I hate to be the suspicious type, but our outgoing Cherrydale fundraiser person has been adament about making the initial contact for our Cherrydale fundraiser for next year. She has said it several times and had the Catalog out of the inbox as soon as it came in the mail. I am assuming that she was just taking advantage of the relationship with the salesperson she has built over the year to make it easier for us next year. Now, I don't know what to think.
Does anyone know if Cherrydale offers these incentives?
Oh yes it does happen, and kuddos to you for believing that it's not the best thing for the kids and the group. I would bring it up to the board and hopefully this will spur a conversation that settles it once and for all for your group. I am not suggesting that you simply decide not to use any company that offers this type of incentives to those who organize fundraisers - turn it around, though, as Tim suggested. If a vendor offers you an incentive such as a weekend trip or limo lunch, ask the value of that incentive. Then as a board decide whether you want to negotiate a higher percentage for your group based upon that number, ask for the cash, or use the prize for some other function. If you have an auction during the year, that weekend trip could raise lots of money for your group. Could the limo lunch be used for the top seller's prize? The fundraising company we used for the fall last year was offering the top seller prizes - 3 of them, that totalled $600 according to them. We asked for the $600 in cash which they gave us instead. We watched for sales, etc., and purchased the identical 3 prizes for 2/3 of the cost, then used the other $200 elsewhere in our budget. You can negotiate just about anything with fundraising companies. When you are interviewing fundraising companies or other vendors, it can't hurt to have someone on that committee or selection group who is in sales - they know the tricks and how to turn them to your advantage. Good luck and I cannot say how proud I am that there are people out there like you who realize that as volunteers we aren't in this to get something other than personal satisfaction. The majority of people are that way, but every now and then you hear the flip side. Thanks for being one of the good guys!
This definitely happens, jaxomaha. It's tricky and definitely adds an appearance of conflict of interest -- if not the reality.
I think it's more than fair to bring this up for discussion at a Board meeting, and I've seen groups that rule out this practice in bylaws or standing rules.
The fact is that a FR rep who can afford the limo lunch or the like could put those dollars toward more or better prizes or a slightly better % for your group -- I'd like to think your FR volunteers would advocate for the group getting as good a deal as possible from the best partner.
i am new to the fundraising aspect of our pto. i have found out that fundraising companies are providing special incentives for the fundraising committee members to get them to sign (i.e. weekend vacations, limo lunches, etc.) has anyone else heard of this happening and is this considered okay? maybe i'm being too touchy, but it seems a bit unethical.
