SaveAround's Community Conversation

As you wrap up your Spring season, it is important to take a few minutes and reflect and evaluate your business. Ask yourself these questions as you go through this exercise:

1. What are the 5 things that were great about this spring season?
2. What are the 5 things that could be improved as it relates to my spring season?
3. Have I made a list of Spring re-signs for Spring 2022?
4. Have I transferred some Spring prospects over to Fall prospects?
5. Are there any ideas or thoughts I need to share with the company as it relates to my business?

Here are some thoughts as it relates to the process when you EVALUATE your recent season of fundraising, what to do, what not to do, and how to expand on those good positive results.

E Engage with your customers.

V Value their input and feedback.

A Assess their needs and see how you can assist with a fundraiser.

L Lead the way with product suggestions, type of sale, and fundraising expertise.

U Use tools and systems that SaveAround has put in place for the ICs.

A Affirm and Appreciate the efforts of your customer - this should be enjoyable!

T Track sales, be involved, motivate, and assist during the process. Be present!

E Establish yourself as their “go-to” person when it comes to fundraising.

Remember that this is YOUR business and you control a lot of what is successful and what is not. You are in the relationship business and these customers are the first source of referrals, building your business, and growing your footprint in the area or the school district.

If you take some time to think about what programs ran well - why did they? What were the contributing factors to the success? Figure out those answers and then try to replicate that sale.

Do the same for unsuccessful sales. Remember you don’t have a crystal ball to figure out who will do exceedingly well and who will flounder, but there are some signals and things to look for in the beginning that might give you some clues to help head off any issues early on.

SOG -Support Our Groups

Do you know what SOG stands for? SOG ~ Support Our Groups ~ is the online fundraising offering for groups that don’t want to handle payment collection or book delivery, but still need to raise funds. Support Our Groups provides your group with their personalized shopping web page that can be customized to have the look and feel of the group. The chairperson or the rep can add a logo, photos, and text that tells the story about the group, why they are raising money, their goals, their plans, and any other interesting tidbits they would like to share with their customers. All SOG’s are delivered to the customer’s home address and generate 40% profit for the group.

Checks and Returned Books

PLEASE make sure that payments (checks) are mailed to the P.O. Box address. Some groups are including the payments with their box of returned books that go to the warehouse. In some cases, these check payments are lost, misassigned or missed altogether because they are in a box of books in the warehouse and not picked up via the P.O. Box by the accounting team. When this happens the group will be delayed in closing out and that will also delay your commission being processed and paid in a timely manner.

ALL payments need to be mailed to P.O. Box 2399, Binghamton, NY 13902

ALL returned books need to go to the Warehouse address using the provided shipping label.

If you have any questions about how to remit payment or return books, please contact the Group Relations team (grouprelations@savearound.com).

Bookkeeper & Secretary Information

In addition to gathering a personal email and a cell phone number for your chairperson, teacher, or coach it might also be helpful to have the name and contact information of the bookkeeper and the secretary at the school. You won't always need to talk to these people, but it is a good idea to have their information on hand just in case. If you have a sponsor that does not respond once the final bell sounds for the school year you might have to resort to contacting the school office and the secretary becomes your new best friend. If the invoice has been emailed, but not yet paid you may need to reach out to the bookkeeper to make sure that they have the invoice (resend it if they don't) and answer any questions about it so that they can finish processing on their end. Most of the time these folks are absolutely lovely and great to work with - you just have to build that relationship just like you do with your teachers, coaches, and sponsors.

**PLEASE REMEMBER**

Group Relations does not know to close out an account until you email GroupRelations@Savearound.com. Failure to alert Group Relations of a completed closeout form will delay receipt of your commission.

Why do we celebrate Memorial Day?
It is considered a federal holiday in the United States in which we honor and mourn members of the military who passed while serving in the United States Armed Forces. There are a number of Memorial Day activities that families can enjoy each year with some meaningful traditions that honor those who have served as well.

1. Poppies - People wear poppies to honor America’s war heroes in a Memorial Day tradition dating back to the poem “In Flanders Fields,” written in 1915 by John McCrae. Inspired by the poem’s image of red poppies scattered through cross-shaped grave markers, American Moina Michael and France’s Anna E. Guerin started selling artificial poppies as a fundraiser for children affected by the war. Many Americans pin a poppy on their shirt as a sign of respect.

2. National Moment of Remembrance - To ensure the sacrifices of America’s fallen heroes are never forgotten, President Bill Clinton signed into law “The National Moment of Remembrance Act” in December of 2000. The law encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.

3. Flag at half staff - Federal guidelines say the flag should be displayed at half-staff only until noon, then go up to full-staff until sundown.

4. “Taps” - During the Civil War, a U.S. general thought the bugle call signaling bedtime could use a more melodious tune, so he wrote the notes for “Taps” in 1862. Another officer later used the bugle song for a funeral, fearing the traditional firing of rifles might sound like an attack. Now, “Taps” is a traditional part of Memorial Day celebrations.

5. Visit local cemetery - Some of the graves in a veteran cemetery are well maintained and decorated by families. Bring flowers and lay them by a grave that doesn’t have any.