FastTrack Fundraising Tips and Articles

Elementary school children have plenty of enthusiasm and energy that needs to be released under careful supervision. One way to augment their determination is to encourage their involvement in school fundraising events. As children strive to complete every assigned task, they learn to cooperate with each other and develop a sense of responsibility. Teachers and parents participate in these events and provide appropriate guidance to ensure that the children complete their hard work safely and receive much emotional and psychological reward for it.

Sweets make an excellent fundraiser for elementary schools. Many companies have developed fundraising programs specifically for elementary schools, and you can find out relevant details by consulting their business representatives. Make sure that your selected company provides enough promotional materials for your school to distribute. Working with teachers and parents, you can further take the opportunity to educate children about sweets as “sometimes” foods that are consumed only on special occasions.

Perfumed candles and other decorative items, such as calendars and dishes featuring children’s art works, are also a good way for elementary schools to raise funds. Your selected company offers attractive brochures for families to browse through and place orders, providing ample opportunities for the children to utilize their talents. In return, the company gives a percentage of the raised money back to your school.

Finally, book fairs, sporting events and carnivals are great ways to raise funds for elementary schools. Because both parents and children are able to participate, these events can often attract large crowds and contribute much to your school’s fundraising and public relations efforts. Make sure that you invite local businesses, particularly the media, to participate, either as sponsors or to occupy stalls that promote their products and services. Much support can also be found in nearby preschool facilities and high schools.

Churches and religious groups need to raise funds in order to survive and continue serving their supporters. Like businesses large and small, the best way for churches and religious groups to improve their fundraising campaign is to create and promote their “brands”. To build a brand is to explain who you are and what you can do for those who have faith in you. It also helps establish a strong emotional bond between you and your supporters.

To further enhance such emotional bond, here are some useful ways in which churches and religious groups can express gratitude towards their supporters:

• Custom pewter medallions and coffee mugs, which can be crafted to showcase the representative image of your church or religious group and its specific message.
• Engraved or personalized bricks, which can be arranged around a special entryway or sidewalk. They can even be used in landscaping the building or garden of your church or religious group.
• Brass plagues and wall displays, which can be mounted against a polished wood backdrop in high-traffic areas for everyone to recognize the contributions of your supporters.
• Gift plants or memorial trees, which can be erected both indoors and outdoors. Gift plants are three-dimensional sculptures of plants whose leaves are engraved with the names of your supporters. Meanwhile, trees can live for years and help reinforce the bond between your church or religious group and its supporters.

Remember, there is no better way to thank your supporters by publicly recognizing their contributions. Indeed, all of us can do with some faith in certain power “behind the scenes” that sustains us through life’s hardships. Our faith enables us to appreciate the strengths of those around us. Only when we have faith in our fellow people can we have faith in this world.

We all want to do what we can to protect and improve our living environment. As we have only one planet to share with all current and future generations, it is important that we create and help promote products that are highly sustainable.

Currently there are thousands of eco-friendly products in the market that you can use to raise funds. Most of them are made of recycled or recyclable materials, or aim at encouraging individuals and businesses alike to develop habits and practices that are environmentally friendly and socially responsible. With a quick search on the Internet, you can find a wide range of companies and groups who are keen to provide assistance in selecting products that suit your organization’s fundraising needs.

Meanwhile, selling can hardly be as good as sharing. How can your organization conduct fundraising events that are environmentally friendly as well? Here are some useful tips:

• Use recycled stationery. While some recycled products can be slightly pricey, their long-term return on investment is considerable and will boost your organization’s environmental credibility.
• Reduce usage of paper and copy machine. Electronically distribute all internal documents and as many external ones as possible. For permanent storage, use CDs and DVDs.
• Reuse public relations materials. Carefully design your organization’s promotional items to present its long-term visions and targets. Yearly updates can be featured on supplementary pages when necessary.
• Act as role model. Establish partnerships with businesses that are eco-friendly and socially responsible. In all fundraising events, use recyclable and reusable advertising materials.

Caring for our planet is a task that is easier done than said. Every small step counts in a long journey as it brings the achiever closer to his or her goal. By working together, we can have a direct positive impact on our environment.

We all love dining out, whether it is for special occasions such as Mother’s Day (which is coming soon!) and birthdays, or just for some fun and relaxation. Even the most talented and devoted family cook would like to get some rest and enjoy having delicious meals brought to his or her table.

This is why restaurant gift cards are an ideal fundraiser for businesses that are keen to become involved in their local communities. Not only can fundraising supporters save up to 60 percent on their restaurant meals, but participating restaurants also receive free advertising opportunities and create good sales.

More importantly, this is a fundraiser that is easy to organize. All you need to do is to order at least ten $50 gift cards at the price of only $10 each, specify your contact details, and then the cards will be delivered to your door in two to four business days. There is no deadline before which the gift cards have to be sold, and all cards unsold (which are rare) may be returned. Better still, by selling each gift card at the price of $20, your business is making $10 profit.

Finally, be sure to inform your supporters that they can redeem their gift cards at Restaurant.com (http://www.fundraising.restaurant.com/). Whether their favorite meal is vegetarian, seafood, Italian, Mexican or Chinese, there are thousands of participating restaurants proudly displaying their contact details in this website. All one need to do is to enter his or her gift card code numbers online. Then they will be able to search for restaurants using either their zip codes and preferred search radius (such as within one mile from their residences) or regions of their states (such as New York, Long Island & Vicinity, Queens, Jamaica, near the John F. Kennedy International Airport).

Most non-profit organizations have fundraising committee positions that last for at least one year. Each year, new members receive training and learn from their predecessors. All results of previous fundraising events and relevant details are available, so that the new committee does not have to start everything from scratch.

However, when a fundraising committee is being established for the first time, it is important to get things organized to enhance future management. There should certainly be a team leader who is in charge of chairing meetings, distributing minutes and resources, and settling disputes when necessary. A financial officer should also be appointed to keep track of the money collected through fundraising events.

Among the other thousands of tasks to get organized, some fundamental documents need to be prepared:

• Names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses of all fundraising committee members and volunteers.
• Details of fundraising product suppliers you plan to use and are considering using, including notes on the types of goods and services provided.
• Financial books, to keep notes on fundraising account details, receipts, income and expenditure records, check and credit card statements, etc.
• Copies of your organization’s fundraising and money handling policies and procedures, as well as your planning documents such as schedules of fundraising events, committee meetings and training of volunteers.
• Documentation on all fundraising committee meetings, discussions, decisions, actions and reviews. Each fundraising event should have its own folder, which is to be filed separately from that of general committee affairs.

Setting up a new fundraising committee is not difficult, as long as you are prepared to pay attention to details and patiently plan and implement every single step. With all essential documentation retained and properly categorized, you will find your tasks and those of future fundraising committee members very easy.

We all learn from our predecessors, people who used to do what we do now, who have learned great lessons and received much emotional and psychological rewards from their work. As we ourselves now arrive at these positions, we are keen to experience, to perform and, most importantly, to succeed. We soon find that there is no better way to gain knowledge than learning from our forerunners.

Particularly in fundraising, we need much guidance from those who know. What kinds of fundraising events have been organized before? How were the products, services or activities promoted, and were the results lucrative or less than satisfactory? How were the products collected and what happened when there were not enough to distribute? What happened to the excessive stock? Where did all those volunteers come from and how were they organized and trained?

Most importantly, where can we find more fundraising ideas and put them in practice? How do we keep our volunteers and ourselves enthusiastic? Who can we talk to when we feel tired and frustrated? With whom can we share our success?

This is why heritage is important in fundraising, as hard-earned experiences should be passed on. Policies and procedures may be established to enhance the handling of a wide range of matters, while criteria are required for us to measure our achievements. While fine examples are to be followed, all efforts should be made to avoid previously made mistakes.

It is therefore highly recommended that all fundraising committees possess a full copy of at least the previous year’s committee meeting minutes, contact details of volunteers, reports on all fundraising results, product distribution and storage records, and relevant financial proceedings. The better written and catalogued these documents are, the faster and easier they can help the newcomers prepare themselves for their work.

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.

Having planned ahead your fundraising initiatives and aims, found the volunteers you need and prepared all your team members for the forthcoming events, it is now time to take concrete action to achieve your collective goal. Some people think that saying is one thing while doing is another. However, this writer would argue that when doing, one should never forget what has been said.

As Joel Barker, the famous “paradigm man”, suggests: “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” Here are some tips on how you can match actions with original plans:

• Trust your team members. As you have allocated various tasks to those who can handle them and arranged to have one’s weakness compensated by another’s strength, it is now time for them to do their work. Give them some personal and professional space. Help them when necessary, but do not hassle them.
• Focus on the present. When facing one task, do it well, without worrying too much about what has been and will be done. Do not hesitate to ask for help. If mistakes occur, correct them as soon as possible and move on. As Dale Carnegie stresses: “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage.”
• Count your milestones. Depending on how long your fundraising campaign goes, meet with your team members weekly or monthly to discuss your progress. Setting up key dates is a great way to review what has been completed. Reward all efforts and inspire your team members for what still needs to be done.

Because fundraising as a public event requires input from everyone in your team, keep in mind that both vision and action need to be shared. Take one step at a time.

Package your sunflowers into a Sunflower gram for extra value! Mothers will love that personal touch.

Things You’ll Need:

• Vase (optional)
• Mother’s day card or note
• 3-4 sunflowers for a bouquet, 1 sunflower for a single gram

Instructions

Step 1:

After ordering and receiving your sunflower fundraiser, select sunflowers that are able to hold their heads up with ease. Sunflowers have very heavy blooms, and older flowers will begin to droop on the stalk. You want to find those that stand tall and firm on their stems.

Step 2:

For  a single gram, take one flower and tie with a ribbon near the head of the flower, to create an impressive and cheery Mother’s Day gift.

For a bouquet, simply use three or four flowers.

Step 3 (optional):

Choose a tall, slim vase in which to package your gift of sunflowers if you would rather not sell them in a hand-held bouquet. Sunflowers are very top heavy, so make sure any vases you buy can hold the flowers steady (the water in the vase will help to stabilize it somewhat).

Step 4:

Attach a card that mentions the sunfloewrs with a ribbon to the stem on the bottom of the bouquet or the flower head. You can create a variety of card messages that supporters can choose from.  Sell each sunflower gram for $4.00 or a bouquet for $10.00.

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