SaveAround's Community Conversation

Plan ~ Planning ahead is the key to any successful business and couldn’t be more true in the fundraising industry. What you do a month ahead of time will most likely dictate your success in the coming months. In this case, what you do in the month of May will be a direct correlation with the success you have in the months of June and July when school is out. By working ahead like this, it will allow you to get ahead of the competition, set yourself up for a successful Fall, plus finalize your goals to take advantage of this short window of time.

The month of May should be the time when you are making your final rounds with existing groups. Stop in to say hello and thank you. You also want to confirm your existing groups and their sale for Fall ‘22 or Spring ‘23. Go ahead and be prepared to pencil them in. While you are dropping off thank you gifts to your sponsors and telling them what a great job they did, you need to ask for principal info. Ask specific questions. “Susie, do you know the middle school principal?” “Joe, have you met the new elementary principal across the street?” If they know they will answer those questions. If they don’t, hopefully, they will do a little digging for you and help get that info to you.

Mindset ~ During the month of May, you need to be cognizant and aware of the number of activities and events that will occur in the next 3 to 4 weeks. Prom, Field Day, promotions/Graduation, year end ceremonies, and anything else that pertains to wrapping up the year.

While you are checking in with your current customers be sure to ask those specific questions and find out who the players are at the middle school and elementary school levels.

Remember you are in the RELATIONSHIP business.

Who is the right person to contact? And how do I reach them?

First, check the website for the school. Usually, there is a faculty/staff section that provides a list of staff, administration, and teachers along with phone numbers and email addresses.

Another place to locate key information and updates is community newspapers, local message boards, district Facebook pages, etc. Sometimes communications will come from a city, town, or local community information officer who might announce zoning issues, redistricting, new principal hires, school board meetings, elections, etc. These are all important points to keep track of and use as you are trying to reach these principals and contacts at your schools.

Additionally, you can ask any of your current customers (i.e. coaches, teachers, etc) if they have a relationship with any of the MS or Elementary principals? You would be surprised to learn who is connected to who. Many times students in the groups you work with are the children of those administrators. Think about the athletes, cheerleaders, or band members - they probably have parents who are administrators within that county.

How do I fill out an Agreement?

ICs should visit the website to secure a blank agreement.
1. www.IFCsavearound.com
2. Click Resources
3. Choose Download Blank Agreement

Contract should include:
Rep name at the top. Complete contact info for the school/group/club/team.

Make sure you include a good email address and cell phone number for the chairperson.
The email address is tied to the chairperson portal so this is important.

Remember the # of sellers equals the # of books we will send UNLESS you indicate something different in the Notes section. 70 sellers = 70 books
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Order forms are included inside the book so those are automatically included.

Parent letters (rep prepares these) need to be sent by the school (we recommend e-mail).

Make sure under the Products that you list the NAME of the market (name of the book). Especially for those reps who have more than one market to sell that is helpful. Don’t make us guess which one they are selling.

Re-save the completed contact with the name of the group, rep name, season and year. For example: (Central High School Band - John Smith - Spring ‘22)

Email the completed agreement to grouprelations@savearound.com and they will get it entered into the system. Fall ‘22 contracts would be for the NEW 2023 Books (be sure that is noted).

UPDATE - APPAREL INCENTIVE PROGRAM

*Effective January 8, 2022*

Updated information regarding the Apparel Incentive program

* Minimum of 200 sellers

* T-shirt = 3 books sold

* Long sleeve = 10 books sold

* one color print maximum

* Minimum 30 items earned or 200 total books sold (either one).

If minimum is not met, then there will be a charge of $6/t-shirt and $9/long sleeve t-shirt.

Hoodies are not available in this program.
Apparel stock will vary in color depending upon availability (i.e. grey, white, etc.)
Apparel sourcing may cause delivery delays (prepare your groups accordingly)

If you have any questions regarding the Apparel Incentive update for 2022, please contact sales@savearound.com