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.

smencils

smencils

smencils

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!

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

The result of your fundraising event not only relies on how the event itself goes, but also on what you do after everything is settled and during the fundraiser event itself. Here are some of the things you can do in order to make you're your fundraising events ideas will succeed:

Motivation

Properly motivate your manpower, especially if your staff is mainly composed of volunteers (meaning, you are not going to pay them). Motivate them by emphasizing the progress and the result of your fundraiser event. Set up a fundraising thermometer which can be downloaded online, for example. This can serve as a gauge of your progress-whether your fundraising event is succeeding or failing. Nonetheless, it will not fail to motivate your staff to work harder. You should also make them feel appreciated-give them a small honorarium if you can, or even a small token, especially if they are volunteering. This way, they will readily offer their services the next time you have a fundraising event.

Involvement

Be present at the fundraising event-and make your presence be felt by important people. If you can, talk to important people or those who can potentially donate significantly for your organization or your cause. This also makes them feel appreciated, since you are exerting effort to build a relationship with them.

Communication

And in line with the previous item, you should keep in touch with those who supported your fundraising event-from the volunteers to the donors. This way, they will never forget, and they will easily be within reach once you need their help again.

Competition

It is a good idea to research about the fundraiser events of other groups. However, try not to blatantly imitate their fundraising events ideas. Use their ideas and their concepts and give it your own special twist so it will become your own. Copying fundraising events ideas might attract the attention of people who are familiar with the fundraising event of the other group. Instead of helping your cause, they might mock your efforts.

Practicality

Make sure the products and service you will offer in the fundraising event is of good quality. This will ensure that many people will support your endeavor, and that they will continue to support your fundraising events in the future. Anything factor in your event that has bad quality can affect your chances to succeed.

Seizing Opportunities

Maximize the opportunity. For example, you are holding a benefit dinner fundraiser event. During the dinner, why not sell fundraising items to increase your revenue? This is neither awkward nor ill-placed; your supporters will understand your efforts as long as it is done properly.

One Word... Fun!

Lastly, make the fundraising event as lively as possible. This is so everyone will be encouraged to participate in the fundraising event.

Follow these simple guidelines and your fundraising event is sure to be a fun and profitable experience.

Jessi McCafferty writes about fundraising and recommends the friendly folks over at http://www.easy-fundraising-ideas.com/ as a great resource for accurate information and profitable fundraising events ideas.

Easy Fundraising Ideas is the fastest growing internet based fundraising company in the country. With their legendary service and help, they make you the hero!

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

While the vast majority of children in the United States attend a public school and receive a solid education, there are thousands of private schools that offer an excellent alternative. I have worked as an elementary principal of a private school, and I've had my own children in the public system. Therefore, I've seen the good and the bad of each situation.

There are many positive aspects to a public institution, but in this article, I will discuss the advantages that private schools enjoy when it specifically comes to the issue of fundraising.

Self-Reliance

I once had lunch with the administrator from another private elementary school. This man was new to his job, but had over 20 years experience in the public school system. He knew all the ins and outs of standardized testing, of meeting state educational requirements, and he even knew quite a bit about staff management.

However, he asked me to lunch to pick my brain on the topic of fundraising. For this man's entire professional career, the vast majority of the funding need to run his school came from the state. He was never forced to hold an auction or a golf outing. Sure, the PTO had some bake sales, and kids sold cookie dough from time to time, but for all the important stuff, like payroll, building maintenance, and certain supplies, the state just doled out the cash when necessary.

Now however, this man found himself in a situation where parents had to pay tuition, there was no state money, and they had to meet any budget shortfalls with increases in fundraising. He was pretty nervous about such a tall order.

Having spent my entire adult life working for non-profit agencies, I was quite used to this notion of paying for everything ourselves. So, I see this as a distinct advantage for private schools. At the end of the day, we don't have anyone to bail us out of financial difficulty. If a donor steps up and helps us out, it was only because we developed a relationship over time, so he felt comfortable making such a gift.

We at the private schools have had to build these networks of support, we've had to become experts at organizing silent auctions, at developing relationships with businesses in town that will support us, and at coming up with creative new spins of product sales.

In the end, I think that private schools are therefore more equipped to handle financial challenges, because we know how to survive on a day to day basis.

Alumni Development

Since private schools are usually smaller than their public counterparts, we often don't have the large numbers of people to talk to when we try to raise money. Therefore, private schools often look to widen their audience, a common tactic is to turn to our alumni ranks for financial support.

If alumni are properly developed over time, they can prove to be a very valuable resource. Alumni can attend auctions and golf outings, they can establish scholarship funds, they can initiate building drives and pay for the naming rights of certain rooms or halls, and they can help with recruitment of new students. Basically, with the right motivation and encouragement, alumni can generate cash for the private school in a big way!

Now, a lot of work goes into developing alumni properly. It all starts when the person is actually a student. The school needs to create such a positive atmosphere that the impact will stay with the student for his whole life. This applies to the academics, the quality of teachers, the quality of fellow classmates, the school building itself, the extracurricular programs, the school athletics, the rivalries with other schools, even the school mascot and "spirit-ware" (t-shirts, hats, etc.)

As soon as the student leaves the school, the school needs to establish a post-institutional relationship with him. Letters, newsletters, websites, reunions, and networking opportunities with the entire alumni organization will help the student make the transition to fully engaged alumnus/alumna.

Again, if a private school can successfully tap into this market, it will have a huge advantage over public schools in the fundraising arena.

Built in Community

The third area that I noticed private schools having a fundraising advantage over public schools was in the concept of community. In my experience, I saw that families at the private school felt more linked to one another than do the families I've seen in the public schools. Perhaps this was due to the much small class sizes.

Since there were so fewer families, I was able to get to personally know all the families who had their children enrolled at our private school. I was aware of the various challenges each family had at any one time and how those challenges played out in the lives of their children on a daily basis. I was able to make very strong connections with a great number of the families.

Not to take away from the genuine-ness of the relationships, but it did help the school's fundraising efforts when we all felt we were "in it together". If a parent knew we at the school really helped their child out during a tough time, they would be perhaps more likely to volunteer or to donate money. Again, I'm afraid that this sounds calculated and insincere, but it wasn't. There was a natural bonding between the school and its families, because we shared something so important in common: their children.

That's why I feel it's so important for the leaders of the school to make an effort to be involved in their lives of their families. Whatever you can do to help your students and their parents will be incredibly appreciated. They will benefit, and in the long run, the school will benefit from the friendship, as well.

Conclusion

I have been involved at both a public school and a private school, although I will admit my experience is much deeper in the private school. While both have strong fundraising advantages, both struggle with built-in disadvantages. The lesson I've learned is to make the most of whichever situation you find yourself in and do your best to maximize your strengths!

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 at http://TopSchoolFundraisers.com/news which includes a variety of ideas for elementary school fundraisers and PTO/PTA Fundraisers.

smencils

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.

Fund raising is an organized activity of asking for money or assurances for charitable associations or political crusades. It is important that each person or persons in the group be aware of the need and the purpose of the fund raising. Your fund raising strategies should include a good plan. You need to make sure that the volunteers understand what is expected of them no matter what strategies you choose. Make sure that each of them has enough fund raising information as not to confuse the group when it comes time for action.

A fund raising event should go smoothly if good fund raising strategies are in place. There are several companies that provide products that groups can sell to raise money. These are usually easy fund raising ideas because the companies that provide these services work constantly on fund raising, and they provide the groups everything that they need. These are easy fund raising ideas because the companies provide a product such as a chocolate bar that group members can sell to friends, neighbors and family members.

If you have had success raising money in the past you can repeat your methods, but if you need to make sure your campaign is done right you should leave it to yourself. Fund raising usually depends on the dedication of the group to the project. Usually it will be easier to assemble the group for the tasks involved if they are enthusiastic about the project. Young people especially will do better if they like the activities. Good luck on your search.

If you are looking for capital to start or expand your business, you can do it online 90 days. http://blove23.blogspot.com/

smencils

Educational Insights Smencils Scented Pencils Bucket of 50

Draw" student attention with these gourmet-scented, environmentally friendly pencils. An alternative to wooden pencils, Smencils are made from 100% recycled newspapers -- you can even see the layers of newspaper when you sharpen them! They feature 10 scent-sational fragrances and are guaranteed to keep their wonderful aromas for up to two years. Includes 50 Smencils, individually packed in their own freshness tubes. Each measures approximately 7" long.

Many organizations are having to find ways of raising extra money for needed programs or events. Many of these programs are being shorted on money mainly due to cut backs. Schools are one of the prime targets for lack of funding and many churches are having to raise extra money for worth while events. You will find that a fund raising event can be a lot of work, but the effort put into it is well worth the final result. There are many ways of raising money and you can actually be as creative as you would like to be. The fact is the more outlandish the idea is, the more money you will probably raise. This article will give some outlandish over the top ideas on a fund raising event.

A fund raising event doesn't require that you be like everyone else with calendar, magazine and cookie sales. Although those are great ways of making extra funds, there are so many different ways to be outlandishly different. You don't have to have a car wash or bake sale either. You can come up with things that will attract a large crowd and bring in many people at one time rather than do something that will be spread out over a period of time with a deadline on the event. You could also add an extra measure to your event by requiring the crowd to bring a can of food as they enter to be given to the food pantry or such along with your fund raising event.

You can have a fund raising event that will include some local town officials or maybe even some local celebrities if you have any. These type of people are often more than willing to help out for a good cause. They will usually benefit from the local publicity of such an event and it will give them an opportunity to get to know the local people. You can come up with all kinds of events that will bring in a large crowd if you use local influential people. You could do something such as offering a hayride at night and include some singing with it for a fee of course. Your local talent can help out here. You might even want to hold a barn dance with a buggy ride included or extra. If you live in the city, these are especially different fun things that don't occur everyday as a fund raising event.

Any fund raising event that uses important well known local people will attract a lot of publicity so often you can get much of the advertising done for free. Remember that many of the local businesses will often support financially or donate to worthy causes such as a good fund raising event. This way, many if not all of your needed items can be virtually free or of little cost so most of what you bring in will be profit. Make your fund raising event new and over the top.

For more information on fundraising events and projects for your organization try visiting http://good-fundraising-ideas.com a website that specializes in providing helpful tips, advice and fundraising resources to include Fund Raising Event and more.

smencils

smencils

smencils

Cookie dough church fundraising has an enormous potential for profit. You can usually keep 30% - 50% profit from your cookie dough fundraiser. Because your customers will be consuming the cookie dough you also can repeat the fundraiser year after year.

The way cookie dough church fundraising works is your church will gather together a group of volunteers to sell the cookie dough. You will next train your volunteers on how to sell the cookie dough and what props to use as they are selling. The cookie dough fundraising company will have brochures, order forms and all the other selling supplies you will need.

Next your volunteers will go out to the public and to your congregation and sell-sell-sell. Using all the learned proven techniques your volunteers will collect orders for cookie dough and accept money up front for frozen dough that will be delivered on a specified date. Then when all your orders are collected you will submit your total cookie dough church fundraiser order to the supplier and wait for your order to arrive.

As with all church fundraisers there are advantages and disadvantages. You will want to take careful stock of both before you decide on a cookie dough fundraiser.

The advantages are:

Cookie dough is a highly consumable product. This allows you to hold cookie dough church fundraisers year after year.

Usually you will have no up front cost. Your volunteers will collect the money from customers when they take the orders this then is sent in to the cookie dough maker.

People love cookie dough. With a wide variety of doughs available your customers can buy a custom dough for each member of the family.

Profits are kept when you send in the order. This allows for your church to begin utilizing the funds for your ministries immediately.

The disadvantages are:

The dough must remain frozen until delivered to the customer. You will have to ensure that you have adequate freezer space before you accept delivery of the dough.

You will need to have a scheduled delivery day and time. Your dough will need to be immediately frozen and delivered as soon as possible.

Other than this cookie dough fundraising is a great way to have a church fundraiser. You may even get your volunteers to buy some dough and soar your profits even higher.

Shauna Hanus of http://www.laetans.com builds and maintains fundraising websites for churches and small ministries. Shauna has years of experience building websites and internet marketing. For more information on how to get a free fundraising website for your church visit http://www.laetans.com

smencils