Katherine Roberts – Brand Partner & Educational Services Representative
I am so excited to share this fundraising option, Cards For A Cause (CFAC), that helps your organization or fundraising cause earn a hefty return of approximately 43%! You will be selling boxes of 30 or 50 (holiday box, only) handmade greeting cards for $30. Try getting that deal at your local store! This fundraiser has a low minimum box order and does not require you to pre-stock the product.
What kind of success have you had in the past?
I have helped many groups run this fundraiser over the years who have raised between $500 and $7,500+. The largest CFAC fundraiser I facilitated was in the fall of 2019; with a little less than 30 kids participating, the organization sold almost 400 boxes of cards, and with some straight donations included, the organization kept about $7,500! The information and materials provided here will allow your group to take advantage of this amazing opportunity.
What is CFAC and how does it work?
What official order form should we use?
- Cards For A Cause – Order Form (PDF)
- You may also order pre-printed order forms very inexpensively, if you prefer that to printing your own.
What other marketing materials are available to help make sales?
- Cards For A Cause – Resource Pack (PDF)
- We are also more than happy to help you set up a Square site to promote online sales. If you will be selling in person as well, we can set up QR codes that customers can use for contactless orders/payments.
How do we sign up?
What percentage does my organization actually get to keep?
- Your organization will earn approximately 43% ($13 per box) of the raw sales amount if they are tax-exempt depending as well on the fundraising laws in your state.
- For example, if you are raising for a non-profit, and you sell $1,500 in greeting cards (50 boxes), then you will earn $650.
- With even the minimum number of 15 boxes sold, you collect $450 and earn just under $200!
- If your cause or organization is not tax-exempt, you have the option to either charge a bit more per box to the people purchasing (tax is only charged on the cost to you, and I’m happy to help you figure out that amount), OR absorb that cost which will reduce the percentage earned for each box.
- For example, if you sell the same amount of $1,500 in greeting cards (50 boxes) with a sales tax rate of 8% and choose to absorb the tax expense, then you will earn about $580 (close to 39%). OR you could instead sell the boxes for $30+tax, which would in this case be $31.36.
- Here is something to consider as you are deciding which method to use for an organization which is not tax-exempt. The percentage is a little bit less; however, “30 cards for $30” is much simpler to explain and significantly easier to collect for payments, especially if a customer wants to pay with cash.
How much time do we have to conduct this fundraiser?
- We typically have you selling for about two to three weeks in your participants’ neighborhoods/lobby of your organization/etc, and it has worked particularly well for my groups to go door-to-door in the neighborhood around our organization as a planned event at a specific time (this helps build the excitement when everyone gets back and reports their results). Of course please research the rules for the neighborhoods where you are located to make sure this is allowed, get proper permits, etc. It really only takes a week or less to get things organized, so it’s perfect if you want to get started quickly.
What happens if we do not meet the minimum order?
- You may have read in the Overview PDF that the minimum order is 15 boxes. What this means is that your group, collectively, needs to sell at least 15 boxes in order for this fundraiser to be worth your while, and earn the approximate 43% return. However, if you do not meet the minimum, you will have two options: cancel your orders and return your customers’ payments, or buy extra boxes at the $17 cost per box in order to satisfy the minimum. The latter will translate into a lower earnings percentage for the fundraiser.
- For example, if your organization has a cumulative sales amount of 10 boxes, then you have collected $300 from customers. Since you still have to pay the minimum of $255 (15 boxes @ $17 each), your remaining funds would be $45 which is only about 15% earnings for the fundraiser.
Can I get samples beforehand to show potential buyers?
- This is a great question! It depends on how quickly you are wanting to start your fundraiser. Order processing time for sample boxes is approximately 1-2wks currently, so I would not recommend planning on sample boxes unless you are over 2wks away from your goal date for fundraising. The pricing for sample boxes is the full price of $30 per box plus shipping; please let the brand partner know directly if you would like to order sample boxes before your fundraiser. For those who do not have time to order samples or prefer not to for another reason, it is fortunate that these greeting cards can be sold easily by using the materials provided above in the linked Resource Pack!
How do we submit our order and payment?
- You will need to send an email to [email protected] containing the following information: number of orders for each box type, your organization’s mailing address, and your best contact phone number. For tax exemption (if your organization is non-profit), we need you to attach the actual sales tax exemption certificate as a PDF, not just an ID number. Once I receive this information; I will be calling to take payment for your shipment, and all orders for the organization will come together to the single address that you provide.
After we place our order, how long will it take for our boxes to arrive?
- Greeting cards typically take two up to two weeks for delivery, and after that, your group can hand-deliver them to customers or set up a distribution point in your organization’s lobby if that is more convenient. Make sure that you communicate delivery plans clearly, so customers know what to expect. These cards truly are great year-round, so the fundraiser can be done at any time!
Can I do this fundraiser for personal reasons and/or if I am not affiliated with a specific organization?
- Absolutely! Anyone can use this fundraiser to raise money for a huge variety of reasons.
- Does your family need help with funds for adoption expenses?
- Is your high school student going on a school trip or enrolling in a special program?
- Do you want to contribute to help a friend who is struggling with huge medical bills?
- Does your 8yo want to raise money for a kids charity that he heard about on the radio?
- If you are not running this officially under a tax-exempt organization, I explained above that this may affect the percentage raised, but I will help you figure out exactly how to deal with that.
Who is the PaperPie Brand Partner that is helping to facilitate this?
- Katherine Roberts, PaperPie Brand Partner #R4587. I have been with PaperPie (formerly Usborne Books & More) since 2015. I love our wonderful books and all of the programs we have to offer for customers!
A Few Tips:
- Make a goal: Tell participants how many boxes you’d love to sell, and how much money that will raise for your cause or organization. It sometimes helps to have a specific purpose for the funds that you will raise. i.e. “These funds will pay for our campout in 2 months!” or “We can’t wait to install this piece of new playground equipment for our preschool!”
- Sell Locally: We have found that selling to people who would require shipment can be cumbersome, primarily due to the need for additional shipments after your bulk order arrives. We recommend selling locally to people who live close to your sponsor organization or in your participants’ neighborhoods that would allow for easy hand delivery. You could also sell to organization members who live further out, but set up a specific date and time for distribution once you have received the cards.
- Shipping: If you do choose to sell boxes to out-of-town friends/family, setting up a Square site online is the best option, and we can help you do that! Once your bulk order has arrived, you will be responsible for mailing any orders which need to be shipped. We have some tips for doing that effectively, but the most important factor will be making sure you are estimating the cost correctly to charge each customer.
- Involve your Kids: I’m going to be blunt here and tell you that it is MUCH harder to resist a kid who is selling items for a cause! 😉 Help them practice a short “sales pitch” to present the cards; you may be surprised at how successful they are and how this experience builds their confidence. That has definitely been the case with my son, and even at just 8yo, he made all of the sales for his fundraiser completely on his own. If you want to see the short video of him that we made for posting online, I am happy to share.
- Order A Few Extras: This is optional of course, but you may want to consider ordering a box or two at cost to use as samples during future fundraising events, especially if you have good results this time!
- Fundraiser Folders: This will depend heavily on how many participants you have actively fundraising. For a school or other large group, I would recommend giving each participant a large envelope stapled to an order form. (Make some extras, since you’ll inevitably have some high achievers who need additional order forms.) If you have a smaller number of participants, it works very well to assemble folders/binders with information about your organization/cause on one side, a picture of the 4 box options on the back, an order form (or two!) inside, a zipper pouch or envelope for payments/pen, and a sample card or two to show the impressive quality of the cards.
- Prizes for Top Sellers: Another optional suggestion is to make it into a competition! A great motivator for our troop was having seller awards for the top three spots, and the boys got pretty excited about competing against each other, especially when we did one night of all going door-to-door at the same time.
Contact Katherine with any Questions: [email protected]