We all take pride in the things that we own, whether it's waxing the car, cleaning the house, or polishing our shoes; it reflects back on us. If we have worked hard to obtain something, the best thing we can do is take care of it with pride.

Your organization’s reputation in your community is something that needs protection as well. Fundraising projects can enhance or harm a group’s reputation. Consider these three factors when thinking about the fundraising projects used by your group.

Identity is important. Whose name was on the cover (or wrapper) of your last fundraiser? In other words, who are you promoting? A GBC Calendar project has your organization’s name and photographs of your choice on every calendar. There is pride in ownership!


 

Quality is crucial. Nothing is more upsetting than purchasing something from the little boy or girl next door and winding up with an inferior product. A GBC Calendar is made of quality components that will last the life of the calendar. The public will associate the quality of your fundraising products with your organization. Stake your reputation on it.


 

Value is never overrated. When people spend their hard-earned money on your fundraising product, they expect (and deserve) to get their money’s worth. Two bites for a buck or finding similar items for half the price in local stores don’t do much for your reputation. A GBC Calendar will be used for one full year and serve as a daily reminder to your community of your group’s existence.

Purchasing an ad on your calendar should be an easy decision for a local business. Your calendar will more than likely hang by the phone in the kitchen or family area of every home. The ad is visible for one full year.

Several years ago an advertiser reported mediocre response to an offer of a discount oil change “special” contained within his display ad on a calendar. The group decided to offer coupon advertising in addition to traditional display ads. Each month contained ten coupons from local businesses printed on the back of the monthly sheets. The response rate to his “special” increased considerably. People saw the set of coupons on the back of each monthly sheet and used them. The business owner reported a return of 10-12x his cost each month. Since the calendar was being distributed throughout his community, he was also pleasantly surprised with the number of new customers responding to his offer.

Many people watch for and use coupons on a regular basis. Offering coupons to your businesses is another advertising venue for them and additional revenue for you. Give us a call and we can explain how you can add coupon advertising to your next calendar.

We are very proud of our long relationship with our customers. In fact, this fall we have seven customers who are working on their 63rd annual calendar with us – as long as we have been in business! There are 547 groups who have been producing calendars for 50 years or more. According to our records, the following groups will be working on their 50th anniversary issue during the next year. Congratulations!

We are starting our second full year with GB EZ Online (EZO), our calendar project management software program. We are grateful to all who have offered positive comments on its ease of use and availability. For those of you who are using our CD desktop version or some other method for submitting your calendar order, we want to remind you of some of the main features of EZO:

• There is no program to install on your computer, only an internet connection is required.
  
• More than one person can log in and work on your order at the same time.
  
• The type of computer or operating system does not matter. Even Mac users can log in and use EZO!
• Data is stored on our computer server, you do not need to keep back-up files.
  
• The look and “feel” of EZO is similar to our CD version - very easy to use.
• The data from your last calendar is available on line.

All you need to get started using EZO is a Username and Password. These were included in your Promotion Kit materials. The web address is www.gordonbernard.com/ez. If you have trouble logging into your account, email: listings or call 800.531.1484.

We would also like to remind you to send in your payment and any hard copies of advertising logos you may have after you have submitted your order online. We are no longer asking that you send in hard copies of the advertising copy, listings, or order form sheets.

Do you have suggestions for improvements to EZO? Please send them to listings. We are always interested in hearing from you!

Cuba, MO is a small community southwest of St. Louis. The Cuba Order of the Eastern Star #398 (O.E.S.) Chapter has been sponsoring a Community Birthday Calendar for 25 years. Doug Whiteside, calendar chair, told us the calendar project was struggling for lack of purpose. Most of the organization’s members had lost interest. They determined the calendar was popular in the community but needed a make-over as well as new goals. That was three years ago.

The 2011 Cuba O.E.S. Community Birthday Calendar is now a very colorful calenda with 21 display ads, most with full color logos. In addition, there are 84 Directory Ads and Category Headings, many in color as well. According to Doug, the calendar looks nothing like it did before.

But the real story is about reaching their financial goals and how the money raised is invested back into the community. The O.E.S. was looking for a way to help within Cuba and found it in the Cuba Kids In Need project. At first, they teamed with local school officials to purchase clothing, shoes, school supplies, and health care items for needy area children. Last year they joined forces with the Cuba Masonic Lodge and the Missouri Masonic Home and contributed over $5,000.00 to the Cuba Kids In Need project. This led to a new project that has the Cuba O.E.S. involved both financially and as volunteers. It was discovered that many children ate a good breakfast and lunch at school but had nothing to eat over the weekend. As a result, the “Friday Back Pac” project was started. Volunteers pack seven meals into back pacs and hand them out on Friday afternoons to needy students. The Cuba O.E.S. uses calendar profits to help fund the Friday Back Pac project and members assist in getting the back pacs ready for distribution.

Congratulations to the Cuba O.E.S. #398 Chapter for getting involved and filling a real need in your community!