Canthook

I don't even know who they were. It wasn't the VFW. It wasn't the ladies auxilliary to the VFW. It was some sort of program sponsored by the ladies auxiliary to the VFW. They go into the schools, and do something.

Spread propaganda, I suppose, telling the kids that they should hurry up and become old enough to become cannon fodder so that some politician can get his name in the history books.

I shouldn't be nasty. While the VFW has never been my favorite organization (they seem to think war is a nifty idea, and that's not an idea I subscribe to), they mostly sit around harmlessly drinking, and when they do something worthwhile, I do want to support that. Mostly, I'm mad at myself, because I didn't take the time to investigate where my money was going. Not that it's really my money. I got a great deal on some really tasty brownies. If Al Queda offered a similar deal, I'd like to think I'd say "no", but I have to admit, I'd be tempted....

But they were in front of Darrenkamp's, holding a bake sale. The people that run Darrenkamp's treat their customers as if they matter, and they seem to treat their employees as if they matter, and when someone asks to hold a bake sale in front of their store, they generally say "Yes", if the group seems to be worthy.

I'd like to think that if the funds raised were going to be used to blow up day-care centers or something like that, Darrenkamp's would catch it, and say no.

And although the VFW isn't one of my favorite organizations, the ladies were selling home-baked brownies that looked almighty good. Home-baked brownies aren't made in kitchens that pass Health Department inspections. I generally figure if the bake sale is made by Mennonite or Amish ladies, they probably could teach the Health Department a few things about cleanliness.

These ladies, though, weren't, so I suppose I was taking a chance. On the other hand, these ladies were selling baked goods at far below market value. I got four packages of two brownies each, and they charged me a buck for all that. That's probably even below the cost of the materials and energy. And the cause was, in some round-about way, kids.

You surely would be careful to make a wholesome product if you were selling it to help kids, wouldn't you? I know I would. I'll follow the 5-second rule if I drop something on the floor that I am going to eat, but subject someone else to that? No way!

But they stuck my brownies in a handled plastic bag (they call them t-shirt bags) that was from Giant, one of Darrenkamp's competitors.

So if you're planning to hold a bake sale soon, I'd like to make a couple of suggestions. First of all, make some signs that prominently display your cause. You're not just raising funds, you're raising awareness. Your members are contributing not just the materials to bake those goods, but their time as well, and the time to man the bake sale table. You want people to know that your cause, whatever it is, is important enough that you're donating all this time and money to raising funds.

Second, you want to print up a little brochure. If you have someone who's skilled at Microsoft Word, you can make up a tri-fold brochure, and if not, you can just make up an 8.5x11 sheet, but it needs to say "Thanks" and explain why your cause is worthy.

It needs to have some contact numbers. Someone who buys a pie from you will call later, and say, "Hey, I've got 10 cases of microwave popcorn in my warehouse, and it's not selling very fast. I need the space. Do you want it?" And they get room in their warehouse and you get another fund-raiser. (No, it's not going to help on their taxes. They deduct the cost of the popcorn when they buy it. They report the income when they sell it. If they give it to you, it's exactly the same, tax-wise, as if they discarded it.)

There's also going to be someone who calls you up, and says, "Hey, that sounds like a good cause. How do I volunteer to help?"

If you own a business that lets people hold bake sales in front of the store, this is an "in for a dime, in for a dollar" opportunity. You need to put up an easel saying "Darrenkamp's welcomes the VFW Women's Auxilliary Something Program" in big letters, and in smaller letters, you say. "We checked them out. They do good work. Consider giving them a donation as well as making a purchase." Down at the bottom, it should say "Thinking about a bake sale? We'd like to help? Ask for Steve - 555-1212".

Ask that the bake sale uses your new, clean t-shirt bags, rather than recycled bags that might contaminate the food. And when people contact you about bake sales, give them a little leaflet saying that you're happy to furnish the t-shirt bags, and that for best results, they need to have brochures or something to put in the bags telling people who they are, what they do, and how to contact you to donate goods or services or join up.

It wouldn't hurt to have one of those 5-gallon thermal jugs and some paper cups, and fill the jug with ice-cold orange drink, to refresh both the workers and the shoppers. People like to make a difference, and they like being treated very nicely, and when those people walk into your store, the difference in their attitude will show up in your cash register.

Is that being mercenary, rather than charitable? No. But recognizing this fact might make you realize that there's more you can do to get people to hold their bake sales in front of your store, instead of the competitor's store. Maybe you can keep a couple of banquet tables and some folding chairs around, so people holding bake sales don't have to haul those items. Maybe you want to mention their bake sale in your advertising. Maybe you want to contribute something - perhaps a few bucks, perhaps something that isn't selling very well, and you need the room.

The folks from United Disability Services were down the road a little ways from there, in the persona of New Life Assistance Dogs. There's a pizza and pasta restaurant that offers soft-serve ice-cream, and they were at the picnic tables out back in the grass. They had five dogs with them - three yellow labs, one black lab, and a bulldog that had dalmation spots.

The dogs were in training. They're going to be service animals when the training is complete. They were really magnificent animals, and I really wanted to pet them, but you're not supposed to pet service animals; it confuses them.

United Disability Services was started a few years ago, by parents of kids who had disabilities, if I recall correctly. Their website says they serve people with cerebral palsy, stroke, polio, learning disabilities, epilepsy, spina bifida, autism, amputation, spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. That's a long shopping list of disabilities.

According to the IRS, a charitable organization isn't supposed to benefit the people who are running it, but a lot of them skirt that requirement. After all, they need competent administrators, don't they? Perhaps they aren't paying the top management enough? And they can't afford to pay the peons on the bottom rungs, who are actually providing the services.

I'm told, however, that UDS is doing a great job for their clients. There are a few others that I'm impressed by. More and more, I'm reading reports that the Salvation Army is making better use of their funds than those big-name charities that have diseases or organs in their name. The Mennonite Central Committee seems to be doing great work as well.

I used to do like everybody else, give a little bit to everyone who asked for something. These days, though, I try to be a "Meaningful specific" rather than a "Wandering generality." If someone is trying to sell me girl scout cookies, which are worth the price they ask, I buy. When someone is trying to sell me a $2 box of candy for $5, though, the organization is probably paying their supplier $3 for that $2 box of candy, and I don't bite. Unless, of course, it's a little kid, and the organization is the school one block away.

I've thought about setting up a fund-raising company, offering pencils. If the Acme School Band Parents were having a fund raiser, the kids would go around offering pencils for sale to their victims - and their victims would be offered pencils that said "Thank you for your $5 contribution - Acme School Band".

The band can buy 250 pencils like that for about 20c each, or 2500 pencils for about 12c each. And if they don't sell all the pencils this year, they can sell them again the next year.

Yes, it's asking flat-out for a contribution - but the pencils serve as a "receipt" so that little fingers don't let the money slip away accidentally. But paying $5 for a $2 box of candy is a contribution, too, and in the case of the candy, the group only gets $2, instead of $4.80.

Some folks are going to say "No" to a $5 pencil - but there are people who are going to say no to that candy, too, because they are on a diet.

But no matter how you raise that money, be sure to raise awareness, too. Brochures about your organization are important - and it's something almost everybody forgets.

Other Bloggers On These Subjects:
advertising - awareness - brochure - bake sale - charity - guide dogs - donation - fund raising - Mennonite Central Committee - pencils - popcorn - Salvation Army - United Disability Services - VFW