Adman
October 22, 2009, 02:22 PM
A few yrs ago, I had some folks at my weekly "Koffee Klatch" ask me if I had any ideas for raising some "Christmas Cash".
Who ME?...I teased.
So...from my expereince with raising money for Band Uniforms (for our local Middle School) to raising funds for a "Jaws Of Life" (for the volunteer Fire Dept) to raising money for a local group starting a radio station...using "Fund Raising Cards".
I'd get 20 local businesses to agree to honor the cards and...because the programs was FREE to them...they offered GREAT DISCOUNT Offers like, "Buy 1, Get 1 Free" or, "$15 Off Dry Cleaning"...etc, etc.
I got the cards printed and we then proceeded to sell the Cards for $10 ea.
I got $4 per Card for my efforts and the "charity" got $6 and we usually sold 1,000 Cards so...everyone was happy.
So...with this background, I put together 2 similar programs NOT involving "Fund Raising";
1) Have participating businesses PAY a fee to participate and give the Cards (at NO Charge) to local Employers, like "the Hospital", Lumber Cos, Manufacturing Firms....for them to give to their employees.
I can comfortably fit 27 Offers on each Card. Because the businesses pay to participate, the Offers aren't as good. I usually get 10% to 15% off...buy 1 get 2nd at half price, $5 Off Oil Change, $5 Off Order of $25 or more, Bowl 2 games, get 3rd Free...etc
2) Offer program to participating businesses at NO Charge. This prompts them to offer better discounts. Then, sell the Cards to Employers for $10 or down to $5 per Card if they buy a bunch. (One gal last year, went right down the street, business to business and sold 1 to 10 at each stop)
Either way, we usually NET $5,000 to $7500 per Card....which come in VERY HANDY for the person doing it.
Don Alm
Who ME?...I teased.
So...from my expereince with raising money for Band Uniforms (for our local Middle School) to raising funds for a "Jaws Of Life" (for the volunteer Fire Dept) to raising money for a local group starting a radio station...using "Fund Raising Cards".
I'd get 20 local businesses to agree to honor the cards and...because the programs was FREE to them...they offered GREAT DISCOUNT Offers like, "Buy 1, Get 1 Free" or, "$15 Off Dry Cleaning"...etc, etc.
I got the cards printed and we then proceeded to sell the Cards for $10 ea.
I got $4 per Card for my efforts and the "charity" got $6 and we usually sold 1,000 Cards so...everyone was happy.
So...with this background, I put together 2 similar programs NOT involving "Fund Raising";
1) Have participating businesses PAY a fee to participate and give the Cards (at NO Charge) to local Employers, like "the Hospital", Lumber Cos, Manufacturing Firms....for them to give to their employees.
I can comfortably fit 27 Offers on each Card. Because the businesses pay to participate, the Offers aren't as good. I usually get 10% to 15% off...buy 1 get 2nd at half price, $5 Off Oil Change, $5 Off Order of $25 or more, Bowl 2 games, get 3rd Free...etc
2) Offer program to participating businesses at NO Charge. This prompts them to offer better discounts. Then, sell the Cards to Employers for $10 or down to $5 per Card if they buy a bunch. (One gal last year, went right down the street, business to business and sold 1 to 10 at each stop)
Either way, we usually NET $5,000 to $7500 per Card....which come in VERY HANDY for the person doing it.
Don Alm
