The seasons are as different in the fundraising business as they are here in Colorado. The fall is extremely busy–from mid-August all the way to Christmas we’re cranking out long hours building packets, running kick-offs, making deliveries, shipping orders, doing the pig races and finally wrapping up with a furious three weeks of non-stop Holiday Shopping.

After the fall we slow down for the holidays, take care of business around the warehouses and get ourselves ready to begin again. Now spring is nearly here and we at ABC Fund Raising Inc have begun the new fundraising season. Soon the deliveries will start up– just in time for better weather.

It’s one of my favorite times of the year as I get to head out in the big truck making deliveries to schools across Colorado. It gives me as chance to take in the farms out east just as the spring shoots begin pushing themselves from the ground. To the west the winter snows begin to relinquish the earth back to the grasses and mountain flowers, and of course, here on the front-range tulips will be dotting the pathways with cheerful pastels.

Here at the warehouse we just received our new supply of bulbs and seed mats from the Netherlands, so our warehouse smells a little bit like a greenhouse (this has no doubt contributed to my bout of spring fever.) We’ve begun packing them into the orders that we’ll be delivering.

I wish you all a happy almost-spring and hope to see you in coming months!

Some of you might have caught our press release or one of the subsequent stories in local papers about ABC Fund Raising Inc. partnering with Colorado schools to donate over $78,000 to the Yellow Ribbon Support Center.  To view the article click here.

This was the item on the back cover of the 2011 Kids Are First catalog and at the end of the fall fundraising season, the Yellow Ribbon Support Center donation was the most popular item sold in our catalog.

So I think it’s pretty cool that people supported the fundraiser to benefit their school in the first place, and I think it’s just plain awesome that so many chose to do so by purchasing something to help someone they don’t even know.  This story is a good reminder that in a time when it’s easy to see so many things wrong, a lot of people quietly and thanklessly continue doing things that are right.

There is an interesting article by Tim Sullivan in PTO Today that’s been making the rounds here at ABC Fund Raising Inc. It’s about the differences between sales people in general and sales people in the school fundraising business. Basically, he’s making the point that while we tend to have a healthy distrust of sales people in general, this distrust does not serve us well when working with a good representative at a reputable fundraising company.

He brings up a lot of good points in support of this idea, but in a nutshell he’s saying that the biggest difference is that fundraising companies and PTOs both want the same thing—more money being raised for the school.

This is different than say, buying a car. When you purchase a car, the more money you pay, the more the salesman is going to make–so what’s bad for you can be good for him and vice-versa. But in fundraising, the more a school raises, the more the fundraising company makes. Also, a fundraising company isn’t just looking for a one time sale, but for a relationship with a school that will last for years.

Finally, he encourages parent volunteers to view fundraising reps as resources. After all, they’re professionals in the business, and assuming they’ve been at it for awhile, they’ve accumulated a lot of knowledge and experience about how successful fundraisers are run, and since they really do want their schools to raise the most amount of money with the least amount of headaches, why wouldn’t a parent group use them as a resource?

Sullivan has a lot of insightful points about fundraising, so if you have a minute, I really recommend giving his article a read.

There have been a number of stories in the news lately about bullying. Sadly, many of these have been about students committing suicide after being bullied. This phenomenon has even become so common that we now have a word for it—bullycide.

Statistics show that 17% of children are victims of bullying and that, “it is most likely to occur where there is no adult supervision, inadequate adult supervision, poor supervision, a lack of structure, and few or no anti-bullying rules; it is also more likely to occur where teachers and students accept bullying or are indifferent to it.” The internet has also created a new forum for bullies to operate. In the past victims could at least escape the bullying when they left school, but now a student may be victimized 24/7 and in a broadly public forum.

There is no doubt that this has become a serious problem that needs addressing. Fortunately, Colorado recently passed HB 1254. This law updates the definition of bullying to include cyber-bulling, creates an anti-bullying task force, and provides funding for schools to implement bullying prevention programs.

ABC Fundraising Inc is also joining in the effort to stop bullying. We’re partnering with Block Out Bullying, an anti-bullying program created by nationally renowned speaker and author Richard Paul. By joining this with regular fund-raising efforts we will be able to offer schools the opportunity to add bullying prevention to their regular curriculum without increasing their financial burden.

With all the pressure and danger our kids face in the broader world, we should always be working to ensure that schools are places kids can safely and confidently thrive. Implementing anti-bullying programs now will go a long way toward making this goal a reality.