Why Schools Used Fundraising Vouchers

How schools managed before the online store.

Many school catalog companies used to offer fundraising vouchers or gift cards to groups that could redeem them online. For example, many brochures offer magazine vouchers that allow customers to order a magazine of their choice.

A more traditional approach had the customer look through a magazine brochure and write down their information on the seller's order form, including their mailing address.

The voucher made good business sense because as people redeemed their coupons, they'll see additional items on the website that could also be purchased there.

Plus, the customer was able to order the product at their convenience. There were advantages as well as some potential disadvantages to this method:

Fundraising Voucher Advantages

• People could redeem coupons at their convenience.
• Schools could reach a broader customer base because the product is shipped to the purchaser.
• Sellers could choose to send a voucher as a gift.
• Schools didn't have to deal with deliveries.
• Groups had the option of preordering vouchers, then selling them direct to consumers. This eliminated a second visit to deliver the voucher after taking orders with an order form.

Disadvantages of Using Vouchers

• Did people remember to redeem their coupons? Unfortunately, many forgot about them.
• The customer incurred additional shipping costs.
• The group only profited from the voucher price minus the shipping cost.
• The extra step is completing a form and submitting it even after the student purchases the voucher.

To this day, most schools still choose the more traditional approach to selling from a brochure. However, the online store has made fundraising vouchers obsolete. See our cookie dough 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.