How to have success with Fundraising Discount Cards!

So you have decided on fundraising discount cards, now what?

This article will give you a brief overview of what it will take to have a successful fundraising discount cards. You most likely will need detailed step by step instructions as you go through your campaign. You must choose a company that provides customer service even after you order the cards.. This brings us to the most important step, choosing a full service fundraising discount card company.

Choosing a full-service fundraising discount cards company.

When choosing a card company for your fundraiser there are many items you will want to take into consideration. Most importantly, will the card company get the merchants for your fundraiser card, or do they expect you to do the hard work? Getting the merchants takes a bit of skill. If you tried and the merchants aren’t popular or are not offering great deals, then the value of the card won’t be as great. A company that SPECIALIZES in fundraising discount cards will be able to gain popular merchants in your area and negotiate great deals. This increases the value of the card and makes it easy to sell. Additionally, gaining the merchants takes a lot of time.

Between your regular life and volunteering your time, you have enough to do, so leave this up to the professionals. The quality and feel of the card are of utmost importance; a card made of credit card stock with your logo and colors will have a much greater value and will be easier to sell than a generic, thin paper card. Ensure the company supports you even after you place the order. Whether this is your first fundraiser or you’re a pro, the experts can offer great tips.

Selecting the optimal number of cards.

With most companies, you will be able to place quick reorders; this gives you the chance to be conservative with your numbers, but don’t be too cautious! If you were to order 1,000 cards at $2 each, your cost would be $2,000, and selling them would raise $8,000. This is great, but what if you could have sold 1,500 cards? If you had ordered 2,000 for $1.50 and you sold only 1300, your cost would have been $3,000, but your profit would have been $10,000. even throwing 700 cards in the garbage, your group would have raised more funds. If you have a bunch of cards left, you can always have a “secondary” campaign to raise even more.

Large groups will want to order 5 to 7 cards per participant (remember, if there is a price break, you might want to go over that a little). With a small group, you can increase the numbers because you will be able to work more effectively towards a common goal. With a 15-person group, the local grocer might let you sell cards at their entrance. Greater traffic means more sales.

Creating an incentive for greater sales

The children and parents must have a specific reason for the fundraiser. “Just to raise money” does not give anyone a reason to put themselves out to sell the cards. However, if the fundraiser is specifically to “get new uniforms,” or “pay for transportation so the band can march in the Macy’s day parade or compete at Disney” or “buy a concession stand”, you will get much greater results. People want to be part of a cause. If Christopher Columbus had just wanted to go sailing, would he have secured the funding for a trip that made him world famous? Secondly, motivate the participants by offering a prize, like a Wii or bike to the top seller.

The better the prize, the greater the effort. Think about it: if you could win a brand new car by selling the most Fundraising Discount Cards, how much effort would you make? For obvious financial reasons, the prize can not be a car. But what if the prize for your little league fundraiser was two tickets to a sold-out professional baseball game? Motivate your peewee football team with an autographed football. Be original and work towards a prize that will be the most motivating to your group.

How to distribute the cards

If you hold a registration or start a season or event where you collect money, set up the cards as a “pay to play” situation where everyone pays for their cards in advance of selling them.  With a “pay to play” setup, give each person a reduced number of cards (5 is fair). You do not want to prevent anyone from joining your organization because of the cost. Offer the option to take more cards without paying for them to try to win the top prize.

However, you will want to limit the number of cards given out as extras to avoid fraud and underselling. Give them several times that they can turn money in for extra cards, then get more cards to sell. If your organization does not have a formal start or registration, like a church or high school marching band or you just got a late start, you will want to distribute cards and set a specific date the money is required back in, again extra cards can be gained from turning in money from previous card sales.

In general you do not want distribution of cards and money to go through many hands; there should be one or two people that are in charge and allowed to hand out cards and collect money. Don’t give out 100 cards to a coach to distribute to their team and collect the money. They signed up to coach or teach, and they are already volunteering for your organization. Additionally, if they are not motivated, the results from those 100 cards will not be as great.

Tracking your progress

Cards handed out in a prepaid distribution (pay to play) will not need to be tracked. The accounting of that money will be very easy: multiply the number of registrants times your required up front money. In a prepaid distribution, tracking needs to be done ONLY on additional/extra cards. The person(s) in charge of the fundraiser will want to track the number of cards that are out. For which money has not been received and also the money that has been received. All remaining cards or money for the cards needs to be turned in before the set deadline.

On “turn in day, “many will have “lost their cards” or “forgotten them at home”. Ask them to pay for the cards and reimburse themselves when they sell them. Most people are okay with that, (Note: make sure not to push too hard as some might have some financial hardships). Even if they try to turn in unused cards, remind them of the importance of the fundraiser and the reason for it. Ask them to write a check for the $50 rather than turning in the 5 cards, then they can sell the cards and keep the money.

Fundraising discount cards can be a very easy and profitable way to raise funds for your organization. Once you have a system in place, with help from your card provider, it will run smoothly. You may even decide to swear off other types of fundraisers for your organization.

Mark South
https://easyfundraisingcards.com