Fundraising for College Programs Designed for Inmates

Do you have a family member or friend in prison?

Did budget cuts stop the school programs?

Are your loved ones taking only 1 or 2 classes a year and they can no longer get a degree or certificate anymore?

Did you know that having these degrees and certificates decrease the amount of time they will serve behind bars?

A new state law will allow California to reduce its prison population by 6,500 inmates over the next year. The law expands early release credits for inmates who finish educational and vocational programs.

In WA state only inmates with less than 7 years can attend college within the prison education program. However what they do not tell you is any inmate who attends work or school. Earns early release time for each month they are involved in that job or program, DOC 350.100 page 6 to 8 just Google it to see it.

Each state has something similar to this so by raising the money to ensure your loved one is in a college program you are helping them to return home sooner.   

Now that you understand why you should do this and not depend on a broken system I would like to give you the details of how to do it.

This July 2011 I am selling $1 candy bars to raise $767 the program is on sale right now for $699 but that will not last for long. I will tell you about the program later for now let’s focus on how to make the money. I am selling the candy bars at my reunion that will be filled with friends and family who will already be asking about my loved one. I will reply I am working on a fundraiser can you make a donation for the college fund or purchase a candy bar. If you are willing I would love for you to sell a case at work for me, how does that sound to you? I will sell 8 cases of candy bars, 4 boxes to a case. If you have 8 people each person will sell 1 case, at work, school, in your local area.

The cost to start this fundraiser is only $114 and no other out of pocket expense; shipping is even FREE until May 2011.

Now going into a professional environment is different okay you DO NOT want to say you are raising money for an inmate. You may not want your personal business all over your work office either so DO NOT tell them more than you need to. Everyone may not understand or want to support your cause because the person is in prison but every wants to support someone getting an education. You want to say you are raising money for your cousin, brother or sister to attend a paralegal program, which is the focus of this blog. Just say my family is raising money for the next month, use your social networking accounts to spread the word. People do not have to be local to help you; you can set up a FREE paypal.com link for cash donations from people who want to help in other locations that you know. 

OR

 

You can make this in as little as 2 days if you are motivated. Spinners and lotto style fund raisers make anywhere from $271 to $475 in one day, if you did two spinners or lotto style fundraisers in two days your could have that money. This requires you to go to a Wal-Mart or a Target and sit outside for that day; it has been my experience that Wal-Mart will also donate to your cause because they want to help people in the community.  

This fundraiser only cost $30 per spinner or lotto style card so you need to get 2 of them that is $60 total. You can have the front customize with your family members information, a picture of them or anything you want it to be J

Contact me for details on getting started today! e-mail me info@customizeSweets.com

Now let’s cover the program and what it’s about:

The program I have in mind is http://www.blackstone.edu/inmateinformation.shtml#1_1 paralegal program all you have to pay to get started is $59 a month for 12 months but with a fund raiser you can pay just over $500 for the full program. Remember it's not about if they want to learn about the law, it’s about working the system to your benefit. We all have to do things that do not interest us, our family & friends who are locked up or no different than us.

Knowledge is a great tool and knowing the system better may keep them at home when they are released.

How to Create Income for Friends & Family and Raise Money

Create Income While You Raise Money

How often have you needed to raise money?

How often have you thought about your friends helping you?

How often have you thought, “How can I help my friends make money while helping my fundraiser?”

You see all those coupon sheets out there that you get as a thank you gift for the donation you made to a fundraiser? Those coupon sheets can be made up of different businesses that your friends own or work at.

First, all you have to do is talk to each one with a skill they are currently working with. For example, if you have a friend who braids hair, they can have a coupon on your sheet. I have friends and family who sell Avon and Mary Kay, make cakes, work as qualified massage therapists and much more. I know you have friends with similar talents and jobs, if you are asking yourself how this works for you? Decide where you are going to market this coupon sheet. i.e. Where will you be set up with your fundraiser when you give the sheet away as a prize? They are going to want to know that you are reaching people that would shop at their business. Now, I have some friends who are happy with the clients they have and do not wish to grow. They say things like, “No thank you. I don't like getting new clients that way because then they always want a discount and I can't work at that price year-round.” Don’t worry about them too much. Some people just will not want to do anything to increase their business. Just let them go down that path and you keep pushing on.

Step 1. Make a list of your friends and their skills.

Step 2. Make up some sample coupons for them (people want things to be easy). I use MS 2010 to create my coupons but you can use anything. If you are not great with designing, I can design it for you.

Step 3. Decide how you want to offer the coupon to your friends. For instance, you can offer the coupon for $$$.

On a side note you could tell your friends & family that you are making these coupons and that you would love to give them a chance to be first on your list. If they are willing to invest just $20 in themselves, here is what they will receive: A coupon 1/2" x 1/2" listed on my sheet which is going to be distributed to 200 people during my fundraiser. That is a great deal. Advertising alone can cost much more than that. It will only cost them 10 cents for every person that receives their business coupon.

Or they can pay $40 and you will create them a coupon sheet with only their business listed. They can pick up to 7 discounts to place on it - 1" x 1".

*Remember: “A closed mouth cannot get fed!” Don’t be afraid to hear NO. Ask for the $40 first. If they say no, then tell them about the smaller $20 ad. A smart business person will say “YES, please hand out my ads for .10 per coupon”. If they get one person to come in, they’ve made their money back.

 Or you can offer it for free; however, people who will not invest in themselves may not be the best people to do business with. While doing customized coupons doesn’t really cost you too much money, you don't want to spend anything that you do not have to.   

Step 4. Call them and set up an appointment to sit down and discuss this. If your friend is far away, you can talk online or over the phone. Just be sure to scan the coupon you created with their business in mind. People are visual creatures by nature and literally need to see what you are offering to do for them, so they can experience it. A 10% ad response is an estimate as to how many people shop with you from the ads businesses place out there. A 10% response to 200 coupons should get you about 20 people that will come in to patronize your business…and those 20 people mean sales!!! Think about it: Why else would they take time out of their day to come in to your business? Advise the business owner on the fact that they may want a special code listed on the coupon so that they know the customers are coming in direct response to your fundraiser coupons.

Step 5. Have your receipt ready the day you have your meeting and present it to them once they pay you. Know the time frame that the fundraiser will be happening, for example from Mar to April. Inform them that you will follow up with them within 1 month after the fundraiser ends to check how many new clients they have received.

Now that you see how easy it is, are you making your list of potential coupon clients yet?

http://www.customizesweets.com/fundraiser_coupons.html to see a picture of a fundraiser coupon sheet.

How to Keep Fundraisers Going All Year Long

Are you tired of pulling fundraisers together all the time? Tired of trying to get people together to sell things at different times throughout the year ?

I can help you set your fundraising up to run all year long, without you having to do anything but make announcements at school, church or on social networking sites like facebook, myspace, etc...

I will walk you through how to set this up one time at no cost to you or your group. No 30-day delayed payments. You never have to give up money until your group has paid you.

I will help you target your sells to help you reach your goals in as little time as possible.

We are going to sell things that sell themselves. It does not get any easier than this.

Our friends and family are always purchasing tickets to go to the movies or amusement parks, so we are going to offer them the tickets at a discount all year long. The movie tickets will sell every week. Just visit my website http://www.customizesweets.com/movie_tickets.html to checkout and download your form for FREE and get started ASAP on reaching your goals.