Thanks for that info. I am more inclined to go with Barnes & Noble since their employees seem to be more knowledgeable about what their Company programs are and they have a Community Relations Manager who can work with you to plan a successful fundraiser...

Our auction rejection letter from our local Borders store:

After declining our request for an donation, it goes on to say -

"-you may be interested in hosting a benefit day in a local Borders store to raise funds for your organization.

A Borders Benefit Day is a program of fund-raising or library enrichment for local schools, hospitals and non-profit organizations. The program works on a theory of mutual benefit: the organization asks their members or associates to shop at Borders which drives customers to our store, and we, in turn, offer an organization a one-time donation of a percentage of sales made by members of the organization."

It then gives the manager's name and number at the local store.

I would be uncomfortable trying to force a grumpy manager into doing it because he could sabotage it and make it pretty much worthless. But there is a policy in place to do it.

I contacted the Community Relations Manager at the B&N near my son's school, and she said that B&N schedules bookfairs all year round, and each school can hold 2 per year. She also suggested that we schedule a Principal Storytime during the Bookfair to generate more traffic. I was curious to see if Borders also held instore bookfairs, so I spoke to the manager at our local Borders as well. He said he had no knowledge of such a fundraiser and was very rude and brusque. Go figure!