Be Cool to Be Successful in Raising Funds from Co-Workers
Survey finds that, if they can eat it or get a discount with it, they’ll buy it
TROY, Mich., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ — A new survey on fundraising etiquette and effective techniques suggests that, if you want your officemates to buy more cookies and coupon books, cool it!
The July, 2009, survey, sponsored by Entertainment Publications (http://Entertainment.com), found that office workers who go cube to cube selling items or who try to raise funds for themselves will not be very successful. Those who take the casual approach, however, will win both friends and dollars.
“It’s clear from the results of our survey that fundraisers who leave products or catalogs out in common areas — like a company kitchen or break room — win more donors than those who ask office workers directly for their support,” said Amy King, vice president of marketing services for Entertainment Publications.
Among the survey respondents, 42 percent said they prefer to consider fundraising items that are left in a common area. Nearly a third (31 percent) indicated they disliked cube-to-cube sales, and 27 percent did not want to see a child coming to the office to raise funds.
The survey, conducted via Zoomerang among office workers age 25 or over, produced the following advice:
Do’s:
* Put fundraising materials in open spaces
* Post how the money raised will help the cause for which you are seeking support
* Accept both cash and checks for payment
Don’t:
* Expect co-workers to donate to help you lose weight or look/feel better
* Use high-pressure tactics, such as going cube to cube or bringing your child into the office
* Assume the majority of your co-workers will be purchasing items to support your fundraiser
The top-three fundraising items favored by respondents, cited by a total of 60 percent of respondents, were candy bars, cookies and coupon books. They said they liked to receive something in return for their donation, such as food or discount coupons, but they said they donated primarily because they wanted to do something “good” through monetary donations rather than through activities that placed demands on their personal time. Some 40 percent indicated they would rather help support a cause in this “hands-off” way.
Even though one-to-one “pressure” techniques seemed to fall flat among those surveyed, co-worker relationships motivated almost 25 percent of fundraising products that were purchased. The most popular motivator was the ability to help children, cited by 32 percent of respondents.
“People don’t like feeling pressured by fundraisers,” King remarked, “and sometimes they don’t buy a fundraising item simply because they don’t want it, they don’t have money with them or they don’t see the value in their donation. Fundraisers need to give co-workers time to discover the value in an item and ways that they could use it.”
Over the past 47 years, schools, religious groups and charitable organizations have discovered similar methods that work as they have sold Entertainment books containing highly prized discount coupons.
“Entertainment memberships, including access to coupons online at Entertainment.com, align perfectly with office-worker preferences,” King noted. “A sample book can be left in a common area for colleagues to browse and evaluate. The coupons found in the Entertainment book can help save consumers thousands of dollars a year while also helping community groups, schools and charities raise millions of dollars each year.”
To find an Entertainment book near you, contact your local schools or visit http://www.entertainment.com.
*Standard rules and restrictions apply to all listed offers. See your local Entertainment book for offer rules and conditions.
About Entertainment Publications, LLC
Entertainment Publications, LLC, http://www.entertainment.com, is the leading provider of the most recognized and sought-after customer discounts and promotions products in the communities Entertainment serves. Founded nearly 50 years ago in Detroit and originally available exclusively through fundraisers. Now consumers can purchase through fundraisers, directly or through retail partners and allocate a portion of the product sales to charity. The Entertainment membership book, online member sites like entertainment.com, Entertainment business network, Sally Foster(R) giftwrap and gift products and a line of cookie doughs and other gourmet edibles. Annually, Entertainment Publications generates over $6.5 billion in revenue for its over 53,000 local and national business partners representing 175,000 merchant locations throughout North America. Each year, the company raises more than $70 million for the charities it serves. Entertainment Publications is a privately held company, acquired in June 2008 by MH Equity Investors, a subsidiary of MHE Private Equity Fund, LLC.
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SOURCE Entertainment Publications, LLC
