Smencils Gourmet Scented Pencils 10 Pack

Smencils Gourmet Scented Pencils 10 Pack. Includes: Bubble Gum, Cherry, Tropical Blast, Grape, Cotton Candy, Chocolate, Very Berry, Orange, Watermelon, and Rootbeer.Note: Not suitable for children 3 or under.

It's a feeling I'm sure many of you have had. That sinking sensation in your stomach when you know you've got to hit up your co-workers for cash to support your child's school fundraising project. We've all been there. You hate to impose on the people you work with, but the school needs it, and there's a great prize your kid wants. You can help by selling to as many people as you know.

Is it possible to actually solicit financial support at work and not become a dreaded member of your staff?

The answer is yes, but it's tricky and you must really walk a fine line to avoid this negative reputation.

1. Make Sure You Support Their Kids' Fundraisers
This is the most important tip. I know that this recommendation is going to cost you money, but if you don't buy chocolate chip cookes from your co-worker's kid, she's not going to buy from yours. Office fundraising is definitely a quid-pro-quo arrangement. You will have a lot more confidence asking someone to buy from you if you've already bought from them. This is just one of those occasions in life where it's going to cost you to be a parent. So, unless your office bans this kind of fundraising activity, you've got to jump with both feet into this game.

2. Develop Good Relations Year-round
If you've got kids in school, you can count on having fundraisers in your life. Therefore, unless you plan on officially opting out of the entire process of fundraising(which is a possibility at some schools), you're going to have to play the game. Therefore, I strongly suggest that you work on your people skills year round. Of course, you'll develop relationships with people naturally, but it wouldn't hurt to be political and not make any enemies. The more friends (or at least acquaintances) you have, the more customers you have.

3. Make Subtle Comments about How Much Your Child has been Growing at Their School
This goes along with number 2. While you're busy making friends with your co-workers, feel free to slip in subtle references to how much your child is growing at his or her school. Something like, "Wow, last night I went to my son's Christmas program, and I was amazed that they are doing calculus in first grade now. What a benefit! I'm so glad my son and all the other kids have this opportunity."

4. Don't Act Any Differently Toward People who Turn You Down
Of course, not everyone is going to buy a magazine subscription or World's Finest Chocolate although you and I know that they should. And although this might annoy you just a little, you must not let it show. You must treat the people who said no to you with as much respect and friendliness as you would your biggest customer. You never know the reason why you didn't make the sale. It could be bad timing financially, and that's it. That doesn't mean that this same person won't buy from you the next time. So, keep the doors of communication and friendship open and hit them up the next time you've got something big. Make sure you don't develop a reputation for holding a grudge when someone doesn't buy your stuff. That's the surest way to make enemies on your staff.

5. Only Pick the Best Fundraisers to Bring to Work
It is also very important to be judicious when deciding when to hit your co-workers up. All schools hold numerous fundraisers each year. There may be a fall carnival, Christmas wreathes, a cookie dough sale, an auction, and a golf outing, all in the same year.

I would strongly suggest not bringing every one of these into your place of employment. If you do, someone in the shipping department might get some ideas and you could wind up on a slow boat around the globe.

My recommendation would be to talk to a person in charge of fundraising at your school and ask him or her what the fundraising plan for the entire year coming up is. Once you know, think about your strategy at work. Are you really going to get that many people wanting to come to your school's carnival? If not, don't push the issue. On the other hand, if you think you've got some folks on staff who have a sweet tooth, by all means, push it hard.

You can also "spot fundraise", which is a term I've developed for the practice of targeting specific individuals for certain fundraising activities. For instance, you may have a person on your staff who has four little kids. Perhaps, these folks would love to bring their children to your school's carnival, especially if there are things for toddlers to do. Or, perhaps you've got a golf nut on your staff. He'd be a perfect person to approach for the golf outing. No need to bother everyone else about these niche events if you don't think it's worth it.

6. Make as Many Passive Announcements as Possible
In a work-place environment, the best way to make a sale is to have the customer approach you. This way, you know you haven't put any unwanted pressure on anybody.

But, people won't approach you, unless they know what you've got going on. I would, therefore, ask my supervisor if it were ok to hang a flier on an employee bulletin board or place a small notice in the company newsletter. It would also be great if they would let you send out a short email to all the staff announcing what you're selling for your child's school. Make sure to fill the flier or ad or email with as much information as possible for a potential customer to make a decision- dates available, price, varieties, etc. If you work in a large office with many departments, don't forget to add how you can be contacted.

Conclusion
While it would be nice if we never had to ask people for money, the reality is that if we have kids in school, we're going to have to do this at some point. We've all encountered someone who went about this task in all the wrong ways. We don't want to be THAT person. Use the above advice to keep your friends, raise the money, and not be relocated to the basement office.

About the Author: James Berigan is a former school principal who enjoys guiding schools with their fundraising efforts. He writes for the Top School Fundraisers blog which includes a variety of ideas for elementary school fundraisers and PTO or PTA Fundraisers.

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Colored Smencils Gourmet Scented Pencils 10 Pack

Set of 10 scented colored #2 pencils, one of each scent: Bubble Gum, Cinnamon, Chocolate, Cotton Candy, Grape, Orange, Root Beer, Tropical Blast, Very Berry, and Watermelon.Note: Not suitable for children 3 or under

Before they hired me as their director of development, and before they ran out of money and laid me off, a non-profit organization whose name is unmentionable ran an unmentionable direct mail program.

It wasnt a program as much as a series of last-minute campaigns. One particularly notorious campaign ran the Christmas before they hired me. As the inflexible deadline loomed to get their last donor newsletter of the year into the mail, the staff procrastinated and put out fires in other departments until the deadline came and went but the newsletter didnt.

The organization got so far behind that the drop-date for the year-end appeal arrived and they still hadnt dropped their final donor newsletter in the mail. So, to save money, or so they thought, the person in charge, if I may use that term, decided to mail both the newsletter and the Christmas appeal letter at the same time. In the same package. The appeal letter was inserted into a number 10 envelope, and the envelope was nested into the newsletter, and the newsletter was inserted into a poly bag.

The mailing, as they say, tanked. What should have been their most successful direct mail appeal (Christmas) became their worst. They suspect that donors found the poly bag in their mail, thought that it contained only a donor newsletter, and laid it aside for reading later, or opened the bag and read a page or two before heading out the door to give their money to Wal-Mart.

I tell you all this by way of warning. Direct mail fundraising is not a campaign. Its not a series of mailings. Its a program. A direct mail fundraising program.

So whats the vital difference between a direct mail program and a direct mail campaign?

1. Planned program, not ad hoc mailings

To professional fundraisers, each letter they drop in the mail is not a one-off campaign or a mailing but simply one part of a year-long program, usually one that starts on January 1st and ends on December 31st. Raising money through the mail is complicated, expensive and time consuming. Thats why professional fundraisers plan their mailings months in advance.

2. Runs for 12 months

Unlike other some fundraising methods (such as banquets), a direct mail fundraising program runs for 12 months. Donors are solicited many times during the year. The program relies heavily on past donors to repeat their gifts. New donors are identified and acquired each year.

3. Repeated every year

Unlike some forms of fundraising (such as capital campaigns), the annual direct mail fundraising program is repeated year after year. The program has a start, a middle and an end, and then repeats itself the next year.

If you want to attract donors, raise funds, retain donors and move donors up the giving pyramid, you need to get with the program.

About the author
Alan Sharpe is president of Raiser Sharpe, a full-service direct mail fundraising agency that helps non-profit organizations raise funds, build relationships and retain loyal donors. Sign up for free weekly tips like this, and discover other helpful resources, at http://www.RaiserSharpe.com.

2007 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the author" message).

smencils

Colored Smencils Gourmet Scented Pencils 10 Pack

Set of 10 scented colored #2 pencils, one of each scent: Bubble Gum, Cinnamon, Chocolate, Cotton Candy, Grape, Orange, Root Beer, Tropical Blast, Very Berry, and Watermelon.Note: Not suitable for children 3 or under

Many times nonprofit organizations such as churches and schools are housed in historic buildings that have slate roofs. While many slate roofs can last for over a hundred years, there will come a time when the roof shingles will need to be replaced or removed. Since slate is the most expensive roofing material, the cost for a new slate roof, depending on the size, can come to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even if the replacement roof will not be made of slate the cost will still be substantial.

Of course, raising the money for a new roof can be a daunting task for a nonprofit organization. Frequently organizations need to fundraise for several years to raise enough money for a new roof or other construction project. The option of obtaining a grant from national, state, or local governments should be looked into. Sometimes one donor has the means to donate the entire amount or can set up a matching funds program.

Since slate roof shingles are so valuable they should never been hauled off to a landfill and thrown away. The old shingles can be recycled and used to help raise money for your organization.

Some of the ways to raise money with your old slate roof shingles are:

Ask the company that will be installing the new roof to buy the old slates. Often the company will do this and use the slates for another project.

Sell the used slates to slate roof recyclers or construction salvage businesses.

Sell the slates to other organizations or individuals who are in need of them for their roofing installations.

Keep some of the old slates to use in your fundraising activities.

Slate roof shingles usually have two holes drilled in them that make them great for turning into plaques. You simply attach a chain and you have a plaque or wall hanging. You can sell the slates blank, as is, or you can decorate them. If there are artistically talented people in your organization you can decorate the slate plaques in any number of ways. Or, you can have an artist in your community decorate them for you. Slates can be decorated as keepsakes for members of your organization, for example, by applying a picture of your building. Slate shingles can also be turned in clocks and other decorative items.

The pricing of your shingles will depend upon your fundraiser. If you are using them as a memento you could ask for a minimum donation in the amount of, for example, $50 or more, and give them as a gift in return for the donation.

Even if you are getting rid of your slate shingles you should try and keep some of them for fundraising. Your board of directors or fundraising team can probably do a bit of brainstorming and come up with some creative and lucrative ideas on how to use them.

Article by Amy Passmore for DIYFundraising.com Visit http://www.diyfundraising.com for do-it-yourself fundraising ideas for nonprofit organizations, clubs, schools and groups. Subscribe to our free RSS feeds from the DIY Fundraising Blog

The article may be reprinted only if the author, Amy Passmore, is credited and the links to DIYFundraising.com are live.

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There are many ways to raise money for a cause, one of which is by holding a celebrity autograph auction. These autograph auctions are usually made up of items signed by celebrities that are auctioned off either live or online via a service like eBay. Getting celebrities to send your organization these items is quite simple, but it requires using the right words, persistence, and patience. Here are some tips:

The Right Words:

Explain your cause and ask for what you want...nicely. Letter writing is an art form. Scribbling three lines in pencil on notebook paper won't do the trick. The more professional the appearance the better; typed on letterhead is best.

The Rotary Club of Ennis, Texas used Contact Any Celebrity to get items from celebrities for an auction to raise money for various children's charities. Their typed letter stated exactly what they were doing and why. The letter also listed the organization's contact information clearly. Some representatives may need to verify that you are a true non-profit organization.

The letter then stated exactly what they were requesting: "We most humbly request your assistance in our efforts by requesting a personal item from you for the auction; if it's signed, that will help even more." The Rotary Club tells us the response has been great, and they are still in the process of receiving and organizing items.

So far autographed photos have come in from Troy Aikman, John Travolta, Rusty Wallace, The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, Richard Petty, Laura Davies, Dustin Hoffman, Gerald Ford, Jennifer Lopez, Dolly Parton, Charlie Daniels, Arnold Palmer, Susan Sarandon, and an autographed cap sent from Lee Trevino.

Persistence:

You may have to ask more then once. Sending your first letter to explain what you're doing and why is a must. Sending a second letter as a reminder is optional, but a good idea since celebrities receive so much mail.

One Contact Any Celebrity user sent out two letters. The first, which was only two paragraphs long, really explained her cause and what she was looking for. It also set a deadline for when items needed to be received. After a few weeks, she sent out another letter explaining the deadline had been extended and outlined the support she had already received from other celebrities. This resulted in her receiving even more items!

Patience:

Celebrities don't always respond within your expected timeframe, so it's a good idea to get started well in advance of your event. Some of Contact Any Celebrity's users have received responses as far out as one year after the initial letter.

Amy Pratt from Plymouth, Indiana wrote to more than 50 celebrities asking for autographs for a personal collection. "The photos came rolling in after a few weeks," she tells us. "The last one we got took over a year, but it's a surprise each time [a new autograph] pops up." Amy received autographs and personal notes from Ben Stiller, John Travolta, Joe Theisman, Brooke Shields, Michael Jordan, Gale Sayers, and Nolan Ryan to name a few.

Another amazing success came from Carolyn Penharlow from Vienna, Virginia who held an auction for her son's school. "I sent out almost 300 letters following the instructions on the Web site. I was astonished at the response. It was fun to go to the school mailbox everyday. Everyone would ask what I got that day!"
Penharlow's school received signed books from Henry Winkler, CDs from George Winston, and many signed photos from stars like Liz Taylor, Cindy Crawford, and Dustin Hoffman. "We raisd over $15,000 altogether and were thrilled," she says.

Jordan McAuley is the author of The Celebrity Black Book and the Founder of http://www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com located in West Hollywood, California. His exclusive online database provides accurate celebrity contact information including the best mailing address, agent, manager, publicist, production company, and charitable cause for over 54,000 celebrities and public figures worldwide to fans, businesses, authors, nonprofits, and the media.

Feel free to copy and distribute this article online as long as you link it back to Contact Any Celebrity at http://www.contactanycelebrity.com. You can also link back using our Affiliate Program at http://www.contactanycelebrity.com/affiliates and earn 50% monthly recurring commissions!

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