January 1, 2008
Dear Customer:
Thank you for your interest in working with Outdoor Living by Mr. Mulch for your fundraiser! As our business grows and evolves, we are continually looking for new ways to give back to the community, especially by facilitating fundraising and assisting groups whose aim it is to raise money for charitable causes. Below, you will find more information about the four different types of fundraising programs we offer.
The newest program we’re excited about is the “Week of Sales at Outdoor Living by Mr. Mulch.” This new program will be a full week of fundraising for your organization and it’s a piece of cake to manage! Simply select the week you want to run your fundraiser, promote your cause and encourage participants to come to Outdoor Living by Mr. Mulch that particular week to make purchases using your groups name. After the week has ended, Outdoor Living by Mr. Mulch will send you a check for 15% of the total fundraising-related sales during that week. It’s that simple.
Secondly, we also support any school or church that requests our company to be part of their “SCRIP Program”. The way the SCRIP Program works is by having your group purchase any number of gift cards at a 10% discount, which you, in turn, sell to your participants at full card face value. Again, this is a very simple fundraiser for those who would rather spend time and energy promoting their cause or organization instead of managing and tracking fundraising details.
Beyond these two great fundraising ideas, we also have two other types of fundraisers that sell specifically mulch or topsoil bags to your participants. Your group’s availability, and energy to dedicate to the fundraiser, will determine which program is right for you.
The most popular of these two is the “Turn Key Program*”. With the Turn Key, Outdoor Living by Mr. Mulch does the vast majority of the work. We provide you with personalized order forms, create and support a web page for data input, organize all deliveries, complete all deliveries, and make follow-up thank you calls to your participants. Your group is responsible only for motivating the students to sell the product, inputting the orders on-line and managing the money. Another benefit to this program is that your group can participate in the selling of gift cards, too. The Turn Key Program is much easier to manage and often makes more money than the Drop Ship Program because of the extra costs associated with that program. Your group will sell the bags of mulch or topsoil for approximately $1.00 more than what your group purchases the material for from Outdoor Living by Mr. Mulch.
The Drop Ship Program requires more time and physical labor, but will profit your group more money per bag of mulch sold. Although your group will sell bags for approximately $2.00 more than your product cost, your group will be responsible for all other aspects and costs associated with organizing the fundraiser. This will entail personalizing the order forms, finding a central location for the drop of the product, possible rental of delivery trucks and forklifts, calculating necessary quantities to order, distribution and delivery of the mulch, and dealing with any issues related to delivery dates and placement of the product. There is a lot more work associated with this type of fundraiser program, and your group has the potential to make more money, but historically, parents often get burned out undertaking all of the logistics and responsibilities associated with this program. For example, parents are often left with the responsibilities of selling the mulch, collecting and tracking the money, perhaps donating a truck or SUV for deliveries and even delivering and unloading/placing the bags themselves.
Whichever program works best for you, keep in mind that your participants can purchase anything and everything they may need for their landscaping needs at Outdoor Living, not just mulch! For instance, we also carry a wide selection of beautiful natural stone, topsoil, sands, gravel, fertilizers, grass seed, pond treatments and other pond related items, patio pavers, paver sealers and even concrete cleaners. Whatever project your fundraising group is ready to tackle, we are your “one-stop” shop! We even rent excavating equipment for those larger patio or retaining wall projects! You name it — fountains, fireplace kits, grills, landscape lighting, patio heaters, outdoor TVs, custom outdoor audio systems, and even outdoor art — and we’ve got it! As more and more homeowners seek to extend their living areas to the outdoors, we’re here to provide all the goods and services they’ll need to transform their backyards into unique living spaces with ambiance!
Again, whichever program works best for your group, you can rest assured that you have the experience and reputation of Outdoor Living by Mr. Mulch behind you. Please contact me with any other questions you may have, once you decide which program works best for your group. Once again, thank you for helping us assist you with your fundraising needs.
Cordially,
Outdoor Living by Mr. Mulch
*The Turn Key Program is only available in certain geographical areas. The following is a list of school districts and delivery dates for the 2008 season: Hilliard City Schools (March 10th through March 22nd), Worthington City Schools (March 10th through March 22nd) and Westerville City Schools (March 10th through March 22nd). These areas will be delivered before Spring Break. The next area to be delivered will be Dublin City Schools (March 17th through March 22nd AND March 30th through April 6th). This area will be delivered before AND after (not during) Spring Break. The final area available will be Olentangy Local Schools (April 1st through April 22nd), occurring AFTER Spring Break.
Current Fundraising Organizations:
