How Do You Work Your Fundraisers?

[Jules711]

I have someone interested in a fundraiser. I haven't really done many (usually on a small scale and a cause personal to me). In the past, I've just done it as a regular show b/c that's really what it was. Not a bunch of people collecting orders. I give my commission and keep the host benefits.

However, I'm wondering what the norm is really. I don't think 10-15% is great with the 40-60% fundraisers out there. However, I think it DOES have better selling potential if given a shot.

So...do you submit them as a fundraiser or cooking show?
Do you give part of your commission?
Do you offer incentives?

Any advice?

Thank you! I'm trying to alter a letter I found here to fit the situation, but would like to just decide my "standard" practice for fundraisers.

 

[pamperedpnina]

I've not yet done a big fundraiser but I did a small one for the local food pantry. Instead of the $3 for each booking I add'd another $7 to make it $10/booking to encourage bookings!!!!They got about $150 in cash and 3 bookings and were thrilled!

 

[Jules711]

Thanks!This one won't be large, but I'd like to do one for my daughter's school in some fashion anyway. Mostly, I'm looking to have a standard. Naturally, I can change it for different circumstances, but just curious if people give more than what PC does or find that they don't need to.

 

[thecougchef]

I've not yet done a big fundraiser but I did a small one for the local food pantry. Instead of the $3 for each booking I add'd another $7 to make it $10/booking to encourage bookings!!!!

They got about $150 in cash and 3 bookings and were thrilled!

i did the same thing at my big fundraiser. i got 8 bookings off of it. my commision was about $450 and then the commission that i got from those 8 bookings was well worth the $56 i spent to make sure each booking was worth $10.

 

[Jules711]

I would really love more opinions on this.

 

[thecougchef]

So...do you submit them as a fundraiser or cooking show?
i submit my fundraisers as fundraisers (unless you read my thread about trying to split the check 3 different ways ). that way the check goes straight to the organization & you dont have to worry about it.

Do you give part of your commission?
i have given parts of my commision & on one occasion given my entire commission check. i think it depends on the organization & what it means to you. i advertise my fundraisers as receiving 15% of the sales back - because i want them all to reach atleast $600 in sales. and so far, they all have. but if its something thats near & dear to your heart, you can advertise them as 30% of sales back (if you are giving your commission).

Do you offer incentives?
on my last fundraiser i offered the round stone with handles (before the medium came out) to the person who brought in the most outside orders. i had one lady bring in 15 outside orders! i dont know if she just wanted the stone or had alot of friends who wanted to order. either way - it was an incentive that worked! i think i also offered a free SB to people who spent over a certain amount of money.

hth

 

[NooraK]

There's a file somewhere about what Nancy Jo says about fundraisers, I think it is really good.

Also, Scott (scottcooks, I think) has some really great documents that he uses for fundraisers. Wonder if I can find them while I'm at work...

 

[NooraK]

OK, this thread has a lot of the ones I've got at home

http://www.chefsuccess.com/f5/fundraiser-letter-27199/

But you can also go to "Advanced Search" and search for the username "scottcooks" and in the box of what forums to search just select the Fundraisers forum, and he has tons of great info.

 

[NooraK]

And here's the Nancy Jo piece

Ok, back to work

 

[Jules711]

Meghan, thank you so much! I was curious about what the majority of people do not solely letters & ideas. But thank you Noora for that b/c they help too. I'm still frustrated with the fact the the 15% plus even 17% (granted you may have overrides that make it more...but not everyone does), equals 32%, which is just 5% more than the 27% commission we may be making. So...5% goes to the organization from PC and 10% is from ME. I get the product is LESS expensive than cash to give. I do. But fundraisers take more time, effort and resources, and I'm paid less. I know this has been covered before. It's just my instinct with a fundraiser is to give MORE, not less.

 

[AnnieBee]

You could do it as a show, donate part of your commission (if you were getting 25% that month, you could give 10% or 15% and keep the rest, depending on how much you supported the org.) and then they could raffle off the free products they get, maybe do a basket raffle, ask for people to donate other items too. That way they would get extra cash, and you would still make the 15% you normally would on a fundraiser.

Of course, you could change the percentages to increase what you make.

 

[legacypc46]

HELP! I'm using someone else's computer and it is not letting me open the Nancy Jo Ryan document posted above. Unless it is ridiculously long, could someone please paste the contents into a post (or email the contents to [email protected]). Thank you, thank you.

(if you email the content to me, please post that you did so others know I got it. )

 

[tlag1986]

Profitable Fund Raisers
The Office of Nancy Jo Ryan, March 2005The Recipe for Success gives a detailed explanation on how to plan a Fundraiser Kitchen Show. Let’s expand on that idea! Here are some additional tips that will help you meet the needs of an organization seeking our services to raise money for their cause.1. Understand the pay structure and benefits of offering a Pampered Chef Fund Raiser.As you know, Pampered Chef contributes 10% of sales less than $600 and 15% of sales at $600 or more. An additional $3 is donated for each booking secured from the Fundraiser. Consultants are paid either 15% or 17% commission (depending on whether they’ve reached $15,000 in career sales).2. Understand WHY our commission rate is less than it would be for a regular Kitchen Show.The cash benefit of a fundraiser is much more "expensive" for the company to give out. In other words, if we give out $100 in cash, we can give out $200 in merchandise. That's why we get paid less on a fundraiser and the organization receives 10-15%. Although the commission rate may be lower, the total sales from a fundraiser count toward monthly sales totals (which can, of course, increase the commission rate of Kitchen, Catalog and Bridal Shows). Also, each $1 of a fundraiser sale counts toward incentive trip points. We have often seen fundraiser totals surpass even the above-average kitchen show. Director Ann Anderson had a $17,000 fundraiser. With her 3% director override, her commission was 20% and she earned $3,400.3. The consumer receives the full value of our product WHILE helping to raise funds for a worthy cause.The really awesome thing about our fundraiser over others is that people are getting dollar for dollar value from our products. Our product line is not "marked up" in order to create additional funds. In other words, customers are not paying $7 for a $3 roll of wrapping paper or $8 for $4 worth of cookie dough or $10 for $4 of caramel corn. The consumer who wants to help a worthy cause is getting the actual value of the product for their money WHILE helping to raise funds. When you explain this to your fundraiser’s participants, they are able to turn around and share that with people they are asking to place orders. Because consumers are receiving the real value of the product, we have found that they are more likely to spend $25-$40 on Pampered Chef tools rather than $10-$15 on something like wrapping paper or coffeecakes. I just did a fundraiser for a badminton team with 40 girls who collected a total of 127 orders. Each order averaged $63.11 with the show total closing at $8,015.50.If you can plan the fundraiser during a month that offers a free product with a $50 purchase, that’s an additional value for the customer. In the case of our fundraiser, each girl only needed to collect five orders at $50 each to meet her goal of $250. We had 65 garlic presses given away for free in our fundraiser.Another benefit for the consumers is that most of our products are not consumable and they realize the long-term usefulness of their purchase.4. Fundraisers create an additional resource for future business. Another advantage is the opportunity to generate bookings for future Kitchen Shows. Consultants should be emphasizing the advantage of adding an additional $3 per booking to fundraiser participants.Fundraisers also allow you to continue to build a wide and deep customer base. The badminton fundraiser gave me 40 new families in the areas that are now leads (the families of the students) PLUS all of the people who placed orders. I plan to include a thank you note, a host benefit flyer and information on fundraisers with each order’s sales receipt.5. Should I donate a part of my commission to fundraisers?There are always the intangible benefits of playing a part in helping others. Depending on your own financial needs and your connection with the particular organization, you will need to decide whether donating all or a portion of your commission is feasible. Before offering to contribute, be sure you assess the goals of the organization. I enjoy offering a portion of my commission to my customers who choose Pampered Chef as their fundraising venue. I find it especially rewarding when the fundraiser is for someone with whom I have a friendship or an organization in which one of my children are involved.6. Should I do a demo or provide refreshments at the Kick Off Meeting?This depends on the organization and what you and the fundraiser coordinator agree upon. I think it is always best to kick off the fundraiser with a live demo so people become familiar with The Pampered Chef and get excited about the products when they see them in action. You may decide to do something fun and simple (no bake) like the Mango Salsa Sundaes or quick and easy Tapas. Keep the demo portion of your presentation short – no more than 20-30 minutes. Prep as much as you can ahead of time. If there is a very large group, you might want to select a particular recipe and ask the chairperson to find volunteers to bring the food. The most important thing to emphasize is that our prices are not inflated in order to earn money for the organization. Focus on the value of our products and that everyone loves Pampered Chef. Reinforce the fact that our products are useful for everyone—everyone has a kitchen!Organizing a Successful Fundraiser1) Develop a Plan for SuccessThe very first thing you want to do is find out what your organization’s goals are.
• What is the money going to be used for? Is it for equipment, a training trip, medical expenses, uniforms, etc?
• How much money does the organization want to raise?
• Is this their only fundraiser?
• How many members are there in the organization who will be participating?
• What is the time frame?2) Set GoalsWork with the fundraiser’s coordinator to determine what their sales goal will be. For example: The badminton team wanted to raise $2,500. I offered to donate 10% of my commission, making the total percentage earned by the organization 25% of the sales. (Please note that as an NSED, I receive a 4% override on my personal sales, making my commission rate for this fundraiser 21%.) In order to reach the $2,500 goal, the organization needed to collect $10,000 in product orders. With 40 girls participating, each team member needed to collect a
minimum of $250 in orders. By breaking it down this way, each person then has a very specific goal to reach. We also came very close to meeting the goal with only 37 girls participating. The average amount of orders collected per girl was $216 which generated $8,015 in sales and earned $2,003 for the team. I still earned $881 in commission after the donation.3) Present the Plan to the ParticipantsIf you are not presenting a Live Kitchen Show, let the fundraiser coordinator know that you would like to make a presentation to the group to “kick off” the fundraiser. If the children’s groups you will want the parents to attend as well. Ask the fundraiser coordinator to share the team’s goals and explain why they selected The Pampered Chef. During your presentation, explain how the consumer receives the full value of our products. Be sure to cover these points as well:
• How to collect orders. (In person and/or through your website.)
• How to add up orders. (Explain tax and shipping.)
• How to collect payment. (Who to make checks out to, charge card info.)
• Monthly Guest Specials and Product guarantee
• Review organization goals and individual goals. (Explain that the goal is based on product total before tax and shipping.)
• Delivery (When, where and how they will be notified for pick up)4) Offer an incentive. I wanted to reward the girls who went beyond the target amount, so I offered anyone who collected $300 or more in orders a $10 Bath & Body gift certificate and the top person with over $300 in orders received a $25 Express gift certificate. Seven girls collected over $300 in orders. Even paying out for these incentives and the donation, I still earned over $800 in commission.5) Utilize your website.

We gave the group specific instructions for utilizing the website. This allowed them to offer the opportunity to
purchase Pampered Chef products to friends and family members who live out-of-state. Several orders came through with Direct Shipping. We had even more success with this way of receiving orders in December when we did a $5,000 fundraiser for a cancer victim. 80% of the orders came through the website and almost all of them were direct ship. This made it much easier to sort through and distribute the remaining products.
Because this fundraiser took place shortly before the Christmas holiday, customers were happy to utilize the direct ship option and receive their products quickly.6) Provide Materials.

We gave each student a flyer with instructions, two catalogs (one to keep and one to use to pass around) and 10 outside order forms. We instructed each girl to put her name on the top of each order form. We “packaged” these items in large white envelopes and made labels for the envelopes with the team name, fundraiser name,
turn-in date and location. Our flyer read as follows:

 

[tlag1986]

Here is the rest EAGLES BADMINTON TEAM --- A PAMPERED CHEF FUNDRAISERDear Team Members,
Congratulations on choosing an excellent company to assist you in raising funds for your team activities this year. The Pampered Chef® is a well-respected company with a large selection of high-quality kitchen
tools. You will find that people LOVE these products! The nice thing about this fundraiser is that the customers who purchase products to support your team will pay the actual value of the product, knowing
that 25% of their purchase will be going directly to your team! (Other companies often inflate the price of the merchandise to cover their contribution.) Pampered Chef products are a great value AND are all
guaranteed for a minimum of one full year from the date of purchase!EARN A $10 BATH & BODY SHOP GIFT CERTIFICATE AND a $25 EXPRESS GIFT CERTIFICATE!In order to meet the team goal of earning $2500, each team member will need to collect a minimum of $250 in orders (product amount). If you collect $300 in product orders or more, you will receive a $10 Bath & Body Shop gift certificate as a thank you for meeting your goal! The top person with at least $300 in product orders will receive an additional $25 Express Gift Certificate!IT’S EASY TO COLLECT ORDERS!IN PERSON
Pass around the catalog and collect orders from friends, neighbors, family members – anyone you know who has a kitchen or likes to eat! Use the outside order form to take orders. Ask customers to write checks out to you (or one of your parents). We will need just one check written to The Pampered Chef® Consultant to cover all of the orders you collect. If customers prefer to pay by charge, be sure to clearly write down the name on the card, charge card number, and expiration date on the order form. We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express. You will be using a 7.75% tax rate.
To figure out the order total, follow these steps:1. Add up the product amount.
2. Multiply the total product amount by7.75% for tax.
3. Multiply the total Pantry amount by 1.25% for tax.
4. Add a flat rate of $3.25 for shipping.ON-LINE
Direct people to view products and place their orders online.Website Instructions:
• Visit www.
• In box “Order Pampered Chef Products”, press “Include Order”
• On next screen fill in organization name: High School Badminton Team
• Next screen, place item numbers of products ordered as directed.
• On customer address screen….please fill in as follows:
Customer First and Last Name
In 1st address box, the Student’s Name
In 2nd address box, Customer’s Home Address
• Proceed with payment information as requested to complete your order.
• We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express.
• Thank you for supporting our team!ALL ORDERS (WITH PAYMENT) MUST BE TURNED IN TO COACH BY FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2005If you have questions, please call: Nancy Jo Ryan, The Pampered Chef®,
7) Teach the participants how to ask for orders. We created the following script for these high-school students to use when making phone calls.
”Hi _____ ! This is _______
I’m a member of High School Badminton Team and we are currently holding a fundraiser to purchase equipment for the team. We are working with The Pampered Chef®, which is a well-respected company that sells high-quality kitchen tools. Our consultant has offered to donate 25% of the purchase price of each item ordered to our team. I need to collect orders by Friday, March 11. Anyone who places an order of $50 or more will also get the Pampered Chef’s Garlic Press, which normally sells for $15.50, for free. Would you be interested in placing an order and supporting this fundraiser?”If they say no, thank them for their time. If they say yes, continue with:
“I can show you a catalog or, if it’s easier for you, you can go to a website and place an order online. Would you like the website address?”If they want to order online, direct them to the website and read the online ordering instructions on the back of the order forms you have.
www.If they want to see a catalog, set up a time to meet with them.

 

[AnnieBee]

Wow, that is great, thanks for posting!

 

[tlag1986]

Not a problem. I like the entire letter.

 

[gingertannery]

Thank you for this strand.. I have always wondered how the fundraiser works...

 

[Mel92504]

I'm sooooooo glad this thread is here! I just contacted the local little league about hosting a fr & my friend on the board was super excited to see how it works. I'm going to be speaking with her tomorrow night about the particulars. The LL here is a combo of the girls & the boys teams, so I'm thinking that this has the potential to be HUGE!!!!!

Has anyone done a fr of this size? Would you recommend having a cooking show "kick off" as described in the letter from Nancy Jo? Where would you think would be appropriate for that many people?

New to all of this....sooooo many questions....TIA

 

[Mel92504]

bumping...

 

[DonnaYork]

Hi everyone!!! I too am new and possibly in the market to do a fund raise for a baseball team going to Philly for the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer. My nephew is on the team and I would LOVE to do this, but am a bit overwhelmed. Thanks to all of you who posted iformation and letters.

I'm with Mel....would you have a cooking show? If so, where? If so, WHAT?

Thanks again!!

 

[Jules711]

I personally probably wouldn't do an actually cooking show. I might bring something already prepared. Like a trifle for the ooohhh...ahhh effect. Maybe something in the DCB with info on the versatility. The idea is to have the people that are collecting the orders (which regardless tends to be the parents) SEE the product and learn HOW the fundraiser will work. You can answer any questions that they may have too. I would explain the benefits of the cookware/stoneware/forged cutlery, but would really focus on the scrapers, the bamboo utensils, the PINEAPPLE WEDGER (show this!!) and other hot but low cost items. Reasoning is that they will be more likely to say...oh you HAVE to have this to friends/family if it's not too expensive. After all, they may feel it's asking for money since it's a fundraiser. I love that so much of our catalog is under $20 (I think 70%?) so be sure to mention that too.IF it's a smaller group (more normally show size), I would do an interactive show. That way they are playing with the tools and have more to talk about when showing a catalog. Just my opinions, but hope it helps.

 

[Mel92504]

Thanks for your thoughts! I'm still trying to put this together for the LL...keeping my fingers crossed!!!!!

 

[colegrovet]

I'm sooooooo glad this thread is here! I just contacted the local little league about hosting a fr & my friend on the board was super excited to see how it works. I'm going to be speaking with her tomorrow night about the particulars. The LL here is a combo of the girls & the boys teams, so I'm thinking that this has the potential to be HUGE!!!!!

Has anyone done a fr of this size? Would you recommend having a cooking show "kick off" as described in the letter from Nancy Jo? Where would you think would be appropriate for that many people?

New to all of this....sooooo many questions....TIA

I'm working with a LL too.. I was the information officer for a LL district which had 13 differnt LLs. I'm just testing the waters to see how it goes.. but each league I delt with had over 500 kids...

 

[purrbal]

Those of you that up the per booking $$ do you guys give one check to the organization at the end or as they hold their shows or before the shows are held.

 

[emo812]

These are great ideas! Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[pcjenr]

I have a question - maybe some of you can help me understand - I've seen flyers differientiating between COOKING show fundraiser and some other form of fundraiser, where they receive up to 40% return ? How in the WORLD is this possible? The below is cut and pasted from the flyer I found this off of .... HELP ME UNDERSTAND LOL
_____________________
The first is a Product Fund-Raiser. This fund-raiser offers unique kitchen products. Here is how the Product Fund-Raiser works:
*A selection of kitchen tools and specialty foods is offered to neighbors, friends, and relatives
*I will provide you with all the materials you need for your fund-raiser, from order forms to bags
*With order forms, taking and submitting orders is hassle-free
*Your organization will receive 40 percent of the total product sales

 

[BlessedWifeMommy]

I have a question - maybe some of you can help me understand - I've seen flyers differientiating between COOKING show fundraiser and some other form of fundraiser, where they receive up to 40% return ? How in the WORLD is this possible? The below is cut and pasted from the flyer I found this off of .... HELP ME UNDERSTAND LOL
_____________________
The first is a Product Fund-Raiser. This fund-raiser offers unique kitchen products. Here is how the Product Fund-Raiser works:
*A selection of kitchen tools and specialty foods is offered to neighbors, friends, and relatives
*I will provide you with all the materials you need for your fund-raiser, from order forms to bags
*With order forms, taking and submitting orders is hassle-free
*Your organization will receive 40 percent of the total product sales

It is possible that the consultant raised the price of these "selected items". Was there any other files posted with this one? When you look at the file list there is a link off to the right with the orginal thread.

 

[pcjenr]

Nothing else but that posted flyer ... I don't know, but I'd love to figure out how - because 40% is much more appealing than 10-15%.

 

[Jules711]

I'm not sure about 40%. When was the flyer posted? We did have a product fundraiser at one point (before my time I think). Some consultants donate some or all of their commission.