Step 1 to a Successful Textbook Fundraiser - Engaging Donors

In my book, a successful textbook fundraiser

• Shows students their potential to make a difference in the world, 
• Contributes financially to great causes, and
• Reduces waste/maximizes value by putting unused books in others' hands.

But, how do we achieve this? After you've committed to a cause, how do you actually run a fundraiser that accomplishes these goals?

Step 1: Engaging Donors
When all is said and done, the mission of Compassion by the Book (my nonprofit, textbook fundraising organization) is about people. You can't raise anything without donors. Clearly It all starts with sharing the idea and vision of your textbook fundraiser. Engaging donors is not a one-size-fits-all task and takes all sorts of methods, from emails to the sharing of a personal testimony to an announcement at a club meeting (personal invitations seem to be the most effective).

The most important step is sharing the vision, but you must convey three crucial pieces of information: A) the cause(s) they can support, B) how they can join, and C) how they know they can trust you (i.e. how do they know the money goes where you say it will).

Responses will vary. Some students will offer to donate before you even have the chance to ask, while others need longer to digest the information before they decide whether they can help. Start with your close friends. Your friends and your friends' friends are connected to you and trust you, so they will give you the time of day. The worst they can do is say no. My experience is that your enthusiasm and passion will rub off and as you demonstrate how easy it is to get involved and show the good a donation does!

Your invitation to donate a book shows your passion, turns unused resources into aid for good causes, and opens the eyes of another to their own potential!

What is the next step? How do you turn good intentions or interest into action? Share your ideas or experience in a comment!

Measured Success

From August 4 to September 20, I listed your donated books on Amazon and pursued buyers at the Colorado School of Mines (hereafter, Mines) campus. I am pleased to announce that 150 books were sold and $6,000 raised!

Nine organizations/groups participated and their causes include but are not limited to, American Red Cross, a local nonprofit effort (to be chosen by students at Regis University), World Vision, and several InterVarsity Christian Fellowship chapters in Colorado.

I've included some basic charts with an overview of sales and income to explain the nature of textbook sales.

 

As you can see from the graph "Books Sold", the greatest number of books sold in one day is 16 and the least is 0 (the average is 3.25). The highest concentration of books sold occurred between August 19th and September 1st (average of 6). Sales of textbooks is cyclical, with a greater demand during the beginning of semesters and quarters. Textbook sales on Amazon are variable because there are competitors adding supply and changing their prices daily, which affects the visibility of your products on the Amazon search page. For example, in a high demand time, a book may be listed as the lowest option on Amazon for $50 and in two weeks, when demand is less, the going price for the same book may only be $25. Either the price must be adjusted to remain competitive or you have to wait for the high demand time to return (which, may be never, if a new edition comes out). 

The graph above illustrates how the total books sold increases more rapidly in late August and tapers off after the first week of September. I attribute that to higher supply (and lower demand) after September 8, which resulted in the fundraiser's listings becoming uncompetitive. A simple fix is to readjust the prices, but if the books will be worth more again in December it may be worth waiting.

The chart above ("Daily Income") shows the daily income of the books sold. The highest income came on August 20th when I sold eight books on the Mines campus for an average of $90 per book. I have learned from my experience that in-person sales result in greater income and less risk than Amazon sales.

In the chart "Percentage Revenue" I wanted to illustrate how significant in-person sales were to fundraising this semester. Sales on the Mines campus accounted for 21% of the revenue and only 15% of books sold (25 of 157). The average revenue per book from sales at Mines was $50 and the average revenue per book due to Amazon sales was $36.

The success is staggering, but these figures do not even begin describe the full potential of your donated textbooks. I estimate that there are close to 1,000 books still in inventory that must be put to further use by either being sold in a book sale, donated to a library, recycled, or through other means.

I am glad that all the efforts of students donating books has made such a great difference! I look forward to the college students of the U.S. meeting their potential and far exceeding my expectations again!

Business Plan

Last week I met with the CEO of Goodwill Denver, Jesse Wolff, to "pick his brain" about this nonprofit. He got straight to business. Within the first three minutes of our meeting he asked "do you have a business plan written out?" Not extensively, no. Meaning "not at all, no." He went on to explain that the nonprofit sector is very competitive in Colorado and that there is not a lot of money. His frankness was refreshing. I've spent too much time with my head in the clouds and not enough thinking about how the cash flow will work. Yet I still believe that all the needs of this organization will be provided for. However, that doesn't make planning any less important.

My aunt was the first to tell me I needed a business plan (in late June), but amidst all the things to learn about the nonprofit world (from incorporation paperwork to assembling a board of directors) I neglected the planning process to show how this idea will work on a large-scale. I have ideas buzzing in my mind about how to conduct operations and I have one year of experience in small-scale efforts, but this does not convince anyone wanting to know how this will endeavor will succeed. My little efforts at Mines had no cost other than my time, but that will have to change once operations are expanded. For example, I cannot store all the books in my house or office or neighbor's garage. Storage space could cost money, which means it must be accounted for in the business plan. It took my meeting with Mr. Wolff to decide it was high time to work "extensively" on the business plan.

A friend of mine and fellow graduate from Mines, Dylan Engberg, met with me a couple weeks ago and gave me many of his materials and sources for business planning. One source he shared was the Denver Small Business Development Center (denversbdc.org), which offers free consulting to start-up businesses in the Denver area. I scheduled an appointment last Wednesday (immediately after I met with Mr. Wolff) and I have my first consultation this afternoon. I look forward to learning about business plans and getting started on the logistics of running and growing this not-for-profit business.

A nonprofit for textbook fundraising

Anyone can start a textbook fundraiser and begin impacting the world. That was proven by a number of clubs conducting fundraisers last year (see my first post, "The birth of an idea" for more details), but my experience has convinced me that a nonprofit organization would greatly benefit students who want to take up this project.

Here's why:

1. Marketing - Who has ever heard of a textbook fundraiser?
Anyone can start a textbook fundraiser, but either they must have the idea independently or they have to hear about it somewhere. People need to be invited. A nonprofit would invite and encourage students and student groups to participate and then help them run with it!

2. Empower - Who has the time for a textbook fundraiser?
Students have more time than they think, but it is easy to understand that students may be too busy to figure out (let alone run) a textbook fundraiser's operations while in school. Some students have time to manage a fundraiser and others do not. I don't want to discourage the latter from participating and making a difference with their friends. Empowering comes in two ways: 1) advising students who want to conduct a fundraiser independently and 2) being the seller for individuals or groups that don't have the time to handle the necessary logistics.

3. Storage space, unsold inventory, and customer service
As the seller of textbooks for the participating students and student groups, a nonprofit would enable students to focus on the collection of textbooks rather than where to store them, how to organize and inventory them, what to do with unsold books, how to sell or ship them, or providing customer service. The nonprofit would provide logistical services and advice for fundraising groups.

4. Credibility and accountability
When a student or group chooses to help a cause by starting or contributing to a textbook fundraiser, they should feel comfortable knowing that their efforts are going to make a difference. Nonprofits are held responsible by the U.S. government, but a nonprofit would also offer detailed reports summarizing funds raised to participants to ensure the greatest credibility. In addition, proper accounting practices would be in place to ensure all the hard-earned funds go to helping a participant's cause as soon as possible.

5. Efficiency and expertise = maximized results
A nonprofit with the mission to help textbook fundraisers would develop a specialization in selling books that would bring both efficiency to the operations and expertise in maximizing funds raised. Additionally, a nonprofit would be able to conduct its work on a regular, daily basis and mobilize volunteers from many backgrounds to assist the varied causes of participating students.

I would greatly appreciate your comments and feedback about reasons good or bad about starting a nonprofit for textbook fundraising. You may email me at kurtis.griess@gmail.com if you do not want to comment below this post.

The birth of an idea

After a long trip last summer (2009) I came home to an impossibly messy room and a mother strongly urging me to clean it (that's putting it lightly). She forced me to either put an item in a box or throw it away. At some point I came across all my school textbooks, which I had been waiting for my father to sell. Since he had no time, he told me I could sell them and keep the money.

The process began and when all was said and done, I had $600 extra in my bank account. As I was reveling in the success of my endeavor, the selfish thought surfaced: "I bet I can convince my friends to give me their old textbooks and I can sell them and make tons of money." Not a millisecond passed before the thought was interrupted and replaced with, "No, you should actually try to get some books to raise money for something greater than yourself." It immediately struck chords in my heart and I knew this was right.

I didn't set any goals for the project, but I believed it could raise at least $500. I suggested the idea to a friend of mine (citing my successes) and he was very supportive, so I created a Facebook event to try to get some books to fundraise for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. The impersonal invitation had limited success (of two or three hundred invitees, 20 said "yes" and only three actually gave books). However, from those three donors about $200 was raised. I realized quickly that the Facebook event would not be as successful as personal requests. I proceeded by inviting specific friends to join the cause and donate their books.

After eight donors stepped forward, $1200 was raised for InterVarsity.

Positive reinforcement is a great motivator and after considering how well this worked, my vision for this project grew. Why shouldn't other students and groups know how much good they can do too? My excitement compounded when I shared the idea with others and they reacted positively. So, in spring 2010, I began inviting campus group leaders to start their own fundraising efforts and I offered to help them through the process and many more joined.

Shortly thereafter, an earthquake struck Haiti, which built steam for the project as many groups chose to send whatever they raised to Haiti relief organizations. The administration of the school caught wind of the project and soon the fundraiser was adopted and advertised school-wide. Between all the different fundraising groups, over $5000 was raised (over $3000 for Haiti).

Such big results for a little idea. Students have textbooks. Students want to make a difference. With little effort, those books can be collected, sold, and proceeds given to someone or something in need.

It was worth it and it still is. I want to encourage every college student to start making a difference now. I will gladly help and guide any student or group pursuing their own textbook fundraiser. I am committed to seeing this idea spread nation-wide, so that books save lives instead of collecting dust.