PDP Company

Easy & Effective Fundraising

In Support of America's Youth Since 1991

How much does this cost (is there any start-up cost)?

• There is no up-front cost to your program. PDP advances ALL of the costs to run your fundraiser, including thanking all your contributors. Other companies may have you handle many of the expenses (and the labor) yourself, but instead PDP initially pays for everything (and we do most of the work too). We are reimbursed for the expenses and our service after you have raised money on your project – not in advance. That is why there is no risk on a completed PDP project. (To request more information click here)

How does this work?

• PDP provides a fundraiser where you, the students/athletes and the parents don’t have to sell anything. Our mission is to make you the most money possible for the least amount of work required by you and your participants. We do this through a simple method we have developed over the past 20 years in raising funds for our own teams and others around the country. We utilize a unique sponsor-letter format (an old idea with some original twists!) in a process that we have streamlined and improved over the years. While the concept itself is not new, the way we implement and run the fundraiser is quite unique. In fact, even if you have seen or tried similar approaches you will likely find the PDP approach very different. First of all, we do nearly all of the detailed work – you simply follow 3 simple steps that we walk you through. While it is a simple process on your end, there are over 30 key steps that PDP does to maximize the effectiveness of your fundraiser for you. Also, there are no initial costs to you of any kind – PDP pays for ALL expenses in running the fundraiser. We start by customizing a letter specifically for your program utilizing our proven format. The time involved by the students, athletes or parents literally is only a few minutes following our simple instructions – then they are done with the fundraiser. PDP does all of the processing, inspecting, posting and mailing of the letters for you. We also take care of all the follow up details for you, including sending out thank you cards to all your paid sponsors, sending pledge forms to any sponsors who choose a pledge option, tracking and recording results for you and reporting back to you details such as how much each student and group (team) generates. We also go over the statistical results of your project with you, in detail, in order to build on the project year after year. The funds come in directly to you (yes, the funds go to you first not to us)! You pay PDP for our services only after you raise funds. If all this sounds too good to be true (we’ve heard that before!), simply call us and we will put you in touch with one of our clients. We believe if you give PDP a try you too will find this really is the best-run fundraising program out there! (To request more information click here)

How much money can we make?

• School groups normally generate between $100 and $200 per student/athlete participating in the PDP program. Individual teams usually raise many thousands of dollars in one project with PDP. An average football team, for example, should generate between $7,000 and $15,000, depending on size, although some teams have raised considerably more than that. Larger department-wide or multi-sport projects can raise tens-of-thousands (typically these projects range from $25,000 to $150,000). Our local athletic booster club, for example, has raised over $65,000 with multiple teams participating every year. (We don’t like to sell “pie in the sky” so we will be happy to share specific results of programs in your area and discuss realistic goals for your program – just give us a call!) Groups normally keep close to 70% profit (65 on the low end, 75 on the high end) depending on the efficiency of the group participation. Essentially WE do a vast majority of the work and YOU keep a vast majority of the funds!

• PLEASE NOTE: This profit level is a reliable, conservative estimate and it includes ALL costs and services for the whole fundraising process. There are no up-front expenditures, hidden costs, or undisclosed work required of you, as may be the case by other “similar” fundraisers (please call us as we can share the "apples to apples" comparison with most other things.) We work very hard to minimize your expenses and maximize your results on an annual basis, and we would not sell you short by cutting corners to offer you a “cheaper” fundraiser that ultimately will be less effective. We have developed a very good reputation over the past 20 years because we are consistent and we don’t promise something we can’t deliver. Since we are essentially acting as a partner in your fundraising efforts, PDP has a vested interest in your success. We believe this is a very important aspect of PDP and is what you should expect out of a company assisting you with a fundraiser. You can be confident you will consistently get the very best results working with PDP. (To request more information click here)

Is there any way we can lose money (any risk)?

• You cannot lose money by completing a PDP fundraiser. In 20 years, no PDP customer has ever lost money on a completed project. We work too hard to ensure your success to let that happen. We therefore promise that there is no risk to you working with PDP. The only way you could possibly lose money is by canceling a project after we have designed, printed and/or delivered your materials. Then we do ask to be reimbursed for our costs. Remember, we pay for everything, you get the money first and then you pay us later. That ensures there is no risk to you. We are confident enough that our process will generate funds to do it this way. (To request more information click here)

What work is involved for the coach, teacher or organizer?

• With the PDP method, very little work is involved on your part compared with most other fundraisers. One of the main benefits of working with PDP is that our fundraiser is designed to free up some of your time (to teach, coach or even do other fundraisers!). PDP does most of the detailed work on your project, so it is very easy for you do this. PDP literally walks you through 3 easy steps that do not require much time on your part. In fact, many coaches who were reluctant to be involved on fundraisers in the past really like the PDP method because we take the headache out of fundraising. (To request more information click here.)

What work is involved for the student/athlete/participant?

• This is probably the easiest fundraiser you can ask a student/athlete or parents to be involved in. The students/athletes do no selling or handling of a product. They also handle no money. It literally only takes a few minutes to participate and they are done with their part of the fundraiser. The parents may choose to help them, which would make it go even faster. Aside from that, there is no other work involved for the participants. (To request more information click here)

How might this affect other things our parents/booster-club already do?

• The PDP fundraiser is meant to raise money without affecting other fundraisers you may do. (That is why our local booster club started doing it in the first place.) There are two main reasons for this. First, it requires very little manpower on your end. Most PDP fundraisers are organized and run by only one or two people -- the teacher/coach and/or one parent/booster volunteer. Because only one or two people need to be involved, PDP often frees up time for you to do other things. Second, most of the PDP fundraising money comes from outside the local community. That means it won’t impact most other fundraisers. It doesn’t rely on your local support base so it doesn’t conflict or compete with most other things. The fact that 70-80% of the funds usually come from outside of the community is also one of the key reasons the PDP fundraiser is so reliable year after year. That in turn saves you the effort of having to look for “something new” every few years or use the “grab bag of fundraisers” approach. Instead, most programs choose PDP as an annual fundraiser that they can rely on every year for these reasons. (To request more information click here)

If this is so easy, why can't we just do it ourselves?

• The short answer is: you could do it if yourself -- IF you wanted to do all the work and knew all the detailed keys to the success of it. People have tried this and have simply not done very well, especially given the amount of work involved. Trust us, it took us several years and a lot of work to get this figured out ourselves. We already have the formula to maximize the results -- we’ve been doing it for 20 years! We make this process look easier than it is because most of the detailed work happens on our side of the ball. We also know all the ins and outs and the dos and don’ts. Take for instance accurately mailing thank-you, which we customize and mail to your sponsors on a weekly basis, with the amount of their contribution (so they have a receipt), in the name of your program and the name of the student/athlete sponsored. That process would take a considerable amount of time and effort to do individually, but it is a very important part of your success. Then consider the fact that thanking sponsors is just one of many processes we do and have streamlined over the years (including designing and printing letters, processing mail, correcting addresses, looking up zip codes, applying correct postage, tracking hundreds of replies, billing sponsors who make pledges, totaling how much each participant generates, sorting results by teams… etc. etc.). If you tried this on your own, you would likely decide it wasn’t worth the work. Given that we do 95% of the detailed work and you still keep most of the money, people usually decide that it is well worth having PDP do our thing to free up your time to do other things. (To request more information click here)

Why are the thank-you cards PDP sends out so important?

• Thanking sponsors is not just the right thing to do philosophically, but it also happens to be an important part of being able to raise money successfully in the future. Many people expect to get an acknowledgement or receipt, especially when contributing to a school or other non-profit group. Unfortunately, people are often not thanked for their contributions. So, when we send these out promptly (we do it weekly) on behalf of your program and including the amount contributed, they have a timely acknowledgement of their contribution. This leaves a good impression in the minds of the sponsors, who will then recognize and support your efforts the following year. That is why the thank you is such and important part of our service. We also provide you with a list for your records, to show who we thanked and for how much. This may be important for your future records (or audits) as well. It certainly would be cheaper and easier to not do these things, but we do not choose to cut these corners. As a true partner in your fundraising efforts, we do things the right way so that you succeed both now and in the future. We know that thanking your sponsors promptly, for the amount of their contribution, and reporting that back to you is an important part of that success. (To request more information click here)

Why does the PDP method work every year?

• First off, we should point out that the PDP method will not only continue to work on an annual basis, it also tends to improve over time. Most of our customers have increased or even doubled the amount they raise over time. This is because our process is designed to work as an annual tradition. Remember, 70-80% of the money raised is not generated locally, so you are not continually tapping into the same support base as other fundraisers. Furthermore, as different students/participants cycle through your program every few years, the support base literally changes. That said, you actually want to go back to people who support your program, as long is it is only annually. People don’t mind being asked once a year, especially by something they are familiar with. The fact that PDP thanks all your contributors is also very important, as it leaves them with a positive impression. The contributors appreciate this fundraiser precisely for these reasons: they get something in the mail (that they might be familiar with from last year) coming from someone they know, they get to read it in the privacy of their own home, they get to choose what they want to do and how to respond, without someone on their doorstep that they have to say “yes” or “no” to.
• With PDP as a partner in your fundraising efforts there is a consistency that you can count on. Done the correct way, the reliability of the PDP fundraiser can make your fundraising much easier. Not only can we supplement any other “local” things you may choose to do, but PDP is one project you don’t have to replace, or look for “something new” every few years. Try it for a couple of years and you will see why so many programs choose PDP as an annual fundraiser that they can rely on year after year after year… (To request more information click here)