A dollar can only be cut into so many pieces. there will always be give or take. When faced with lower percentages, I always ask the board would you rather 5% of Exxon International or 50% of the Exxon station on the corner. Are people likely to buy the stuff again? Try to find things that people are already buying (i.e. Magazines, easter Bunnies at easter). You are making a business decision, don't get emotional about someone's snowmen. Fundraising companies will respect your school more also and give you more. FYI
I totally agree that the fundraising company has every right to make an honest profit. Good ones are a true help and we couldn't do it with out them. What I think we can do without is selling over priced gift items just for the sake of a 50% profit. And on top of that, encourage our kids to sell so they can earn enough points to "win" some dollar store toys.
It's just how I feel. Maybe I getting a little jaded in my old age....I turn 23 again this month [img]smile.gif[/img]
There are other things to look at profitwise than the percentage of sales. Last weekend our company held a get together for all of their schools; we stayed in the Hilton downtown, were bused to the warehouse in the afternoon where we previewed new merchandise for next year's catalog-and helped select it- then we were allowed to shop the warehouse at tremendous discounts. It was merchandise from last year's catalog, and people were loading up on stuff to use as prizes at their school, teacher Christmas presents, etc., at pennies on the dollar. All wrapping paper, for instance, was $1, and it was the heavy nice kind; gift tags were 30 cents per box, award winning candy was $1 per box-not much was more than $5 and most stuff wasn't anywhere near that much.
In the evening we were bused back to the warehouse for a barbecue where tickets were handed out for drawings for gift bags. It was a very fun, if cold, weekend.
They also provide us with teacher gifts for back to school or Teacher Appreciation, as well as free FCAT prep materials, on top of providing excellent service.
I worked at a major dept store in our mall for 10 years and I disagree that marking something up 3x is too much;I happened to see the mark-up on some of our items and it was waaay more than 3x. Fundraiser companies are in business to make money too. I don't know how ours manages to do that with all of the things they do for their schools, but I hope they're in business for a long, long time.
A big money maker for my school is all the "free money" fundraisers that we do all year. If your school is not already doing this I encourge you to do so. This is our 2nd biggest way to raise money and it takes little effort. We do 3 resturants, roller skating, ice skating, box tops, 2 grocery stores, newspaper recycling, printer cartridge and cell phone recycling just to mention a few. Our biggest fundraiser is our Fall Festival which is a carnival but also includes a silent auction, basket auction, country store and a spaghetti or chili dinner. We do raffles ( sometimes Mother's Day, sometimes Valentine's Day). We do BINGO. We do a used book sale-parents donate their used books, computer software, CD's, DVD's, etc. There are so many more that we don't do like Father/Daughter dances, car washes, etc.
I agree with Cathie also. Aside from the 40-50% profit margin we usually look for. We also look for items that "will it sell" really well (despite the profit). Many of the food items we sell can range anywhere from 20-30% but they sell really well and it is definitely worth it.
Whle I agree that a fundraiser needs to be worth the effort, I do believe it is short-sighted to simply only focus on a 50% return. For a company to be profitable, they need to make about a 50% margin. For them to give us 50% and still make their 50% they are marking up the merchandise at least 3x their cost. The only items you see at the Mall that is marked up 3x is jewelry. And they only do that so they can offer 50% sales to lure us in (I use to be a financial analyst BC - before children [img]smile.gif[/img] )
So why do we want our supporters to get ripped off? Why do we continue to push overpriced products ?
Maybe this is the reason fundraising gets a bad name. I think you need to take into account service, product, price and profit.
