Discount Cards – The Perfect Fundraising Item For Slow Economic Times
When economic conditions have brought many businesses to a halt, it’s often hard to coax donations out of business owners for your project or cause. Discount cards are the perfect item for raising money, even when those individuals and businesses in your area are slow to let go of theirs. Money is tight, people are hanging on to what they have, and it’s going to take something really special for them to let go of it. For your next fundraiser, try discount cards – even when times are slow, you won’t be disappointed with the results.
It makes no difference whether you are a church, school or other non-profit organization. Discount cards are the perfect way to raise money whether you need $100 or tens of thousands to go toward a large and costly project. Why are they the perfect product to promote when individuals and businesses are cutting back on spending? Because they offer value that people can actually see.
These cards usually have 12 to 15 merchant offers on the back, offering everything from buy a hamburger get a milkshake free to 20% off on an oil change or haircut. These are goods and services that the average person spends money on, and now they have the opportunity to save for a one-year period. Money savings – exactly what people are looking for when money is tight and jobs are scarce.
What else slows down when the economy is in a shambles? Business! People don’t have the money to spend, and they cut back wherever they can – which means local businesses suffer and often lose money. Discount cards help in this area as well, because the people who buy the cards will be patronizing those businesses and spending money. This could mean additional money for the business from existing customers, or completely new customers who have never visited before. Now you can see how discount cards actually help stimulate the local economy; there are few products that are typically used for fundraising that can make that claim!
Now, to what is probably the most important to your group or organization – raising money. Discount cards are one of if not THE most profitable item you can sell when you need to raise funds. The beauty of it is that since the cards sell for $10, you don’t have to sell 10,000 to raise a substantial amount of money like you would with candy bars, catalog sales, jerky and other common fundraising items. In fact, even if your group or organization sells just 500 of the cards (which is a drop in the bucket), your profit margin is 70% – and you have raised $3,500! How much money would 500 candy bars have put in your coffers – maybe $500 or $700? True, candy bars only cost about $2 and discount cards $10, but smart people understand the value when they know they will potentially save 10 times or more what they spend for the card.
As with many other fundraising items, the more discount cards you sell the higher your profit margin. Think your group can sell 1000 to 2000? If accomplished, your organization will have an additional $10,000 to $19,990 to contribute to your cause! This may seem like an amazing feat, but when you consider that you can carry discount cards with you everywhere you go it is not too hard to do.
Think of all of the places you go each day that present an opportunity; work, the supermarket, the doctor’s office, a fast food restaurant, or fueling your car. There are literally dozens of opportunities in which you can offer the cards – and when the economy is in the ditch, people will appreciate the chance to save.
Now you can understand how discount cards relate to a weak economy, and why they are perhaps your best opportunity to raise an incredible amount of money for your cause. The message is clear, the choice is yours to make, enough said.
Mark South
Easy Fundraising Cards