Fundraising tips & ideas from dealers – Create-A-Book

One dealer did a pledge campaigns for the local PBSTV affiliate. People who pledged could select a Create-A-Book from a list of "thank you" gifts. They designed a special brochure for the PBSTV customers. In exchange, they got loads of free advertising 34 times a year. The books were displayed during pledge breaks around children's programming. (Organizations who do fund raisers see these types of programs and become aware of you and your books.)
A professional fund raiser had some excellent suggestions for working with grade school children through the PTA or PTO. The schools like the books because they are nice educational items, not like some of the "junk" that schools usually promote. These books are "super gifts for super kids" Set the promotion to run for up to two weeks and emphasize that it starts today so the kids will go out and get busy. (Actually Mom, Grandma, or other relatives will probably take samples to work with them). It is a good idea to have team captains for each class so the best students can motivate others. He said you must first find out what the goal is for the group. Then you show them how easy it is for them to attain that amount. What percentage the schools gets will depend on the district or school. However, 10 to 15 percent seemed to be a fair amount.
One dealer told us about a fund raiser with a cheerleading squad that got $3 for every book sold. Others are working with private schools, day care centers, nursery schools, and PTAs. Several dealers mentioned that they had not found it necessary to discount the books in working with these groups. If anything, tell the charity they may add to the regular price since it is for their "good cause." The fund raisers give you a lot more "helpers" doing legwork for you.
One dealer asks the groups to establish a goal. Then she requires them to purchase six samples for every 100 books in their goal. They must have these samples "in hand" three weeks before the fund raiser officially begins in order to recruit "pre-sales."
A dealer keeps a form handy at her booth for potential groups to fill out and then she can call them back later. This little 3" X 5" form has a heading "Fund raising Inquiry." It simply asks for the "name of the organization" on the top line; the "person to contact"; followed by address, then the phone. The fifth line is "referred by" and the last line is "approximate date of fund raiser."
While set up as an exhibitor at a national reading convention, a dealer put up a small sign that said, "We do fund raisers!" or "Ask about our fund raisers".
A professional fund raiser had some excellent suggestions for working with grade school children through the PTA or PTO. The schools like the books because they are nice educational items, not like some of the "junk" that schools usually promote. These books are "super gifts for super kids" Set the promotion to run for up to two weeks and emphasize that it starts today so the kids will go out and get busy. (Actually Mom, Grandma, or other relatives will probably take samples to work with them). It is a good idea to have team captains for each class so the best students can motivate others. He said you must first find out what the goal is for the group. Then you show them how easy it is for them to attain that amount. What percentage the schools gets will depend on the district or school. However, 10 to 15 percent seemed to be a fair amount.
A high school teacher uses gift certificates to sell the Create-A-Books. He worked with 40 kids and gave $3 $4 to the group for each book sold. He guarantees delivery in 24 hours. The group made between $400 $500! If a kid sold 10 books, he generated $40 for the group. For a sales pitch, he made a comparison of candy sales to book sales. For the same amount of money that was generated by selling 10 books it would have taken 80 candy bar sales!