Selecting a Fundraising Company
There are more than 1,200 companies in the United States and Canada that are set up to help schools organize fundraising events. They sell items in bulk and provide order forms and other tools of the trade. Some offer incentive programs, and others provide fundraising advice.
How do you select the right fundraising company to work with? First, remember it is not necessary to work with a fundraising company. You can have a successful flea market if you ask students and their families to contribute items for sale. Nonetheless, if you choose to rely on a fundraising supplier, you can find tons of them on the Internet or by looking in a business directory at your local library.
The Association of Fundraising Distributors and Suppliers is an international association with more than 650 member companies that manufacture, supply, and/or distribute products that will be resold by nonprofit organizations. Member companies must conduct business on a professional level and adhere to a code of standards and ethics.
References
Whenever you commit yourself to an outside vendor or company, you should always get references. The last thing you want to do is get involved with an outside vendor who shortchanges you and puts your group in the uncomfortable position of having to defend yourself to your supporters. To avoid such a scenario, start off on the right foot. Ask the company for references and call them or contact other PTOs or nonprofit organizations and ask what companies they've used and been satisfied with. Make sure to ask the following questions:
Did the company deliver on all of its promises and meet all of your expectations?
Did you have a good relationship with the company representative?
Did the representative take an interest in your organization's needs and was he helpful in answering questions or solving problems?
Did the company tailor the program to meet your needs, or was it a boilerplate program?
Percentages
Find out how much of a percentage the company takes and how promptly the merchandise will be delivered. Inquire about the quality and condition of the merchandise. Keep in mind that just because one company may give you a greater percentage of the money raised, it does not mean it is the best company for your fundraiser. If the material is not delivered on time or if there are complaints about the quality of the product, you could wind up with a worse deal by taking the higher percentage. The most important information for your purposes is the reliability, financial stability, and reputation of the company.
Services
You will also want to find out what services are provided. Does the company help with tallying or meeting specific orders? Ask how it handles sales tax laws. Inquire about its return policy, and find out how long it has been in business. Also, inquire how the products are shipped. Does the company fill each individual order or deliver one huge order to your front door? It makes a big difference. You'll have a lot more work to do if you need to divide boxes of cookies or rolls of paper.
Look for a company that is easily reachable, preferably by phone as well as e-mail. If you find a company on the Internet, look for an address and phone number. This allows you to check on the status of the company with the Better Business Bureau (look for any complaints) and provides multiple ways of reaching them. This is becoming a general rule of thumb, as fewer people are doing business with Internet companies that provide no address or phone number for checking their business status.
Licensing
You can, and probably should, check to see that a fundraising company is a licensed business in the area where it claims to be located. Don't forget, someone with 500 candy bars in his basement can build a nice website and try to pawn them off on you even if they are stale. Again, look for an affiliation with the Association of Fund-Raising Distributors and Supplies (AFRDS) and double-check that the company is a member.
Good fundraising distributors and suppliers know most schools will do annual or semiannual fundraising campaigns and would be eager for you to turn to them again and again for your fundraising needs. They will do what they can to win your business and keep you coming back year after year.
One common complaint about working with fundraising companies or vendors is surprise costs. Inquire about all possible costs when working with a fundraising company. You don't want hidden costs for freight, prizes, tally sheets, or anything else to cut into your anticipated profits. Get everything in writing to avoid such surprises.
The Products
Look over the company's selection of products carefully and see if it has something your group is interested in selling. Besides wrapping paper and candy, other popular sales items include cookie dough, candles, cheesecake, scratch cards, and holiday decorations. Magazine subscription drives are also very popular.
Look at the age of the sellers and the target audience and determine what item is best for your group. For example, young children may not understand how scratch cards work and will be more enthusiastic about selling candy, since they can endorse the product with great enthusiasm. Just make sure they don't eat into your profits — literally.
Along with having the right products for your sales force and your neighborhood, you want to get a feel for what other schools are doing in your area. Some neighborhoods are besieged by schools selling magazine subscriptions or wrapping paper, and people can only buy so much.
It is also important to make sure order forms and tallying are kid-friendly so the kids can handle their own paperwork. While parents may want to check the math and make sure orders are filled and money is handed in properly, the children should play a significant role in all aspects of the fundraising process.
How will I know what the products are really like if I've only seen them on the company's website?
Ask for a product sample kit, some sample product, or at least a copy of the catalog from which people will be ordering. Don't just take the company's word for it — get more information on each product before you sell it.
