FastTrack Fundraising Tips and Articles

Financial trouble with Varsity Gold Fundraising causes office lock-out and change from chapter 11 filing to chapter 7 filing. 

Employees confirm that the office is no longer operating and reps are officially out of work after being on unpaid vacation. According to posts at the PTO Today website, court filings were changed from chapter 11 (re-organization) to chapter 7 (liquidation) and the office was locked down (confirmed by Tim Sullivan founder, PTO Today link). 

Court documents show heavy debts that will remain unpaid to vendors and reps but the cause of the bankruptcy was leveraging Varsity Gold to invest in failed business opportunities. From their website they explain “The reason we are in (bankruptcy) has nothing to do with our fundamental business; rather, it was the result of investments in businesses unrelated to Varsity Gold.”

(Complete article @ http://believejay.blogspot.com/)

FastTrack Fundraising would like to offer it’s discount card fundraiser to any affected groups and sales reps.  Please contact us, and we will help to the best of our ability.

Please remember that for Calendar year 501 tax-exempt organizations, the due date to file the following returns/reports is May 15!

990, 990PF, 990EZ and 990 Postcard
RRF-1
Annual Statements

Even in our current age of technology, when everything is published on the Internet and everyone can be contacted via email, getting press attention for your fundraising events can be difficult. While there are hundreds of social networks to which you can submit information about your initiatives, there are also thousands of people who are submitting theirs.

The competition out there is fierce. Here are some tips on how to get that much needed press attention:

• Understand your community — Find out which medium is most preferred by members of your community. While some neighborhoods may have online forums and communicate with each other via electronic newsletters, others would still prefer the traditional art of reading and writing for newspapers.
• Know your local press — Find out who the editors and journalists are and identify one or two of their favorite subject matters. For example, some editors are passionate about topics related to the environment. Issues such as family, children’s wellbeing, employment and animal welfare are also popular among many journalists.
• Provide press releases — A well-written press release can attract the attention of your editor and/or journalist far better than a quick email about your fundraising event. Make sure that crucial details such as the who, what, where, when and how of your event are included in the press release. Particularly important is why your fundraising event will benefit the community and raise funds at the same time.
• Thank your editor and/or journalist — Always express your gratitude to those media professionals who have helped promote your fundraising event in any big or small way. Ask them for a copy of their coverage and place it in a prominent spot of your organization’s public relations material. Promise to tell them about your future fundraising events.

Raising funds for your organization can be an eye-opening experience. Knowing that your team can achieve something great together, and that your community is there to support you, can be really rewarding.

However, like everyone else, we can make mistakes. Particularly when we are eager to succeed, extra care is required to proficiently manage the business of fundraising. Simply put, there are some basic mistakes to avoid:

• Having too many fundraising events on the go at any given time can be counter-productive. Neither does it help if these events take place too close to each other. Instead of flooding your community with numerous requests and expecting people to respond to whatever they like, simply focus on one or two fundraising events and promote them as best as you can.
• Avoid doing the same fundraising event over and over. Even if such event so far has been highly successful, repetition can result in declining profits. A better approach is to select several tried and true ways of raising funds and make use of them only once every year. This helps people establish a routine to support your organization, particularly those community members who know you well.
• Make sure that you are familiar with whatever you sell in fundraising events. This is not only to protect the rights of your supporter as consumers, but also to enhance your organization’s credentials as one that cares for the community. Detailed information, such as how quickly the items ordered or purchased can arrive, is absolutely crucial.

In short, we all learn from previous mistakes. Whether we are raising funds for our school, church or charity, we can benefit from being organized, providing variety, and always looking after our supporters. It is a win-win situation for both our community members and our organization.

Out there in the market are hundreds of fundraising companies that will compete for your business. Some are operated by professionals who are highly experienced in managing fundraising events. Others offer a wide range of fundraising products and package deals.

So which particular fundraising company is the most suitable for your organization, be it school, community, church or charity? Whose expertise will enable you to put fun back to fundraising, particularly when you have to do it repeatedly every year? Here are some tips on how to choose the right fundraising company:

Firstly, before you start searching for a fundraising company, have a discussion with your colleagues and establish a fundraising goal. Among the issues you need to consider are the amount of funds your organization needs to raise, the size of your target community, and how much work your fundraising volunteers are willing to do. Write down a “wish list” on what you need and how you would like to have it done.

Secondly, design a series of assessment criteria. As you browse through the websites of available fundraising companies, pay attention to issues such as their credentials, products and/or package deals, testimonials from previous clients, and other services that help organizations such as yours manage fundraising events. Think about the vision, philosophy and core values of your organization. Will these fundraising companies understand, respect and support your goals?

Finally, select a couple of fundraising companies and talk to their representatives. Give them your “wish list” and ask how they can help you successfully reach your organization’s fundraising goals. First-class fundraising professionals will be keen to know your needs and help you design concrete action plans to raise required funds. More importantly, they recognize the significance of your organization and are happy to pursue your best interests for you.

Fundraising is an increasingly important part of our collective life. Whether it is for our school, community, charity or church, the more resources we can gather, the better we will be able to enhance the quality of our activities.

But fundraising can be a daunting task even for the most knowledgeable personnel. What types of resources do we need, and how can we be sure that people will want to support us? What can we offer as fundraisers and how do we promote them in order to get people’s attention? Who should do the work throughout the fundraising event and how do we manage the numerous responsibilities at hand? After the event, how do we measure our success and distribute the valuable resources we have gathered?

It is true that we can always learn from our mistakes, and eventually we will get it right. However, a better approach is to acquire helpful advice from those who really understand the nature and significance of fundraising events. These professionals are highly experienced in managing fetes, festivals, parties and sales — events that are not only fun and friendly but also capable of generating a considerable amount of income for our organization. Depending on our practical needs, these experts are more than happy to share with us a wide range of useful tips and ideas on how to set and achieve astonishing fundraising goals.

Instead of suffering from sleepless nights and spending long hours each day trying to come up with ideas to raise funds, find a team of professional fundraising consultants who can ease your pressure. Work with these specialists and develop a fundraising plan that is unique and suitable for your organization. Then go and put some fun back into your fundraising events!