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Schools Profiting From Web
ABILENE, TX 2003 - The days of ordering fundraising products in March and getting them in May are over.
Thanks to www.fundraising.com, those prone to purchasing everything from chocolate to personalized bottled water will be able to get their merchandise within one week of ordering.
Fundraising.com, a Wisconsin company that helps groups raise money nationwide, has launched the Home Delivery Fundraising Catalog that will ship products directly to consumers.
Elementary and middle schools have traditionally had catalog fund-raisers, which consist of kids passing around a book of products and having people place orders for the items they want, said Lauralee Oenick, the companys vice president of sales and marketing.
It generally took three to four weeks for the products to arrive and more time for them to be delivered by the students, Oenick said.
"We have grown frustrated ... by how complicated this type of fundraising has been," she said.
With the standard time between the companys receipt of the order and home delivery averaging about one week, Oenick said this is the "future of fund raising." Now, enterprising sellers can order the free catalog from the Web site and hawk their merchandise in one of two ways.
They can physically take the catalog and order forms door to door, write down the order, collect payment and mail it into the company.
They can also visit www.4schoolsonline.com and solicit their friends and family electronically, Oenick said. The site features an online store and electronic order forms.
Either way, the catalog offers 108 different products, ranging from $12 to $25 each.
The 13-year-old companys national focus allows individuals or large groups to sell their wares beyond their own backyards without the worry of delivering the products themselves. In essence, it is fund raising without the leg work.
Roughly 35 Abilene groups have either tried samples of the companys products or expressed interest, Oenick said.
"The elementary school moms are overworked," Oenick said. "They are overvolunteering. This will help them get more money with less volunteer work. A lot of time is saved by having the items sent to Mrs. Joness house. It is so much easier."
-- Jade Jackson Lloyd
This story appeared in ABILENE REPORTER NEWS, ABILENE, TX - August 16, 2003.
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