The Simple answer. We are one of five family-owned companies working together. Each company has its own client base, but we cooperate on a number of areas. We also are a part of a “buying group” of about 18 small independent companies nationwide. All company owners are experienced in fundraising and still work directly with schools and leagues. We have no investors or stockholders and are financially stable. Our main focus is on creating profitable fundraisers for our clients. We share a common experience in fundraising that goes back more than fifteen years.

A little background. The fundraising industry started in the 1940s’ with large companies and nationwide paid sales forces. Magazines were the first major product, followed by chocolate, followed by flower bulbs, then “cheese & sausage.” Giftwrap came along in the mid-1980’s along with student packing. Competition heated up and companies started offering more and more services. As large companies found that a paid sales force was no longer economically feasible, salesmen became independent contractors. Then these independent contractors started breaking away and forming small local and regional companies, becoming “distributors”. In the 1980’s a Chicagoan named Mark Metzner started importing ornaments and novelty items from the Orient and selling those to the small independent companies while American Greetings started doing the same with wrapping paper. Metzner’s company, then also representing American Greetings, became Giftco, a “supplier” selling to “distributors.” Several Wisconsin cheese manufacturers joined the industry. An ever-growing group of suppliers competed for business by offering “dating” on product. Distributors sometimes made a down payment in March along with an opening order, which could be increased later, and in some cases were allowed to place sizable orders with no upfront payment at all. Suppliers generally allowed distributors to defer payment for product until December, allowing them to use their resources for labor costs. Retail prices rose to offset the cost of “dating” and the ever-increasing profit percentages, and as retail prices rose, participation and sales in the schools fell. Fast forward to the 21st Century and we find that a bidding war based on profit percentage had forced well over half of the fundraising companies in the nation into bankruptcy and eventual closing and had reduced the major suppliers to two companies, because of ever higher profit percentages to schools and shrinking margins from suppliers. This left a number of supply companies with uncollectible debt, because of the “dating terms” on purchases by distributors, and put the supply companies into foreclosure and out of business. When Giftco, the last importer, closed its doors because its credit line was revoked by the bank, even more regional and local fundraising companies “went under.” A solution was needed.

The detailed answer. Yes, we are five family-owned companies working together. Each company has its client base and we cooperate:
•AGI fundraising is located in Carlisle PA and is owned by Gary and Karen Ulrich. Gary handles sales to sports leagues and schools in the Carlisle-Harrisburg area of PA and works with product and prize development. Karen handles finance and runs the warehouse, packing non-frozen foods, wrap catalogs, and other hard goods. Gary had been a band director before going into fundraising as a sales representative for a national company. They have three sales reps and about 20 warehouse workers.
•Kidz-First is located in Allentown PA and is owned by Jim and Cheryl Mathesz. Both Jim and Cheryl work with school sales. Jim works with product development and transportation and Cheryl runs the warehouse. For our group they pack all the frozen food items. Jim had been a choral director before becoming a sales representative for a national company. They have two sales representatives and about fifteen warehouse workers.
•Total Concepts is located in Hollidaysburg PA, near Altoona, and is owned by Helen Brown and Evelyn “EJ” Shannon. Helen works with clients by phone and EJ goes to schools, kicks off sales, works with prize development and does some field managing for AGI. Their service area includes central PA. Total Concepts utilizes product packing by AGI and Kidz-First. EJ had entered fundraising as the comptroller of a regional firm, and Helen had entered fundraising, helping her late husband by making appointments for sales calls. They have two sales representatives.
•Moody Associates is located in Augusta County, VA and is owned by Bob Moody. Bob works with schools and sports leagues in VA and WV. Bob also works with marketing strategies and prize development for the group and does parent letters for AGI and Total Concepts. Bob had been a band director and entered fundraising as a sales representative for a Virginia-based company. After a operating a joint packing operation with Total Concepts, he now utilizes AGI and Kidz-First for product packing.
•Visions of Sugarplums is located in Wilmington Delaware and is owned by Tom and Andrea Schweitzer. Tom makes the sales calls and Andrea runs the office and handles their substantial Holiday Shop business. Tom entered fundraising as a sales representative for a national company. Tom and Andrea ran their own warehouse for a number of years, but now rely on Kidz-First and AGI for packing services.

The bigger picture. After the demise of Giftco, AG, the group listed above, and twol other regional companiesin other parts of the country teamed up to double their buying power through increased volume and lower prices. Importing items directly also became possible, although imports make up less than a fourth of product in the brochures. Additional companies have joined the group in buying specific items that are used by all in the group. The buying group has eliminated “buying on credit” so that there is no chance of one member bringing down the entire organization. Each company has to develop its own credit line and pay manufacturers for product and brochures “up front.” The family-owned member companies of the group are all managed by people who still work directly with schools and leagues. Gary handles brochure development of non-frozen items in cooperation with owners of other companies in the group, while Gary and Jim Mathesz handle brochure development for frozen product for a smaller subset of the group.  E. J. Shannon and Karen Ulrich handle prize development, and Karen runs a packing operation that serves the five companies. Bob Moody works with marketing concepts.

Benefits of the buying group:
•Larger print runs on brochures reduces costs per brochure, allowing lower product prices.
•Practically eliminating out-of-stock items because there are no brochure reprints. A defined number of brochures are ordered by each company in the group, and each company stocks product to support sales in that number of brochures. Fewer products in the landfill and no products sold off to Big Lots means better quality products at more reasonable prices.
•Shared inventory lists by the groups enable companies to adjust inventories by selling to and buying from each other, rather than depending on a supply company.
•Drastically reduced overstocks at the end of the season. This allows products to be sold at a lower price. Lower prices=more items sold=more profit for your school or league.
•Exclusive items not available in stores or in other fundraising brochures. For example, our group has an exclusive arrangement with “The Giftwrap Company” located in Georgia. Quality is second to none.
•Financial stability enables quick changes to adapt to market conditions.
•The ability to stay in business, because each company involved is financially stable and is managed by people who know fundraising. Many national companies are owned by investor groups and are managed by people who have not worked “in the field”. We have experienced all the “mistakes” in the past and this helps us avoid bad decisions now.
•A commitment to our client schools and leagues instead of a commitment to stockholders. All of our companies are privately-held or family-owned. We are in business for the long haul.
You will make more money with us because we understand how fundraising works, and how best to motivate principals, teachers, kids, and parents.