3 Things You Forgot to Ask Your Fundraiser Company

Make sure to ask these three questions before you sign up.

There’s more to selecting a fundraiser than deciding which brochure offers the largest variety of merchandise or offers the most items at a certain price.

While some groups focus on the quality of the sales brochure, others feel that they should work with a company that offers them the highest profit percentage.

While these items should be considered, there are other things that organizations fail to find out about when deciding on a fundraiser. Groups that already know the right questions to ask usually save themselves many unforeseen headaches.

Here are three things that many groups forget to ask their fundraiser company.

1. Do They Send Presorted Fundraising Packets?

You feel prepared and ready to start your sale. Your company said they would send you your supplies about a week before your kickoff date. Your school then notifies you that you’ve received some boxes.

As you open your first box, it finally dawns on you. As you look inside, you see lots of brochures. You open up the next box and find even more. Your prize brochures, order forms, and student envelopes are also in separate boxes. What just happened? Unfortunately, everything was shipped in bulk. Now you have to do your own collating and envelope stuffing.

To avoid this from happening, make sure you ask your fundraiser company how they ship their supplies. Some companies don’t offer a pre-packing service, while others do. Companies that do provide student fundraising packets for their customers will usually put the following four items inside:

1. Personalized Parent Information Letter
2. Sales Brochure
3. Prize Brochure
4. Order Form

2. How Will They Help Your Fundraiser Succeed?

Many fundraising companies are more concerned with how many groups they can sign up than helping the ones they have to maximize their overall experience. Ask them to show you how they plan to guide you. What types of sales tools will you receive? And just as important, what level of service do you hope to receive? This is where you should ask for references.

3. Will There Be Any Unexpected Company Costs?

You should inquire about any unforeseen costs. Will you have to pay for any prizes, and will there be a cost associated with the shipping? Many companies have minimum order requirements that may impact your bottom line.

Before you decide on your next fundraiser company, consider any questions that may be relevant to your situation. The only dumb question is the one you don’t ask.

See our brochure 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.