Nine questions to ask before signing a fundraiser agreement
Fundraising companies are used to being evaluated on their catalog. These are the questions that tell you more than the catalog does. They work on any program, including ours.
1. If a family spends twenty dollars, how much reaches us?
Ask for dollars, not a percentage. Percentages are applied to different bases by different programs.
2. Does our center pay anything before families order?
Any upfront cost converts a fundraiser into a risk your center is carrying.
3. Is there a minimum, and what happens if we miss it?
Some programs reduce your share retroactively below a threshold. Find out before, not after.
4. Who handles the money?
If your staff collect cash or checks, you have taken on reconciliation, safekeeping and the awkward conversation when an envelope goes missing. Online payment avoids all three.
5. What happens to unsold items?
Made-to-order programs have no unsold items. Catalog programs often expect you to return or absorb them.
6. How does the delivery arrive, and sorted how?
“We ship to the center” and “we ship to the center, packed and labelled per family” are hours apart in staff time.
7. When do we get paid, in what form, and what do you need from us?
Expect a clear answer: a date, a method, and any paperwork such as a W-9. Be cautious of a program asking for your bank login or account details — a check needs neither.
8. Will you put the share, dates and products in writing before we start?
In Illinois, a for-profit company fundraising on behalf of an organization is a commercial co-venturer and the arrangement is expected to be in writing up front. Treat reluctance as a serious signal.
9. What exactly will families see?
Ask to see the ordering page. Families are being asked to pay, so the page should state plainly who the company is, what the center receives, and when items arrive. If families cannot tell what portion supports the center, that is not a page you want representing you.
Written by the team at Keepsake Fundraising, a service of Cloud Development Group LLC in Gurnee, Illinois. We answer all nine of these in writing before a center’s page opens.