OA 2015 - 2016

Original Works (OW) Fundraiser Helpful Hints 2015-2016

Original Works provides a schedule information sheet. Become familiar with the dates and mark them on your calendar.

Advertise in the E-Newsletter. We used “Every child is an artist” to catch people’s attention. (see attached form)

OW provides a “Look What's Coming Letter” to be sent home with the children. We decided to simplify the look and ‘brand’ the flyer with “Every child is an artist.” This form was sent home with the preview magnet and order form.

After the order forms go home and orders are close to the due date, a half sheet reminder (see attached form) was sent home encouraging people to return their preview magnets or purchase them for $6.00. All reminders should also be sent via school e-newsletter.

Many orders were added incorrectly and parents had to be contacted to send in corrected amount. This portion(double-checking check amounts and order totals) was very time consuming. Part of this was due to the company omitting prices from the order form. In the future you might want to contact company to see if prices could be added to the order form.

*REMINDER*-the form that is sent home with the child is the order form they need to use. The red 6-digit number in the upper right corner of the order form corresponds to the OW made by the child. This information is in the instructions but should be highlighted even more. For instance, if a parent prints an order form online, the corresponding number will be missing and the company will not know what artwork to print. If you use a different ‘blank’ or unused form from someone else the OW that is printed will be incorrect.

In the future, the art teacher will keep the original artwork until the fundraiser is complete. This will be helpful if there are problem orders and the company needs the number printed on the back. The teacher can return the original artwork (self portrait) to the children to bring home at the end of the fundraiser.

This fundraiser is a time commitment over several months, having a co-chair is helpful to take turns completing the different stages in the schedule (e.g. dropping off orders to UPS, stuffing teachers boxes with flyers).

From our estimate, it was a successful fundraiser with really good participation. In the past, co-chairs have suggested getting rid of the preview magnet. This year many people purchased the magnet adding to the success of the fundraiser. Many reminders via flyer and school E-newsletter helped.