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Raddatz Fundraising Business is on the Internet leading edge
The locally based FundRaising.Com is launching a new business model, which it says combines the low-overhead costs and reach of an Internet company with the personal touch of a mom-and-pop store.
The change in focus is prompted by FundRaising.Com’s goal to become the premier Internet portal for the $2 billion product fund-raising market. "People are discovering that the product fund-raising industry is big business, and FundRaising.Com has a long history in this successful industry."
Several months ago, FundRaising.Com moved from Mequon into the old Doerr Electric building off Pioneer Road in Cedarburg. FundRaising.Com is a private, family-owned business. Raddatz’s wife, Judy is company president, responsible for overseeing all operations, with an emphasis on customer care. Their daughter, Lauralee is vice president of sales and marketing, heading advertising, public relations and investor relations’ efforts. Son, Rick is chief technology officer. He is credited with the company’s e-commerce emergence.
Raddatz says his company operates more efficiently, profitably and personally than its competitors by focusing on telephone sales, generated through a combination of direct marketing and Internet traffic to its Web site---www.fundraising.com.
FundRaising.Com’s domain name, which was registered in 1995, drives a substantial amount of targeted traffic to the site and is an easy point of entry and source of information for the fund-raising industry, according to Raddatz.
The strategy of FundRaising.Com’s Internet entry combined with a customer-call center gives consumers the time and cost-saving efficiency of the World Wide Web with the personal touch of a staff of trained fund-raising consultants. By avoiding the middleman cost of sales agents, who usually charge as much as 15 percent for their services, FundRaising.Com allows customers to make great profits---up to 86 percent for some types of promotions, Raddatz said.
In addition to fund-raising products, FundRaising.Com offers customized fund-raising advice, depending on the size of the event and the customer’s level of fund-raising expertise. For the novice fund-raiser it offers a Fund-raising 101 course. In addition, the site suggests strategic tips and products to make each drive a success.
FundRaising.Com is currently developing an online newsletter of fund-raising wisdom and stories, as well as planning calendars to keep events on track.
Calculating low-cost infrastructure and high margins, the company conservatively projects achieving a 5 percent share of the product fund-raising industry by 2004. Recently, FundRaising.Com has increased its product offerings to include 20 different products---ranging from lollipops and candy bars to scratch cards, gift brochures and chocolate roses---and soon plans to expand into the $174 billion charitable fund-raising market.
Established in 1991 as Raddatz Marketing Companies, FundRaising.Com is a growing supplier of fund-raising products and programs to the $2 billion U.S. fund-raising market. The company markets to thousands of independent non-profit organizations, including school groups, churches, Scouts and youth sports organizations.
OZAUKEE COUNTY NEWS GRAPHIC , Cedarburg, WI - May 1, 2000.
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