Fundraising Excellence is the Standard!
Here’s How Fundraising Works.
Fundraising needs to be EASY and profitable. WE’LL MAKE SURE THAT ITS BOTH FOR YOU.
Great Western Reserve will provide you with all the materials and services you need to have the most “hands free” successful fundraiser possible. We’ve built the perfect balance of fundraising programs to suit your groups needs. If you’ve already reviewed them, you may be asking yourself how fundraising works, or what’s next? Whether you’re a seasoned PTO Chairperson, or about to run your very first school fundraiser, here’s a list of steps that will take you from start to finish.
PRIOR TO SIGN-UP:
Contact Us!
Some people like email, some phone calls. We like both! Please contact us in whichever method suits your preference.
Choose Your Fundraising Program.
Tell us about your school, organization or group. Let us know your goals – both financial and operational. We’ll helped thousands of organizations choose the perfect fundraising program built to meet, and exceed, their fundraising needs.
Prize & Incentive Programs.
There are many different ways to motivate your group to participate and sell – most usually depend on the age of your students or group members. We have cumulative prize programs as well as incentive-based programs custom-built for your group. If you haven’t had a chance yet, check out our current Prize Programs.
Fundraising Agreement.
After we’ve chosen the perfect fundraiser for your, the next step is to provide us with some more detailed information about your organization, start/end dates, delivery address, contact info, etc… We’ll need this document to get you on our fundraising schedule. Our recommended fundraiser duration is two to three weeks – again, depending on your group and desired program.
BETWEEN SIGN-UP & START DATE:
Parent Letters.
Parent letters can be designed and provided by us with all the information regarding your sale. We collate and include this parent letter into each student packet you’ll receive.
Brochure Delivery.
A week or so before your fundraiser’s start date, we’ll send you all of your student packets – containing your chosen fundraising brochure, prize program, order form(s) and parent letter.
FUNDRAISER START DATE:
Kick-Off Assembly.
If desired, a Great Western Reserve representative will visit your location for an interactive and “Safety First” kick-off assembly. Your students will receive their packets along with information on how to sell, online registration, prizes and steps needed complete their fundraiser. This usually takes 20-40 minutes depending on the size of the group and programs being launched. Special importance will be placed on the online registration and electronic sharing. This online fundraising element can boost your sales tremendously, as well as adding an extremely easy way to let your friends and family know about the fundraiser and participate/pay directly online!
FUNDRAISER DURATION:
Parent / Student Reminders.
Parent reminder letters are a great way to remind parents and students of important dates such as: order form turn in day, pick up students orders date and money due date. We can also help you with “morning announcement” scripts to read – reminding students to sell, sell, sell! There are several quick and easy ways to engage the students. Ask us about these.
Online Brochure & Registration.
Parents should be encouraged to go online to register their student for the online component of the brochure sale. During registration, parents can add contact info, social media, a special note to friends/family and are able to “share” their child’s fundraiser via email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. (This information will NEVER be stored, sold, re-used for external marketing purposes.) This is only for the duration of your fundraising program and each student’s store is privately shared by parents/guardians only. This allows out-of-town sponsors to participate. All major credit cards will be accepted on our secured shopping site. Online sales have been found to add up to 20% or 30% to the school’s overall fundraising earnings!
FUNDRAISER COMPLETION:
Packet / Order Form Turn In.
Your teachers can collect student packets (order forms, money, etc.) to hand over to the PTO Chairperson. All orders taken online will be matched with each student’s paper order form and all online payments will be applied as credit towards your final invoice.
Computer Entry & Accuracy.
All student order forms are computer tallied by our in-house staff, added to online sales, and double-checked to ensure accuracy and reporting.
Final Invoice.
Once the student orders are complete (both paper and online), we will work with you to schedule delivery of the items to the school and issue you an invoice which will include only the amount owed to Great Western Reserve. The remaining balance represents your earned profit and is yours to keep and use immediately. Final invoices can be paid by check, or other means depending on your organization’s standard procedures. We’re extremely easy to work with – promise!
Product & Prize Delivery.
We provide a “hands free” delivery service – “sit back and let us do the work!” For deliveries relatively local to the Midwest states, we’ll deliver items in our own company trucks along with our own staff to unload the orders and set them up for your parent pick up. For longer distance deliveries, we ship via frozen food or freight trucks. You’ll be included in the timeline, and will get the opportunity to schedule the final delivery directly with our shipping partners. Along with the delivery, you will receive a detailed computer tally book of your entire sale. Product and prize delivery can occur approximately three to four weeks after receiving the order forms. (Frozen and chocolate items may vary depending on warmer climate areas.) All student orders are packaged by student, and include any prizes earned by the student. This eliminates a huge step of sorting and packaging each students order by the PTO and volunteers. Any incentive-based price programs (if applicable) can be scheduled or handed out at this time.
Re-Orders, Corrections, Replacements.
Once you’ve distributed your student orders, parents/sponsors/family/friends can use our friendly customer service number to reorder more product, make an exchange, or receive a replacement. Your PTO Chairperson will receive a product reorder/replacement sheet that can be tallied together and delivered to the school as well. It’s as simple as calling us at 800-666-4136. This service is included with every fundraiser and will make the chairperson’s job a breeze.
