Smencils: A New Fundraiser To Replace Candy Bar Fundraising

The jury is in and the verdict has been read.  Smencils are a GREAT alternative to traditional candy bar fundraising.

More and more schools and school districts are banning the old fashioned methods of candy sales as a way for schools and school groups to raise money. For a few years there seemed to be a void in viable alternatives to replace the candy bar as a fundraising product.

Smencils came on the scene just a few years ago and what we have found is that they are an instant hit. Unlike candy, smencils have no calories but still appeal to one of the five scenses. Kids and parents alike are going so far as to collect all the flavors! This means that many will spend $10.00 on smencils where with candy bars they would buy only 1-3.

So, if you are looking for a way to raise money but want to have a quick selling and profitable option to candy bars, smencils is it!

To find out how your group can profit from doing a smencil fundraiser go to http://www.aimfundraising.com/smencils.htm

Aim Fundraising Provide Awesome Service

http://aimfundraising.com/cookie-dough.htm – Aim Fundraising is a leader in the school fundraising business. It works to double or more a school fundraising sale almost everytime it’s tried.

Youth Soccer Austin Tx Lonestar Soccer Club

http://www.danhatcher.com One of the benefits that we have seen by having youth soccer as a part of our family’s life is that our children have been very fit and healthy through all these years.

Smencils & Smens for Your School Fundraising Pencil

http://aimfundraising.com/smencils.htm Smencils and Smens are smelly pens and pencils sold as a school fundraiser by lots of groups to meet their unique fundraising needs. Smencils and Smens are popular.

Youth Soccer in Austin and It’s Great Family Value

http://www.danhatcher.com Youth soccer in Austin has been growing stronger every year. There was a time when the Austin teams could not compete with the Dallas and Houston teams. Not so anymore!

School Fundraising Blog You Can Join… Add Your Fundraising Ideas

Aim Fundraising has a new blog that you can join as a contributor.  Add your own fundraising ideas (and links).  Aim is a product oriented fundraising company that helps high school groups, elementary schools and middle schools raise money.  Right now the most popular fundraising product is cookie dough.  But cookie dough is really only for groups of 50 or more students because of the minimums for free freight.  For smaller groups or school groups that can’t or don’t want to do cookie dough, there is a wide range of products that work well.  For instance, the #2 product in fundraising is the large “shopper” brochure.  It has been the standard in fundraising since before I got into it in 1986.  Again those are still not the only choices that would make for a good fundraising program for a group.

There are 2 pages on the AimFundraising.com website that has a rundown of the most popular and profitable fundraising products.  For frozen cookie dough fundraising, you should go to the “Cookie Dough” page.  For the gift type items, go to the “Shopper Brochure” page.  If you are looking for an “in hand” (direct) seller, then I would have to say look at Smencils.  Smencils are different (in a good way).  They are “sort of” new to the fundraising scene.  But everyone who has tried them likes them better than selling candy bars.  (That means they are raising more money with them!)

In Texas, where Aim is located, almost everyone knows what a Smencil is.  I was in Georgia in November and found that hardly anyone there has heard of them!  What a shame.  Georgia needs to change that!  If you normally do candy bar fundraisers, then you really should check out the Smencils.  Aim will send you a free sample.

Anyway, back to the subject… the “contributor blog.”  Even if you have ideas that Aim can’t help you with, you are welcome to make your post.  We want this blog to be a resource for those needing to raise money.  I was looking at Ask.com about “Fundraising’ questions, and almost all the questions were “Any ideas what would work for  xxx type group?”  So, post any and all of  your ideas that would be meaningful and helpful to the community.

You will find the blog at:  http://schoolwidefundraising.com/blog

New Fundraising Ideas: Part of the New Wave

With the turn of the new century and the fact that even grandma now knows how to e-mail and IM, many schools are incorporating some fresh and high tech fundraising ideas into their school fundraiser.  What is happening on the fundraising landscape is definitely changing.  You’ll find that the old traditional means of fundraising, is adding a high tech element to it.  Today there is much more variety in the methods used to raise the funds needed and one of the those ways is “online” product sales.

New innovative electronic fundraising programs made their debut at the end of the 20th century.  Now, many fundraising companies are adding a new electronic twist to the old fundraising methods used before the days of computers.

The new fundraising trend of today is altogether different.  It makes a schools product fundraising sale a national event now, with little regard to geography.  In other words, grandma can now help support the school from half the country away… even if your school is selling cookie dough!  What a concept!

Most of Aim Fundraising’s customers are now adding this element to their school fundraising event and are loving it!

Better Fundraising Ideas to Make Both Your Fundraiser and You a Success

Chairing a fund raiser has it’s challenges. There is so much going on that at times it might seem like utter chaos. Fundraising can be demanding on our time as well as our patience. Here are some fundraising ideas to make your next project more successful.

Here is a simple set of rules to follow that will make your fundraising experience pleasant and enjoyable.

Goal Setting

When you start to plan your event you will need to crunch some numbers. The first thing to figure out is what the goal is for your cause. Maybe the ski club wants to go to Aspen, or the Band has been invited to attend a parade. Factor in supplies, advertising and any other expenses that are related to your cause. This is your base goal.

Don’t put that calculator away just yet though. You are not finished. Now that you have your goal set, you need to determine how much it is going to cost to reach that it. Add up the costs involved. This could include sales material and prizes. If you have to pay it out of pocket in order to reach your financial goal it should be taken into account. Once you are done you then have your total expenses.

Add the two totals together to determine your final goal. Now add 10 percent. That will cover any unforeseen expenses. You don?t want any surprises popping that you cannot pay for and sill reach your financial goal.

Timeline

Determine how long you think it will take to reach your goal. Set a specific starting and ending date and stick to them. You can also foster a sense of accomplishment by breaking you goal up into mini goals. This will convey a sense of accomplishment to your volunteers.

Organization

Release a complete fundraising schedule early in the year. In the case of school groups, this might be in the middle of the summer but will cover the entire school year. Your fundraising events should be created in 4 to 6 week blocks with enough dead time between them for your sales people to recover. You don’t want to over do it. Usually 3 to 4 weeks is normal.

Contact Database

Start a database that contains contact information. Include your sales people or volunteers as well as any local business that donated items for prizes. Keep track of your cash donors as well. This database will make planning another fundraiser that much easier.

Rewards

Rewarding your sales force for a job well done should be factored in when setting your goal. It can be something very simple and uncomplicated, but it will make your sales force feel more like participating in your school fundraiser.

Following these simple points will do a great deal to ensure that you and your fundraiser are a success.

There are many good fundraising ideas you can use for you next school fundraising event, but not all of them would be the right thing for your group. Go to Aim Fundraising’s website to learn how to set up the right fundraising program for your group.

What is the Hottest Thing In School Fundraising Right Now?

I hear from lots of people who are in charge of their school fundraising project, “How can we make our sales better?”  That seems to be on the mind of most people who are in charge of their school fundraiser!

A simple answer (and simple is better) is in two parts.

1. Pick a product that is going to do the best for you.

2. Prize the heck out of it.

You can find “The Hot Fundraising Product” on our website.  Hint: It’s been cookie dough for a number of years now, but there is a new “Up and Comer” that is giving cookie dough a run for the money. And best of all it doesn’t have to be refrigerated!  And you can find out what uping the ante on prizes will do for your fundraising results in the “Prize” section of the site as well.

Just follow this link to our School Fundraising website and find out more about it.  But it really is that simple, and profitable too

7 Simple Fundraising Ideas for Profitable School Fundraising

Planning and managing a school fundraising event can make you want to pull your hair out or perhaps start banging your head on a table out of frustration. Here are seven helpful fundraising ideas that will help make your next school fundraiser a smooth and profitable success.

1.) Plan for Success

Efficient planning is integral to the success of not only your school fundraising campaign but any project you might think of. Without a well thought out plan of action chaos will reign and your project will suffer as a result no matter how good your fundraising ideas are. In fact, you should have a primary plan as well as a secondary and tertiary.

2.) There can be Only One!

There can only be one captain of a ship and the same holds true for your school fundraising program. Too many chiefs and not enough Indians is a recipe for failure as well as a bad idea. Pick a competent person to be in charge and then let them be in charge.

3.) Delegate Authority

Assign specific tasks to people in whom you have confidence and trust. In your planning create a list of tasks that must be accomplished and choose personnel for each task. Ensure that each of your chosen staff understands that accountability for their assigned task falls squarely on their shoulders.

4.) Promotion is the Key

Get the word our about your school fundraiser. Proper promotion of your event will ensure that you reach your goal. Send out press releases to local media outlets. Don’t forget your own school web page is a great way to post your fundraising ideas and opportunities and get the word out about it. Depending on the type of fundraiser you are planning will dictate if creating flyers and asking local business to place them in store windows would be helpful. There are many ways to promote an event and you should take advantage of as many of them as possible.

5.) Pre-Sell for Success

This tactic will work effectively for any type of school fundraising event. If your event is a dance, dinner, guest speaker, or other ticketed type of event you must pre-sell your tickets. Start the revenue stream long before the actual event. When items such as cookie dough or Christmas gift items are your main products start mentioning it to friends, family, and neighbors ahead of time.

6.) Multiple Income Streams

Do not put all of your eggs in one basket. Multiple income streams have been a recipe for success in business for many years and you should be running your school fundraising just like a business. If all of your efforts are concentrated in only one program, then your market may become saturated. You might even have another nearby school start the same thing your were planning to do the week before you kick your fundraiser off. If you are located in a small town, this can be a huge blow to your school fundraising success. Try using multiple events to your advantage. This is an excellent way to reach your goal as quickly as possible and spread out some of the risk.

7.) Post Event Analysis

While not part of the actual event planning phase this is something that you should not overlook. Analyze how each of your school fundraising efforts performed. Which ones did your customers like the best? Which ones made you the most money? Which ones were the easiest to do? You can use your analysis of your current campaign to enhance future fundraising efforts. It is especially helpful to write these things down in a journal for the next board to view in case all the faces on the board change from year to year. This way, they don’t have to re-invent the wheel like you did!

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If you have been disappointed with your school fundraising results lately, you should click on this link and see how you can imporve your results.

Smencils Are Proving To Be A Very Successful Fundraiser

Well, here it is Christmas time and first I’d like to wish everyone a Cool Yule and a Frantic First!
Secondly, I wanted to give a quick report on how the Smencils fundraisers went this past fall.
All I can say in that regard is that EVERYTHING we heard from customers who ordered them was great! Many groups simply reordered, while others who can do only one fundraiser a semester indicated they ordered too few and next time around will “up” there order! From the viewpoint of a “fundraiser guy” that is the kind of feedback that tells us that with Smencils, we found a winner!