Heartland Candles

Groups use our brochures to sell popular consumer-based products and keep a percentage of the sales. Here's how our brochure fundraiser works:

1. Each participant receives a brochure, order form, and money collection envelope.
2. Participants ask neighbors, family, and friends to purchase products from their brochures.
3. Participants gather orders, and money is collected.
4. Participants turn in their order forms and money envelopes.
5. You deposit any brochure money in your account, and submit your order forms to us for processing.*
6. You receive a sales report.
7. We'll email you an invoice for what you owe, and you keep the rest as profit.
8. The order is packed and shipped to the group.
9. Participants deliver the merchandise to their buyers.

*NOTE: We will invoice you for what you owe for brochure sales, and you will receive a profit payment or credit for any online sales.

You will not be charged upfront for any supplies, and they are free if your group meets the following order minimums based on your group size:

Groups of up to 99 participants

There is no supply charge if you sell 150 or more products. We will charge a $100 supply fee for orders with fewer than 150 products sold.

Groups with 100 or more participants

Supplies are free if your group averages $25 or more in retail sales per member. (Since the average price of a product listed in a typical brochure is about $15, that's less than two products sold per seller.)

Quick Calculation Tip: Assuming an average retail price of $15 per product, if 33% of your enrolled participants average five products or more in sales, you should not encounter a supply fee charge. The higher the participation, the lower the number of sold products required per seller.

Another quick way to determine your average retail sales per enrolled is to divide your total sales by your group enrollment. Consider the following two examples.

If your group raises:

1. $2,500 with 150 participants, your average retail sales per enrolled participant would be $16.67 ($2,500 ÷ 150 = $16.67). You would be charged 50¢ x 150 = $75 (See chart above).
2. $5,000 with 150 participants, your average retail sales per enrolled participant would be $33.33 ($5,000 ÷ 150 = $33.33). We will not charge a supply fee because you reached $25 per enrolled participant.

Another way is to multiply $25 by your enrollment number. If you have 150 participants, your supplies would be free if your retail sales are $3,750 or more (150 participants x $25 products/participant = $3,750).

Remember that many sellers will sell more than two products while others may not. You shouldn't incur a supply fee if your group averages two or more products sold per enrolled participant. We will add any supply cost fee to your invoice.

Supplies are collated into individual seller packets and shipped to your group.

NOTE: Brochures and online sales count towards the minimum free supply requirement. Donations are not products and do not count toward meeting free supply requirements.

Yes. Supporters can pay by check, cash, money order, or cashier's check.

Yes. Our prize programs are optional but recommended. You can boost sales by incentivizing your participants. It's important to discuss your incentive plan at your kickoff meeting. Then, continue to remind your participants about your prizes throughout your campaign. This will keep them motivated to sell.

There is no cost for our incentives.

Learn about our prize programs.

You'll receive an agreement to sign after you submit our Start a Fundraiser form. It will take at least 7-10 business days to process your order and pack and ship your supplies.

Learn about our timeline.

The key is to balance sufficient time for sales with sustained enthusiasm, so we’ve found a 2-week sale to be optimal. Therefore, we will set your end date for two weeks after your start date by default.

You can always let us know if you need to extend your sale about three-quarters of the way through. To succeed, focus on creating a sense of seller urgency, getting out of the gate quickly, and establishing early momentum.

Yes, online selling is essential to your Heartland Candles fundraiser. Before your start date, you'll receive instructions so your participants can register. Once registered, they can invite friends and family to shop at your store.

Selling online adds a 2^nd way for your group to raise money.

Your online store will include additional products not found in the brochure.

Registration is the most effective way to promote your fundraiser online. Once registered, participants can invite friends and family to your online store using text, social media, and email. They'll also be able to log into their sales portal anytime and track their online sales. If you’re offering one of our prize programs, online sales count towards earning prizes.

When more potential buyers click on the link that your sellers share, your store will experience increased traffic and sales. Once at the store, the participant's name appears at the top of the page, which helps to personalize the fundraiser. Encourage your sellers to personalize the visitor experience even more by uploading their pictures when logged into their dashboard.

(NOTE: Participants who add their picture are ten times more likely to get supporters than those who don't!)

Registered sellers will also be eligible to earn credit toward prizes. We encourage groups to supplement our prize program with their rewards. This can bring in even more sales. Here are some incentive ideas.

Registration is Key

Getting your group to register is vital to your success, and you want to start strong. 46% register on the first day, and 80% of registered participants sell, translating to an average of $100 in sales per seller! Here are some ideas:

Pro Tips:

• Meet in person or over Zoom to discuss the importance of registration.
• Offer low-cost or no-cost incentives (extended recess, duct tape the principal to the wall, water balloon the principal, etc., based on reaching a set registration level such as 40-50%.).
• Offer a registration prize (or everyone who registers by tomorrow goes into a special drawing).
• Email your parents, asking them to register (principals send an email for school-wide fundraisers).
• The goal is 100% registration, so continue to remind your group throughout your sale.
• Use our leaderboard to promote and boost sales throughout your fundraiser.

There are two ways to promote your store:

1. Registration: By default, your group will receive its group ID number. Participants will need it to register and share your store with others using social media, text, and email.
2. Direct Link: You can also provide your unique group link to bypass the registration process. Everyone would be able to share this link with their friends and family. You will find this link in your admin portal.

By promoting a direct link, you can only track online sales as a group, not by individual sellers. As a result, participants would not receive prize credit for selling online.

Online Ship-to-Group Orders

Another limitation with a single store link is getting products to online customers who choose the ship-to-group option. Typically, participants register and send out their unique links, and when customers make a purchase, orders are automatically tied to a particular seller.

Any products shipped to the group are already packed inside the seller's box with their other brochure products. Participants then deliver these products to their customers.

But with the single link option, you must let any ship-to-group buyers know to pick up their order because it won't be associated with any seller.

Yes, Heartland Candles accepts donations. You make 70% of the donated amount. You can turn this feature off when logged into your portal.

Donations do not count toward products sold.

Yes. Buyers can choose to support more than one participant. Before continuing to the store, supporters would need to select a participant. Then, they would choose the 'Support another seller' link to add another participant.

However, participants themselves need to register individually. Each participant has their own login and sharing options.

Your online store closes once we receive your brochure order forms.

Your online profit will be credited toward your brochure sales invoice. You will receive a check if your online sales profit exceeds your brochure sales invoice.

There are no order requirements for a Heartland Candles fundraiser.

You must know your group size and participant goal. Here's how you can estimate your profit:

Calculation Steps

1. Participant Count x Participant Product Goal = Products Sold
2. Products Sold x Average Retail Price = Gross Sales
3. Gross Sales x Profit % = Group Profit

Example

1. Let's say you have 60 participants and set your participant product goal at 10. The products sold would be 60 participants x 10 products/participant = 600.
2. Next, determine your gross sales. The average retail price is about $27, so your gross sales would be 600 products x $27 = $16,200.
3. Since your profit is 40%, your group profit would be $16,200 x 40% = $6,480.

Keep in mind our example is only an estimated profit. In reality, participants probably won't sell the same number of products. In addition, the average retail dollars sold per seller will vary.

Brochure: You probably won't know how many orders you get until you collect your order forms. Yet some strategies can give you a ballpark idea. Learn how to track your fundraising progress

Online: You can track online sales in real time. By logging into your dashboard, you'll see the following:

• Which participants have registered
• Email and social share activity
• Participant and group sales progress

Brochure Sales: Money and order forms are turned in at the end of the sale. The money gets deposited in the group's account, and the order forms are processed.

Groups receive sales reports and invoices once orders are processed. The group sends a check for the invoice amount and keeps the rest as profit.

Online Sales: A credit for your online sales profit will appear on your brochure invoice. We'll send you a check for the difference if you raise more money online within five business days after your order is shipped.

Ship to Buyer: Payments are processed within five business days after any prizes are shipped. If no prizes are shipped, payment is processed within 15 business days of the close of your store.

Donations: Any profits earned from donations are factored into your online sales credit.

Groups make 40% off all brochure and online sales.

You also receive 70% of online donations.

(Use the 'Calculate Your Profit' calculator at the top of the page to learn how much your group can make.)

Certain states require that we collect and remit sales tax on your behalf to your state's Department of Revenue. We will need to charge sales tax if your state has determined that we have established nexus and you are not tax-exempt. See our brochure fundraising tax guide for more information.