| by Howard Gottlieb, President, Easy
Fundraising Ideas
Discount Card Fundraising: How to Get Started
Part Four
We have previously reviewed why discount cards are one of
the most profitable fundraising ideas. We've also discussed
the wisdom of offering a wide assortment of merchant types
and how to identify the most popular merchants in your area.
Now that you are armed with your list of target merchants,
it's time to assign each name to a member of your fundraising
group. Pick a day on which every member of your team can
contact his or her assigned merchants.
Here is a typical conversation you might have with the merchant:
Hi, my name is Bob Brown and I'm with the Main Street
Little League. A lot of our parents tell us they go to
your store quite often and really enjoy it. We wanted
to know if you would be willing to advertise your store
on the discount card we are putting together for the
Little League. It is absolutely free to participate and
you can include any discount offer you would like. I'm
sure all of our supporters will appreciate your participation
and shop with you regularly. Would you be willing to
help?
You might point out that a buy one get one free offer would
attract the most attention, but accept any reasonable offer,
a 10% product discount or a free trial, for example. Keep
in mind that if you would take advantage of the merchant's
offer, then so would many of your potential discount card
buyers.
Easy Fundraising Ideas provides free contracts for you to
use to formalize your agreements with local merchants. You
can bring the contract to the merchant or store and have
them fill in the details and sign the contract.
When you have each of the merchant agreements signed, it
is time to create your card. One option is to have custom
discount cards designed specifically for your group.
That means you can have a card designed that is representative
of your group, perhaps by including a mascot or logo. Many
sports groups even have their schedules printed on the front
of their cards.
There are other things to consider when choosing discount
cards from among other fundraising ideas:
- Although most groups sell discount cards for $10, you
can choose whatever selling price you want.
- It typically takes about 4 or 5 weeks from the planning
stages until you actually have your cards in your hands.
- If your group is seasonal, you will want to have cards
that are ready at the beginning and expire by the end of
the season (so that people need to purchase a new card
each year).
- A typical fundraising group will sell approximately
5 cards per seller.
Additional types of fundraising programs are available on
the Easy Fundraising Ideas site, so you can choose the perfect
fundraising idea for your group. Look for information on:
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