Basic Facts
- We are selling boxes of “30 cards for $30!” These are substantial organizer boxes filled with high-quality, embellished greeting cards.
- 5 box types: https://youtu.be/yBRJi1bhnu8
- All Occasion Box 1 & 2 include a variety such as birthday, anniversary, baby shower, etc.
- Thanks & Blanks include 15 of each type.
- Kids Birthday Box has 30 birthday cards just for kids.
- Holiday Cards Box has *50 cards for $30* and include 24 Christmas and 26 others such as Mother’s/Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, etc.
- Please collect payment upon recording the pre-order and mark which payment method was used (cash, check, or Square).
- Make checks payable to either “Dallas Christian Community Association” or “Troop 147”.
- The troop profit is approximately 50% of sales PLUS any donations!
- There are PRIZES for the top 3 sellers as well as a Prize Catalog that everyone gets to order from based on how many boxes they sold.
- Boxes sold to local customers will be distributed to each Trailman to hand-deliver after the fundraiser is complete.
Schedule
- Oct. 6: Kick-off and distribute fundraiser packets. Contact Troopmaster Roberts if you were absent and would like to arrange pick up.
- Oct. 13: Collection Day #1 & Prize Catalog distribution – Please bring your binder with any payments that have been collected so far.
- Oct. 20: Collection Day #2 – Please bring your binder and any payments to the regular troop meeting.
- Oct. 27: Final Collection Day Deadline – Please bring ALL order forms, payments, and prize catalog selections and return fundraiser binders. If you are unable to attend, please call/text Troopmaster Roberts to arrange a drop-off time prior to 10/27.
- Oct. 30: Card boxes ordered
- Nov. 10: Card boxes sorted and given to Trailmen to deliver. We will also schedule a day/evening for volunteers to help us pack and label any boxes which need to ship out-of-town.
- Delivery Date: You may inform customers that we will hand-deliver or ship boxes (and send tracking numbers) by Thanksgiving at the very latest.
Goal: 300 Boxes!
We think the troop will far surpass this number based on last years’ huge success, but we are making a conservative goal to account for potential effects from the pandemic. We are requesting that each Trailman sell *at least* 5 boxes in order to waive troop dues. If your family chooses not to participate in the fundraiser, troop dues for the year are $50 per Trailman.
Online Ordering: https://troopdallas.square.site/
We created a fundraiser sales website this year for online sales, and we are also offering to ship boxes to customers who are out-of-town, since some families may prefer to do mostly virtual/phone sales rather than door-to-door. Shipping is expensive at approximately $10-15 per box, depending on the destination (30 embellished greeting cards are heavy). That cost will be charged to the customers. All box sales requiring shipment should be placed on the Square website. Local customers may also choose to change the fulfillment method to “Pickup” in the cart prior to checking out. There is a required text box for your customer to fill in the Trailman’s name, so that they can receive credit for those sales. You may also write down the sale in your binder noting “Square” as the payment method.
https://troopdallas.square.site/
Graphics & Printable Resources: CFAC Google Drive
This drive has printable order forms as well as all the other sheets which are included in your binder (cover page, card details, etc). There are also graphics about the fundraiser and our troop which may be printed and/or used for sharing online.
https://bit.ly/CFACtroopdallas
Tips
- Wear your uniform, be polite, and keep it short. Have your Trailman learn some general info about the boxes/fundraiser and practice his *short* sales pitch several times, so that he’s comfortable doing most of the talking. It’s much harder to resist a kid selling than an adult. If you would like to borrow a TLUSA or troop t-shirt, let us know.
- Here’s a video of Kevin doing his sales pitch a few years ago: https://youtu.be/xeDIOWL7ZKY
- Make phone call sales! This year, since we are offering box shipment, we can expand our lists of potential customers to any friends or family members in the whole U.S.
- You may choose to share the Troop’s social media post(s) about the fundraiser on your personal timeline, which is great. We also encourage you to reach out individually to friends and family (in-person, call, text, personal message, etc) as well rather than JUST posting on social media, since a personal touch is typically much more effective. Creating sales/thank you videos of your Trailman is always a big hit! https://www.facebook.com/troopdallas/posts/3298213166959199
- We have found that as a general rule, it takes about an hour to canvas a city block (up one side of the street and back on the other side). Most of the time if someone answers the door, they will either donate or buy a box. Please follow any solicitation rules in your neighborhood.
- Safety recommendations for selling in person
- Wear masks and stay 6′ or more away from customers whenever possible.
- Do not let customers touch the binder or pen. Hold the binder for them to see card details, and then have them verbally communicate their contact info and box order while you do the writing.
- Accept contactless credit card payments using QR Codes!
- On each box detail page in your binder, you will see a QR code at the top right. A customer can scan that QR code using their smartphone, tap on the link, and go straight to the purchasing page for that box. Practice the process on your own phone.
- QR codes are ONLY used for boxes which can be hand-delivered locally. Do not scan a QR code and the email it to your Aunt in California.
- They will not need to create a login, the checkout page is secured using https, and will only require them to fill out their name, the Trailman’s name who is selling (speak your name clearly, so that you receive credit), phone number, email, and payment info. If you are selling to a stranger, please stay with them to answer any questions about the process, verify that payment is complete, and then write down their info on your order sheet.
- Any orders for which payment cannot be verified will not be counted towards sales credits for prizes.
- If a phone is having trouble with a QR code through the sheet protector, you may pull out the QR sheet at the back of the binder OR text them the troop website link: https://troopdallas.square.site/
- The QR code on the cover page of the binder can be used for donations to the troop via credit card.
- Shoebox for collecting payments: Cut a slot in the short end of a shoebox. When a customer would like to pay via check/cash, visually confirm the payment amount, then hold the other end of the box while they put their payment in the slot. You may want to take a few $10 bills for change, so that you don’t have to get change out of the shoebox.
- We are requesting that adults accompany their Trailmen for all fundraiser selling this year, even for Navs/Adventurers.
- If you have several friends/family members who live in the same out-of-town area, consider taking orders from that group to hand-deliver at a later date when you see them rather than having them pay shipping costs. For instance, we have a large concentration in Houston, so we usually send a shipment back with a relative who visits at Thanksgiving.
Pray
None of us knows what the next couple months are going to bring, so please be willing to pivot and understand that we may need to change plans if necessary. We are asking all troop families to pray diligently for health/safety during the fundraiser.