Thank You!"
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Hi everyone!
Just wanted to say thank you for all the wonderful advice all you readers
sent in in response to last month's column.
Many comments were also posted in the forum thread titled Fundraising Advice
Requests located here:
I've received many suggestions to produce some "how to" videos showing sales
techniques, organization tips, how to select the right fundraiser, etc.
There were also many request for specific articles on various topics of
interest to groups in specific niches. Probably enough requests to keep me busy
for the rest of the year!
So, again let me say Thank You!
Enjoy your Summer!
Kimberly
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Readers Q & A: "Pig Rasslin Fundraiser"
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Question: What are some unique fundraising event ideas?
Answers: We've got lots of event ideas written up
in the articles section including Cow Chip Bingo, Golf Balls from Heaven, Rubber
Duck Race, etc.
You can find a lengthy list here:
There's lots more always being discussed in the
forum, even a Pig Rasslin fundraiser:
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:
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FEATURE ARTICLE: Seasonal Fundraisers
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Fundraising Ideas For All Seasons
What are seasonal fundraisers? They are product sales where your group can benefit from seasonal demand for
select
products.
Ten ideas for seasonal fundraisers:
Halloween Pumpkin Patch
Fall is a big season for fundraising and Halloween presents a great opportunity
to host a Pumpkin Patch fundraiser. Line up a roadside site, decorate it with some hay bales, and
display your pumpkins on a bed of straw. Extra profit tip: Buy pumpkins
in bulk from a grower or at the local farmer's market.
Thanksgiving Turkeys
Selling turkeys for Thanksgiving is an easy way to raise funds. Line up a
wholesale source, put together an order form and brochure, then start taking
orders. Do a bulk purchase with the money from the prepaid orders and arrange a
pickup day. Extra profit tip: Charge a little extra if you have to make
deliveries.
Christmas Trees & Wreathes
The holiday season offers lots of opportunities to sell seasonal products. You
can order Christmas trees from a wholesaler or grower and run your own sales
stand. Or, you can do an order-taker sale and offer various wreathes and
different-sizes of trees. Extra profit tip: Sell more wreathes by showing
samples.
Citrus Fruit & Poinsettias
Late fall is a great time to do an order-taker fundraiser for fresh citrus fruit
and holiday flowers. Potted holiday plants like poinsettias have huge profit
margins and while the margins aren't as good on citrus fruit, the large order
size means good profits from every customer. Extra profit tip: Save on
freight with a full truckload order and buy poinsettias from wholesale
nurseries.
Valentines Day Roses
This holiday is all about showing appreciation for loved ones and roses are a
great product to offer. They can be chocolate roses, boxes of gourmet candy, or
the traditional dozen roses in various colors. Extra profit tip: Line up
a wholesale supplier in California and lock in your pricing before taking orders
because prices on fresh flowers can skyrocket at the last minute.
Spring Flowers
Another great seasonal fundraiser is selling flower bulbs in the early Spring.
Several suppliers offer pre-order brochures with colorful pictures and exotic
choices. Extra profit tip: Offer discounts on orders above $50 because
people will then buy more than they planned just to get the discount.
Spring Home & Garden
Other Spring fundraising items to offer include deliveries of pine straw or
mulch by the truckload, one-gallon sized flowering shrubs, five-gallon sized
decorative trees, and other home & garden supplies. Extra profit tip:
Work with a wholesale nursery and charge extra for delivery.
Mother's Day Gifts
Mother's Day is one of the best holidays to fund raise by offering pre-order
gift selections such as jewelry. The key is working with a high-end supplier
with quality items and getting your orders in well ahead of deadlines. Extra
profit tip: Flower arrangements in creative containers are also big sellers.
Fourth of July Fireworks
This is a great way to fundraise because suppliers will line up the location,
put up a sales tent, stock it with fireworks, and give you 50% of total sales.
All you have to do is supply salespeople for the week before the Fourth of July.
Extra profit tip: Book early to get a good location like a Wal-Mart
parking lot.
Summer Pizza
This is a great one for swim clubs and other youth sports groups to sell because
everyone orders a lot of pizza in the summertime. You can get two-for-one pizza
discount cards for $2 or less and sell them for $10. Available choices include
Papa John's, Pizza Hut, and Dominos. Extra profit tip: Sell the discount
cards at tables outside grocery stores, drug stores, Wal-Mart, etc.
So, there you have it, ten high-demand seasonal products for your next
fundraiser.
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Supplier Spotlight: Mister Z's
---------------------------------------------------------------- (Excerpt from my book, Fundraising Success!) Supplier: Mr. Z's Fund Raising Corp.
Phone: (414) 827-9771
Fax: (414) 827-9773
Website:
Address: PO Box 570
City: Grafton
State: WI
Zip: 53024
Description: Mr. Z's has been helping non-profit groups raise millions &
millions of dollars worth of much needed funds for over 26 years.
Mr. Z's is a full line, full service company. We service the United States
coast to coast (excluding Alaska and Hawaii).
We provide hundreds of different products from Z-licious frozen pizza,
quality gift items and wrap to candy bars, lollipops and magazine subscriptions.
Mr. Z’s puts together their own catalogs to consolidate the best offerings. One
example is their 26 item Frozen Foods catalog featuring cookie dough, pizza,
French Silk pie, garlic bread, etc.
Several of their small catalogs are designed to complement other catalogs
while restricting the offerings to just the best sellers.
Also adding online website shopping through ezfundraising.com.
Product Lines: Candy, Candy – Case, Candy – Catalog, Catalog Sales,
Chocolate, Christmas Store, Cookie Dough, Food Items, Gift Items, Gift Wrap,
Holiday Gift Shop, Logo Products – Clothing, Lollipops, Magazines, Online
Shopping, Pizza, Rebates – from Referral Shopping, Snacks, Spirit Merchandise,
Website Shopping, Wrapping Paper
Terms: Prepay or terms available to qualified organizations.
Notes: Fundraising supplier for 26+ years. Check on freight charges.
This company profile is an excerpt from my book, Fundraising Success, which provides complete how-to information on all aspects of raising funds for schools, churches, youth sports teams, and nonprofit groups.
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Places To Go, Things To See
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Places to go:
Physics To Go
Many things in this world are offered on a "to-go" basis. Some might not
immediately think of "Physics To Go", but thank goodness the talented people at
the American Physical Society and the National Science Digital Library have done
just that.
Essentially, this site is an excellent collection of websites where visitors
can learn physics on their own through a variety of formats, including webcasts,
online exhibits, and games.
Educators will enjoy these materials a great deal, and they may wish to
recommend the "Physics in Your World" section to fellow travelers and students.
In this section, visitors can learn about centripetal force through the world of
water-skiing and the principles behind optical microscopy.
There's also the "Physics at Home" archive which brings together information
on building a telescope at home and ways to learn about diffraction with just a
few pencils and a miniature light.
Things to see:
Global Warming and the Water Cycle
The Baylor University College of Medicine continues to work at a furious pace on
their delightful BioEd Online site, and educators everywhere love them for their
work and dedication.
Recently, they placed this “ready-to-go” lesson on the water cycle and global
warming online, and it’s a true delight. As with the other lessons in this
series, the materials here include a brief description of the lesson’s
objective, along with information on the intended audience, the materials
required to complete the lesson, and so on.
Teachers will note that they will need to download a slide set, several activity
sheets, and a “State of the Climate Report” offered from the National Climatic
Data Center.
That's all for this issue. See you next month.
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Copyright 2007 by Kimberly Reynolds. All rights reserved.
Maximize your fundraising success!
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