FastTrack Fundraising Tips and Articles

As one mom sees it, the extra efforts to fund more teachers and programs are what makes Los Alamitos schools some of the best in the state. By Ann Gunvalsen Saks

I just received an email from the Los Alamitos Unified School District Foundation asking for money to help offset cuts in state funding. The letter asks that we give $351 per student to for the Class Size Reduction campaign.

Between the school carnival, auction, cookie dough sales, and Jog-a-thon, how should I feel about receiving such a letter? I know quite a few people who are put off and angry that parents are asked to support their child’s school in such a way.  It is a public school after all.

Personally, I welcome every fundraising letter I receive from the district and the school. I don’t always give. I simply can’t afford to give at near the level I would like. But I am thankful that they ask.

One of the main reasons we decided to move to this area is because of the school district.  Los Alamitos Unified District is a great school district.  According to schooldigger.com, Los Alamitos Unified is ranked 40 out of 766 California School District.  That means our school district is in the top 5% the State has to offer.  This is far better than some neighboring school districts. Cypress Unified ranked 144, Garden Grove ranked 267 and Long Beach ranked 332.  After living here for five years and being involved with the schools, I think I know a few reasons it’s so great. We have parents and a community that cares about our kids. The number of parent volunteers is staggering, and that makes the district appealing to many highly trained teachers and administrators.

Our schools do so well because the community supports them financially as well. We have auctions, booster clubs and carnivals, just to name a few.  These fundraising efforts really help our kids. They fund aides so that the school day can be longer, aides to help children that need a little extra help, art education programs, music education, technology such as smart boards, after school programs, science camp, summer enrichment programs, higher student to teacher ratios, teacher training and many other things that other school districts survive without.  Just two years ago the Los Alamitos Education Foundation began asking for money to reduce class sizes.  Last year the campaign raised more than $200,000. The money was used at each school in the district to reduce class sizes. At the elementary level, the schools hired former teachers to assist teachers with small-group learning in English and math.  The middle schools and high schools were able to add additional periods for English and math classes, resulting in higher student and teacher ratios. The nearly 10,000 kids in our District benefit greatly from the generosity of the community and the volunteers that put fourth these campaigns.

The next time you are asked to donate to the school or the district, please don’t be annoyed. Be glad they do it. And if you can, give, no gift is too small. If we all gave $25 per child, the district would have an additional $200,000 to help our schools.

Read more about the Los Alamitos Educational Foundation at http://www.losaledfoundation.com/

After 22 years of work, filmmaker Jennifer Fox found that she had a completed film with no way to pay the bills and fund the distribution. With no hope left, she reluntantly turned to Kickstarter to ask for help (read more details of her story here). Future of Film wanted to tell more of her inspiring story, which came with some very useful and inspirational advice. Below are 10 things she learned while trying to reach a six-figure funding goal on Kickstarter.
By Jennifer Fox

1. Reach Out to Family and Friends
Unlike what many will tell you, I must say that for me family (and friends) are more about getting emotional support than money. It is very dicey to ask people you know and love to give you their hard earned funds. I had some friends tell me that they felt offended that I was emailing them about our campaign. Discussing this with them led to some very interesting insights about why I feel this is a democratic and legitimate way to support the arts. But I am not here to proselytize. I immediately backed off. In a way what they are saying is true: they don’t ask me to fund their passion, why should I ask them to fund mine? However, that’s not exactly how I see it: I believe that the film project, My Reincarnation, has a greater good for humanity and is a contribution to people’s lives. Hence, it must be seen and is worth funding.

2. Build a Team
Filmmaking is a collaborative experience, but so is fundraising. It takes a lot of brainstorming and thinking out of the box. It takes multiple skills that one person rarely has all of. Without a team you just can’t get the traction and the reach into the world. But also it helps with the fear factor. I don’t know about you, but this kind of public fundraising scares the sh*t out of me. My team kept me from losing it. Having a team is also essential for Tip #3.

3. Brainstorm the Campaign as a Rollout with Different Phases
Our team, Katherine Nolfi, Lisa Duva, Stefanie Diaz and myself, discussed how the campaign would start and how we would keep rolling out new facets over time. This included building email lists, adding new incentives, and creating regular new videos for our website, Facebook and Twitter that could be linked with our consistent updates on Kickstarter.

We saw our campaign as having three initiatives: the web campaign; seeking out and approaching larger private donors to become Producers; and setting up “Sneak Preview Benefit Screenings” in key locations. The screenings were part of our plan because we had a unique problem: we were fundraising for a film that was technically finished, but that no one had seen. We hypothesized that people might need to see the finished film to give it money. In the end, festivals also helped on this account. But I also learned that the film’s trailer was often enough for people…

4. Make a Good Trailer
Of course “make a great trailer” is common wisdom for any kind of film fundraising. However, My Reincarnation was such a difficult film that I didn’t edit a trailer during the fundraising process. When I looked for funds, I always showed edited scenes assembled in a half-hour or hour format (which is probably why we failed miserably much of the time). Once we finally cut the trailer, right before launching at festivals, it was rather easy to do because the story arc was so clear. Now I’ve been told by some people that they cry when they watch our trailer. It has helped many people to make a donation when they haven’t seen the film yet.

5. Incentives
Since you can’t really put many images on your own Kickstarter page, Stefanie created a full brochure of pictures of the Kickstarter incentives on our My Reincarnation website so people could see what they were getting. She used the PBS pledge images as her model. We gathered a mixture of incentives, some Buddhist oriented and some film community oriented. One thing that we did very early on, even before the Kickstarter campaign began, was to offer a Limited Special Edition Pre-Release DVD for sale on our website at a very high price: $108. We started to sell this a good six months before our Kickstarter campaign to help keep our office running during the festival release. When we put up the campaign, we decided to offer the DVD in two ways: the Commercial DVD in 2012 at $25 and the Limited Special Edition Pre-Release DVD in September 2011 at $108. This was our most successful incentive.

For higher priced items, I raided anything I could find in my home: there are two of my own museum quality paintings by a very well known Buddhist Painter and a beautiful antique Tibetan chest that my parents gave me. I even put up a limited edition watch I received from being on the Zurich Film Festival jury last year. Basically nothing I own was off limits. It’s been a great Buddhist teaching to struggle with–and let go of–my attachment to my objects (that chest is one of my favorite possessions)!

6. Write, Write, And Write
Early on in the process, I would send my eblasts to my team to edit. We thought one page, max–so they cut and cut (my writing style can be a bit longwinded). Then we noticed that we were receiving the most donations following longer, more personal messages. They received overwhelmingly positive feedback. What at first seemed like a weakness, turned out to be one of our strongest tools. Writing became fun. As some of you may know, being on the road with a film can be the one of the most uncreative jobs one does over the course of film. But suddenly, writing these weekly Kickstarter updates and email blasts became a creative outlet for me.

7. Reach out to Appropriate Partners to Help Blast for your Campaign / Befriend the Tastemakers
The first tier we reached out to were listserves connected to the students of the film’s protagonist, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu. Rinpoche has centers around the world, so we regularly wrote new, special updates to be blasted to their membership. These letters were less chatty than the ones I send to the general mailing list or post for our Kickstarter patrons.

We started a web series called Outtakes From the Film (O.F.F.) that we edit and post online and in our Buddhist eblasts to give those communities new video to enjoy, and entice them to become more involved with the project. These videos have helped assuage Buddhist students around the world, who are anxiously waiting to see My Reincarnation and are not so happy that they have to wait for the distribution rollout. The other thing we did–but could only do with the Sneak Preview NYC Fundraising screening–was offer incentives to appropriate organizations to blast their membership on behalf of our campaign. We gave the heads of each organization a free ticket to the screening in exchange for sending out an announcement. And of course, this laid the groundwork for establishing partners and building an audience for the film down the line.

8. Use Web 2.0: Facebook, Twitter, Bloggers…
This is absolutely obvious in today’s world. We posted updates on social networking sites many times a week. We worked hard to build up our Facebook and Twitter pages daily. We also posted on other organizations’ and individuals’ pages and walls – searching for related topics like “Buddhism,” “Tibet,” “Spirituality,” “Religion,” and “Yoga” – with information about the Kickstarter campaign, new videos, incentives and screenings.

9. Blast Often, Regularly, and Best at the Beginning of the Week
Get those eblasts out on Monday or Tuesday. Later in the week they get lost in people’s over-loaded inboxes. It’s important to keep up the pressure. It’s hard to know what the “tipping point” is for someone to make a donation. It can be the first letter or the twentieth letter that brings them over to the Kickstarter site.

10. Go Beyond Your Limits
Every step of the way on this journey, I had to go beyond my comfort zone to publicly ask for money: on the web, in emails, in person, on stage – over and over again. At every point, I had to push through my reticence, fear and a general “I just don’t want to do it again!” attitude. Facing these inner demons is necessary if you are going do this type of campaign. Believe me, crowd-funding certainly pushes those buttons, but it also requires you to let go and not listen to your ego so much.

My motto is, “Never say die!” Despite years of experience facing rejection, it can still be hard to pick yourself up each time. Somehow we have to find a way not to take rejection personally and move on. Of course, with some potential funders, you just have to give up, back off, and try somewhere else. A person who says no today may still say yes tomorrow. And if you give them new evidence to change their mind, they often do.

All of Jennifer Fox’s helpful tips were posted originally on Hope for Film.

Stay tuned for her insights on how to round off a successful campaign.

Jennifer Fox is an award-winning filmmaker and educator known for her ground-breaking features and series, including Beirut: The Last Home Movie, An American Love Story, Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman and My Reincarnation. She recently co-wrote the half hour television pilot The Good Egg, and is developing the feature script The Horse’s Tale. She has executive produced many films, including Love & Diane and On the Ropes.

The Tribeca Future of Film blog is a place where leading filmmakers and experts within the film industry share their thoughts on film, technology and the future of media.

Follow Tribeca Film on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TribecaFilm

Is your school group, club, association or charity looking for a unique fundraising opportunity? Silent auctions, bake sales and car washes are ideas from the past. Sandals is now introducing a new way in which your group can “put the fun back into fundraising” with its Sandals Gives Back Fundraising Program.

It doesn’t require a lot of effort but offers a lot of reward. Fundraising dollars add up fast, allowing the group to reach goals quicker. The more vacation packages your organization books, the more money is raised toward the goal.

For every six-night vacation package booked from now until December, 2011 for travel through December 31, 2012, at any Sandals Resort,
Beaches Resort or Grand Pineapple Beach Resort, your group will receive a $100 donation towards their cause. When you invite the folks at Traventours Events and Excursions, Inc. to your next event, Sandals will donate an additional $150 to your cause for every vacation package booked within 14 days of the event for a possible total of $250 donation for every vacation booked and completed.

“The nice thing is any group anywhere needing to raise funds can do this,” said Anne Alford, owner of Traverntours Events and Excursions,
Inc. “All fundraising depends on the efforts of the group. This can be very successful if we are able to get the information into the right hands of potential travelers.”

In an effort to help your organization do just that, all promotional materials, including flyers, posters, emails and online tools, are offered free of charge as part of your group’s participation in the program.

“This is a unique fundraiser that most other groups will not have tried. We are more than willing to go to the group to provide information or conduct a presentation also free of charge,” Alford said.

Interested in getting started? Call Travertours Events and Excursions at 813-651-3474. You can also email them at info@traventours.com or attend an informative luncheon being offered on Aug. 25 at the Osprey Observer Small Business Center, 916 Lithia Pinecrest Rd. in Brandon from noon until 1:30 p.m. Call 813-651-3474 to reserve your spot.

Sandals Resorts, the luxury included vacation for couples, offers everything and anything you want on a Caribbean vacation. Renowned for romance, Sandals offers 14 resorts on the beautiful beaches of Jamaica, Antigua, St. Lucia and the Bahamas.

As the world’s best luxury included vacations for everyone, Beaches Resorts understands that time spent with family and friends is the greatest luxury. Exciting activities with Sesame Street and camps for little ones allow for a great vacation for all.

The Grand Pineapple Beach Resorts offer lush landscapes of the tropics. Located in Negril and Antigua, a “slice of paradise” awaits any visitor.

Written by Ashlee Kieler | Staff Writer

The Altoona Elementary PTA saw a unique fundraising opportunity and seized it.

With RAGBRAI coming to Altoona, and the PTA always looking for ways to raise funds for the school, it seemed like a perfect fit to combine the two.

“We heard about this and thought it was one of those things that you can’t pass up,” said Amber Myers, the PTA organizer for the event. “It’s a huge opportunity for us. It’s obviously different than normal going door to door.”

After deciding to host the fundraiser, Myers and other organizers focused on what to sell.

“We have frozen bananas hand dipped in gourmet chocolate, nuts, rainbow sprinkles and dark chocolate, too,” she said. “We have a large variety of baked goods.”

The Altoona PTA vendor booth also sold popcorn and water for $1. Glow necklaces for $1 added a little fun to the evening as
well.

The entire community came out to support the fundraiser, even those without students at the school, Myers said.

“We sent out communications asking people for help, it’s mainly parents that have students, but we’ve had people that just want to help,” she said.

The PTA hosted a drop-off on Tuesday for baked goods from parents who volunteered at the booth.

“However we can get it, we’re going to take it,” Myers said on Tuesday. “We’re trying to make it as easy as we can for our volunteers.”

Volunteers, including a few students, manned the booth at the Aquatics Center for a few hours at a time on Thursday.

Gina Christensen was one of the first volunteers, setting up shop around 9 a.m.

“Things are going great,” Christensen said. “Hopefully it doesn’t rain, but we’re excited Advertisement to be a part of the event.”

Myers expected the booth to be open from 3 p.m. to midnight.

“It’s fun but overwhelming all the same,” she said.

Myers said she hoped the students learned it takes a little hard work in anything you do and it can be a great opportunity.

“We want to instill the concept of working hard to earn things,” she said. “The concept of teamwork, too. We’ve had an enormous amount of support. The help is amazing. We want the volunteers to enjoy it.”

Shannon McWilliams, Atoona Elementary parent and volunteer, said she enjoyed manning the booth.

“It’s been great so far,” she said. “We have a great crowd and have sold a lot of treats.”

McWilliams said the evening crowd had really picked up, with rice krispie bars, chocolate-covered bananas and water being the top sellers.”

“It’s a fun time,” she said of the RAGBRAI crowds. “It’s fun seeing the parents and students volunteer and meeting people. I talked to someone from Texas, and earlier someone from Australia.”

The funds raised will help with everything from new technology to supporting teachers or scholarships.

“There are several things we are always needing money for,” she said. “Ultimately we want to continue funding technology upgrades and advancement in our classrooms. We want to add a smart board for every classroom. We like to support teachers and students through funding and
enrichment.”

by Mike Wehner

While the United States continues to debate over government-funded healthcare, Americans with mounting medical bills sometimes have nowhere to turn. Many people without health insurance — and even some who are fortunate enough to have it — find themselves struggling to make payments or sometimes go without care for fear of debt later on. A new website called GiveForward is targeted at these very individuals and allows them to start personal fundraisers and rely on the generosity of others for financial assistance.

Those going through tough times can create a GiveForward page detailing their financial standing and current medical situation. As funds are raised, most organizers provide updates as to the status of themselves or their loved one currently undergoing or awaiting treatment. You can even start a donation drive for pet medical expenses, and as anyone who has had a sick dog or cat can attest, vet bills are no small feat to overcome.

By promoting a fundraiser though social networks like Twitter and Facebook, organizers can raise awareness of their pressing medical crisis, and provide potential donors a safe and secure way to help out. Donors can keep their information private, or choose to share it with the beneficiary of the fundraiser. After each fundraiser is completed, GiveForward sends a check for the donation total (less a 7% cut to keep the site up and running) to the beneficiary.

In total, GiveForward has already helped raise over $5.4 million for medical expenses and related causes. Fundraisers of $10,000 are commonplace, and some have even been able to raise as much as $88,000 for life-saving procedures. The site relies on the same kind of generosity that fuels donation sites like Kickstarter — which helps raise funds for various business startups and projects — only in this case, instead of donating cash to a new website or invisible art museum, you could help save a human life.

Candy bars, magazines, coupon books, gift wrap, discount cards, pizzas, cookie dough, fresh fruit, desserts, greeting cards and raffle tickets.

This may sound like a grocery list, but it’s actually a partial litany of items my two children have been asked to sell – all for good causes, mind you – over the past decade.

While the products and services my kids have pitched to support schools, music programs and youth sports leagues are diverse, they’ve all had one thing in common: They cost money.

By definition, fundraising involves raising funds.

Mark Gilbertson, owner of Gilbertson Financial, has a son, Hank, who will be a sophomore at Regis High School in the fall, so he knows the game well.

“Every single season, I don’t care if it’s fruit, calendars, candy bars or that gold card you forget you have in your wallet, there’s always something you’re pulling money out for,” Mark Gilbertson said.

That’s why he got excited a few months ago when John Nelson, a manager at Eau Claire Automotive Group, told him about a fundless fundraiser, one in which people were asked to donate five or 10 minutes instead of $5 or $10 – or more.

The unusual fundraiser, which came to fruition Friday in support of Regis-McDonell-Bloomer hockey, offered a painless twist on the sometimes-tiresome trend of youth organizations constantly asking kids to beg their friends, neighbors and family members for money.

The event, which ran for four hours, involved participants taking test drives around a few blocks in one of six new Dodge vehicles provided by Eau Claire Automotive.

Hundreds of people were encouraged to participate, but the money came from Dodge, which agreed to donate $20 to RMB hockey for each person – up to 250 – who took a test drive during the event. While drivers were asked to reach into their pockets, it was only to present a valid driver’s license.

The idea is that participants were happy not to be asked for money, and the folks at Dodge and Eau Claire Automotive were hoping one of the cars might catch somebody’s eye. Thankfully, no sales pitch was involved, and the only person riding along on the test drives was an appreciative parent of an RMB hockey player.

Bill Miller, a Wisconsin field representative for Dodge, said the company’s booster club fundraiser concept has proved extremely popular, in large part because it raises “some serious money” for youth athletics.

In the case of RMB hockey, the proceeds will be put to good use buying hockey equipment and a camera system to film games, said coach Guy Brown, who hadn’t heard of the test drive concept previously.

Recognizing it’s hard for today’s busy kids to find time to sell stuff but also that funding for school activities is getting tighter all the time, a grinning Brown concluded, “This is a great way to go.”

Osseo Ford has participated in four similar fundraisers in the past two years through Ford’s Drive One 4UR School program, and co-owner Spencer “Spec” Pederson said the events have been well received in the host communities – Osseo, Augusta and Whitehall.

“It doesn’t cost you anything. That’s the appeal,” Pederson said. “The money actually comes from outside the community and goes toward something in the community.

“The schools get a nice donation, we meet some new customers and Ford gets exposure. It works well for everybody. It’s a win-win-win.”

Gilbertson, director of operations for the nonprofit support group RMB Hockey, event coordinator Lynn Nelson and other volunteers at Friday’s event made what they dubbed the “friend-raiser” an even sweeter deal for participants by handing out free food, courtesy of several other local businesses. They also gave away 200 free T-shirts with the slogan “Put some hemi in your hockey” on the back.

Despite a steady rain Friday that put a damper on planned outdoor hockey skills games, the event still nearly maxed out, falling just $140 short of organizers’ $5,000 goal.

That’s a lot of bang for kids’ pucks – without costing participants even a buck.

Lindquist can be reached at 715-833-9209, 800-236-7077 or eric.lindquist@ecpc.com.

We all know how a bra worn underneath a shirt supports us. A pink bra worn on the outside of a shirt however not only supports us, but all of the women around us too. That is the idea behind The American Cancer Society’s new symbol for the fight against breast cancer; the wearing of a pink bra on the outside of a shirt. WEAR IT OUT . It is a statement of awareness and the devotion to the eradication of one of the worst diseases to plague our society. Together with designers Kevin Downes and Patsy Sciacca, Joanne Hampton, an active fundraiser for the American Cancer Society and breast cancer SURVIVOR, has created a t-shirt to express this new symbol. The t-shirt, depicting a life-like pink bra, is designed to raise funds for breast cancer research and provide an exciting new modern symbol for showing support. The more people we see Wearing It Out, the closer we will be to finding a cure.

Joanne Hampton was diagnosed in 2003 with BRCA1 Positive Stage 2 Breast Cancer. Hers was a struggle shared by thousands of women every year. In 2010 alone, there were 207,090 new cases of breast cancer, carrying a 20% mortality rate, higher than any other form of cancer besides lung cancer. Over their lifetime, 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer. These numbers are staggering. Our goal is to significantly decrease these numbers in the next generation, our children. Since her harrowing battle and victory over breast cancer, Joanne has made this goal her life’s pursuit. A mother of 2 and carrier of the BRCA1 gene, which increases the risk of breast cancer by up to 60%, Joanne is a tireless fund raiser and full time advocate for the American Cancer Society. In a recent news interview, Joanne was quoted as saying “Our success is measured by the number of those we have inspired. As a breast cancer survivor, I’ve been on a mission to raise funds to bring us closer to finding a cure. Together, we have made fundraising and support a family endeavor. It’s not only about us today, but also about the children of tomorrow.”

Proceeds from the sale of Wear It Out t-shirts, both online and in stores, will go to the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. As head of her fundraising team, Joanne also encourages other teams to purchase and use the shirts as a tool in their own fundraising endeavors. Requests can also be made to provide the donation to a team or individual’s foundation of choice. Says Joanne, “Our vision is to educate by providing the tools to individuals so they too can join the fight. We are making a difference by donating a portion of the proceeds to those who continue to support us.”

Wear It Out T-shirts are available online at http://www.BreastCancer-WearItOut.com and in select stores.

Joanne Hampton can be reached by email at : info@breastcancer-wearitout.com

The worst case scenario at Auckland airport may have been the inspiration needed for cheerleaders competing in Australia.

Fantasy Cheerleading’s three teams won a clean-sweep of awards at the Down Under Spirit championships on the Gold Coast last week.

But the group almost didn’t make it to the competition after its flight was cancelled because of the ash cloud.

Owner and head coach Toni Wright says 78 people went to the competition, including 48 performers aged six to 17, and their chaperones.

On the day they were due to fly out they were told their flight had been cancelled.

“I had to text 78 people to tell them the flights had been cancelled and to stay put,” she says.

Eight performers and a mother were already in Auckland and managed to get an alternative flight.

But the remaining group had to sleep at Auckland airport and then pay $450 each – over $30,000 – to buy new tickets with Air New Zealand the next day.

They also had to cram into a train from Brisbane to the Gold Coast and then had to practise on a small piece of grass in the dark and the rain.

But Toni says by the time the girls got to the competition all their nerves had gone.

“They had gone through all this stress.

“Some were crying at the airport because they thought they weren’t going to go, nothing could be worse. By the time they got to the competition they were just so glad to be there.”

Fantasy entered teams in youth level two, junior level three and senior level three. All three won their divisions and the youth team got the best score for level two performers.

The senior team not only got the best score for level three, it also got the highest score for the whole competition.

Toni credits the hours of practice put in by the girls, fitness, stamina and unique choreography, for the success.

The teams also won partially-paid entries to competitions in Australia, Texas and Los Angeles.

The team hopes to compete in the United States next year and its goal is to win a bid to the world championships.

Toni says the biggest hurdle is fundraising, with the trip likely to cost $4500 for each cheerleader.

In 2007 Fantasy Cheerleading fundraisers had nearly $9000 stolen by a mother to fund her gambling habit but Toni says everyone has moved on from the incident.

Your volunteers work hard for your organization, and offering incentives to the top sellers is a great way to reward them. Going overboard with incentives, however, can eat into your profits. Keep your incentives budget manageable. Have a finite amount in mind for your incentives, or keep it to a small percentage of your overall profits. Also keep in mind that the incentives don’t have to cost any money at all. This can be as simple as offering to wash the top seller’s car or even baking a cake from scratch. Simply recognizing hard work can be enough of a reward all by itself.

With so many great fundraisers available, it can be tempting to go all out and try four or five at once. While this may seem like a great way to make even more money, it really isn’t. Stick to one fundraiser at a time. By running multiple fundraisers at once, you can run into many problems. For one, the logistics of running multiple fundraisers requires more time, more volunteers, and a lot more organization to keep things running smoothly. Trying to do too many things at once can risk getting orders mixed up, funds misplaced, and can take a toll on your volunteers’ morale.

The second reason to avoid running more than one fundraiser at once is that it can spread your potential customers’ budgets too thin. Each potential customer has a finite amount of money that they can give at any one time, and asking for too much of it at once by running too many fundraisers means that even if they want to participate, they may be unable to financially. Even worse, they may view your organization in a negative light for asking for too much. Instead, focus on one fundraiser at a time. Volunteers and resources can be more fully committed to one task, and your potential customers won’t be spread too thin.