Emergency Fund to Support Our Shelters At long last, our small group of FML folks is ready to propose a fund raising program to support the shelters on the FML. This group includes Ela Heyn, Judi Lunn, Georgia Wood, Cheryl Forbis, and Karen Trask. BIG has also seen everything. I simply contacted the people who had expressed an interest in starting a fund and have used their good minds to examine this program from all angles. The primary difficulty I had in forming a fund is administering the fund without incurring a tax liability for the money that might be collected. I also wanted a good record-keeping system which would alleviate any worry on any contributors part that I might take the money and head for Disney World all by myself. Ideally, the program must be able to continue without me should I disappear from the FML. Karen Carby (owned by Sneaker) has contacted me to try help with this problem. She read my request for funds for Dayna and Foggy and also my explanation of the considerable (and unrecoverable) expense of caring for each ferret who comes into a shelter. It just so happens that Karen's job is helping charities and organizations raise money. She believes her program can raise money for the shelters while also providing something in return for everyone who donates to this cause. The company she represents, Dosh and Associates, works with groups all over the country which use a Grocery Certificate Coupon Book to attract contributors. Here is how it works: SUPPORT OUR SHELTERS FUND RAISING PROGRAM If you purchase a $25.00 Coupon Book for the FML Shelter Fund, the Coupon Division of Dosh and Associates will GUARANTEE that you will save $200 on your grocery purchases when you use the Grocery Certificate Coupon Book. For each $25.00 Book you order, D&A will place $10.00 in the FML Shelter Fund. For every $1.00 spent (of the $25 cost of the book), you should receive $8.00 worth of store coupons. They will maintain a record of donors for us, and will distribute the funds as needed when requested by our group, which will be screening the requests. The record of funds received and distributed will be available to anyone who has donated to the fund, so that both the company and our group will remain accountable to the FML as a whole. There are over 1,200 major name brand products to choose from. Each book contains twenty $10 certificates that never expire. (Actually, there are 22 certificates, because D&A has donated 2 extra certificates to the FML program to offset the $1.00 handling charge required each time a certificate is redeemed for coupons.) On the back of each certificate, you select up to 35 items of your choice from the list of products. You mail the certificate with a self-addressed, stamped, #10 envelope and $1 to the Coupon Processing Center address on the back of the certificate. In 10 to 15 days, your envelope is returned filled with the discount coupons you chose. You select the coupons you want to receive by listing the number of each product on the back of the certificate. If you want two or more of the same coupon, just list it two or more times. The discount amounts vary item by item and the cap for each certificate is $10, so if you list different products, you may not receive coupons for the items at the end of your list. D&A will guarantee in writing that you will receive 6 times your donation in savings or they will pay you 3 times the amount you donated. Ask for your personal copy of the guarantee when you mail in your order. To get an FML Order Form, send an e-mail request to the address of Dosh and Associates at the bottom of the letter. This program has the potential to raise a great deal of money for our Shelters while providing something in return for any person who makes a contribution. If you would like to see a small sample of the 8 page, 1,200 product Coupon Selection List and a copy of a $10 Certificate, e-mail D&A to request that they fax a copy to you. If you have questions about the administration, validity, security or accountability of the program, please e-mail me (Judith White, [log in to unmask]). We have seen the entire product list, and we believe there are discounts available on products in all categories used each day by all of us. You can help even more if you will make copies of the FML Order Form and offer this discount savings program to your family, friends or neighbors. The shelters may want to offer the books to potential supporters of their own for their own accounts. Each Order Form has the FML name in the top left corner, so D&A can keep track of the orders they process for FML. The same day your order is received, a Grocery Certificate Coupon Book will be mailed to you. Dosh and Associates Voice: (352) 795-9590 252 N.E. 2nd Court Fax : (352) 795-3266 P.O. Box 1290 E-Mail [log in to unmask] Crystal River, Florida 34423 1-800-743-3674 ======== That is the basic program. Here are the answers to further questions our group has asked of Dosh and Associates: 1. The back of each certificate clearly states that the Processing Center pulls 1-3 coupons of each number beginning with the first choice. If more than one product is desired the number must be listed more than once and additional coupons will be sent. 2. To back the program they offer the Triple Your Money Back Guarantee and the Guarantee is backed by the Processing Center. They would not offer a written guarantee if they could not fulfill the requests. We realize that similar programs have promised coupons they could not deliver. 3. There are other programs that are similar, except they do not have an inventory of 10,000,000 coupons at any one time. Some may not have an inventory at all. One company that we are aware of has had to include an expiration date on their certificates, because they cannot guarantee they will have coupons beyond that date. The Processing Center for the FML program often accepts certificates from other coupon books they did not print in order to keep the public happy with the industry. 4. One thing the Processing Center can not control is the manufacturer's decision to offer coupons. The Processing Center can only print what the manufacturers tell them to print. Still, the Processing Center has a substantial inventory, even when coupon printing for a particular product ceases. For example, Proctor and Gamble recently stopped issuing coupons in 3 cities. Fortunately, our Processing Center has a 4 year supply of coupons from Proctor and Gamble. Proctor and Gamble's products for which there are coupons make up only 17 of the 1200 products available. Thus, when one manufacturer pulls something off of the coupon market, it really doesn't affect the buyer that much. It's like changing from Huggies to Pampers or Jiffy to Peter Pan. A couple of years ago General Mills decided to discontinue coupons all together. They made a big deal about it until they experienced the backlash from consumers. Then, they quickly reinstated coupons and when they did they went overboard, including better discounts and adding additional products to the discount coupon selection list. 5. The selection list changes from time to time as new products are added and older products are dropped. So, it is possible for the Processing Center to be out of a specific coupon. This is why they include 35 selection boxes. They want to be sure customers can get enough coupons to meet the dollar value of the certificate. People should use the certificates regularly so they can get the coupons they want. If they don't receive their first choice in the return envelope, they should put that coupon as number 1 on the next one they send in since the supply may have been replenished. Of course, when they reorder a new book, they always get a book with the most current list. 6. D&A holds a national franchise in the grocery coupon distribution business with independent broker/distributors in Dallas, Chicago, Tampa and throughout Central Florida. They are in the process of expanding this business into other towns and communities throughout the country. They offer a variety of programs within the Coupon Division, including helping people and organizations reach their fund raising goals. Efforts range from national campaigns, such as the Children's Miracle Network to regional concerns such as the Joel Mauro Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy fund. Coupon Connection of America is D&A's sister company. Coupon Connection of America is the #1 distributor of coupons. However, they do not distribute these coupon books to the public. They have distributors. Another distributor has a web page somewhere that you could look at to see more about the coupon books. Of course, they would not be giving any money to the FML. 7. The advantage to us of having D&A act as order and collection agent is that the FML has no need to invest in custom printed books. The element of risk is eliminated, since we will be using their stock to meet our obligation to the contributors. This also means there is no need to stock Grocery Coupon Certificate Books and no need to deal with the cost and hassle of delivery and distribution. 8. Contributors may use MasterCard or Visa when making their purchase. D&A includes the name of the group in the top left corner of the form. This allows them to account for all orders, whether the purchases come from credit cards or checks. They maintain a ledger on each group and disburse the funds to the group as they have arranged. When the campaign is complete, they provide a final summary of all donations and disbursements to the sponsoring group. If the FML continues to use the program, they will continue to maintain our account. 9. Companies which have used this coupon book as a premium incentive for sales promotions include: Cellular One, Century 21, Montgomery Ward"s Electric Ave., RAC Rent-A-Center, The Houston Post, TCI Cable, HBO, and United Notary Association. Most of the groups that have used the book recently for fund drives have been religious groups. A number of charitable organizations have used the book. They are: Children's Miracle Network (Sponsored by Wal-Mart), Joel Mauro Ducheene Muscular Dystrophy Fund, Service Care, USA Health Care Providers, and Lexi International. 10. Although a copy of the order form can be downloaded through the e-mail transmission, D&A must have a signed copy of each order form. D&A does not accept phone orders. The order can be a fax transmission or mailed. D&A provides a toll free 800 number for resolving problems and answering questions. 11. The coupons are the same as you receive in the newspaper with the exception of: (1) they come to you already cut out, (2) you receive the coupons you want, when you need them, not what the newspaper decides to print for that week. Karen gave an example from her experience: We can not tell the manufacturers how much discount to put on the coupons. What I can tell you is I sent in a $10 Coupon Certificate and just received it back. The contents in the envelope came to $11.85 in discount coupons, with the least amount being .35 cents, total coupons 17. If someone wants more than one coupon of a specific item, they must list it again. Keep in mind you receive between 1-3 for each product listed until they total $10. Also, start with the most used (#1) to the least used (#35). BUT WHO GETS THE MONEY? A group of shelter folks have given us suggestions and concerns about working out the distribution of funds. This is not easy. We will want to know who all the shelter folks on the FML are, and we will have to verify this through their veterinarian or other reliable reference. In order to be fair to the shelters who hesitate to ask for help, we will divide the funds equally among the shelters and keep an account of who has used what funds. Money will not be sent directly to any individual. Instead, we will send a check to their veterinarian to pay medical expenses, or we will arrange the purchase and delivery of needed supplies. This may sound overly cautious, but we must be responsible with your money. Shelter Moms and Dads: let us know who you are. In conclusion: We will gladly answer any and all questions people may want to raise, whether privately or on the FML. If you have any reservations about why the shelters need our support, please do not hesitate to ask us for an explanation. Cheryl Forbis, [log in to unmask] Ela Heyn, [log in to unmask] Judi Lunn, [log in to unmask] Karen Trask, [log in to unmask] Judith White, [log in to unmask] Georgia Wood, [log in to unmask] Now that we have posted this, Karen Carby will be the best person to ask about the details of the program. [log in to unmask] This program is not intended as a substitute for support for your local shelters or your favorite shelters. Many people enjoy giving directly of their time and money, and we would never want to discourage that. PLEASE SAVE THIS POST FOR REFERENCE [Posted in FML issue 1614]