Should We Even Consider a Brochure Fundraiser?

How to know if a brochure sale will work for your school.

Are you sure a brochure sale is the right solution for your next school sale? When it comes to selecting a campaign, there are several things you will want to consider. For instance, should you invest the time and effort into your in-house program, like a school carnival, or do something completely different and work with a fundraiser catalog company?

One advantage to working with a company is much of the legwork has been done for you. Of course, there are also reasons why schools choose to design their program, but let’s assume that you’ve already decided to work with a brochure company.

Available Selling Methods

Companies offer groups two primary methods to help them raise money. One way is to have students and parents show a brochure to friends and family. The school then submits their orders to the company for processing. We refer to this as the order-taker method. In this case, payment to the company is usually made after the school receives the merchandise.

Another option is to offer products for purchase by the school at wholesale prices. Schools can prepay or submit a purchase order. Sellers then take the actual products around and offer them to potential buyers. This is known as ‘direct selling’ or ‘point of sale purchasing’ because the group sells the product to the customer and collects the money in a single transaction. There are advantages and disadvantages to each method, so let’s look at both:

Order Taker Brochure Fundraising

Advantages:

• Customers have a more extensive selection of items to choose from.
• Groups only pay based on the orders that have been generated.
• Money is not due to the company until after the group has collected the money.
• Most companies offer prize programs to motivate groups to sell.

Disadvantages:

• People don’t have the actual product in their hands to show potential supporters.
• Sellers must visit their customers twice; once to take their orders and a second time to deliver the items.

Direct Sale Wholesale Fundraisers

Advantages:

• People get to see the actual item before paying for it.
• Sellers can make a sale and hand over the item in one visit.
• Items typically cost less.

Disadvantages:

• Groups must purchase the product upfront unless they can obtain a purchase order.
• Groups have to determine how much product to order before they sell it.

Deciding on the best fundraiser for your group may not be easy; however, considering the pros and cons can help.

See our product fundraisers.

Author Bio

Clay Boggess has been designing fundraising programs for schools and various nonprofit organizations throughout the US since 1999. He’s helped administrators, teachers, and outside support entities such as PTAs and PTOs raise millions of dollars. Clay is an owner and partner at Big Fundraising Ideas.