Fundraiser

Fundraiser automation is used for events where members are buying and selling items and/or services to benefit the church. One example is a goods and services auction, where members donate items and services to be auctioned off. This feature is designed for events where most of the buyers and sellers are in the database.

How is a fundraiser created?

Select "Fundraiser → Create New Fundraiser". Enter a date, title and description and press "Save".

How are donated items entered into the fundraiser?

Once the fundraiser has been saved more buttons appear across the top. Press "Add Donated Item" to enter a new item.

The fields are:

Item This Item identifier will be used to sort the items so you can easily rearrange them.
Multiple items: Sell to everyone If this is enabled many copies of this item may be sold. There will be a count on the buyer's page and the buyer will be charged for whatever count is entered.
Donor The donor is a person in the database.
Title This is a very short description of the item.
Estimated Price This is an estimated value for the item, for reference.
Material Value The material value is the donation value, not including labor.
Estimated Price The minimum price is for reference, in case the donor does not want it to sell too low.
Description A longer description, used in the catalog and bid sheet.
Buyer The person who purchased the item. The buyers are registered before they can buy things (see below). This field and the Final Price are filled in once the purchase is finalized.
Final Price The price paid for the item. For Sell to everyone items this price will apply to all purchases.

Why and how are buyers registered?

Buyers are registered so they can purchase multiple items and then check out at the end and pay for everything. To enter buyers, select "Fundraiser → View Buyers". Press "Add Buyer" to add a buyer. The buyer numbers increment automatically, or you can type them in (perhaps to match a bidding paddle number). The Buyer is a person in the database. The Buyer must be a member of a family in the database.

How is a single purchase recorded?

Select "Fundraiser → Edit Fundraiser" to see the list of items. Click the link to the left for the item to bring up the donated item editor page. Select the buyer and enter the price on the right side, then press "Save".

Is there a way to enter lots of purchases quickly?

Select "Fundraiser → Edit Fundraiser" and then press "Batch Winner Entry" (upper-right). This page allows ten items to be entered quickly. For each item, select the Item and Winner and enter the price. Press the "Enter Winners" button to enter all the items on the page at once.

How are the multiple purchase items recorded?

Select "Fundraiser → View Buyers" and then click the link for a buyer. There is a place on this page to enter the quantity for each of the Sell to Everyone items.

How does someone check out and pay?

Select "Fundraiser → View Buyers" and then click the link for a buyer. Check that the Sell to Everyone quantities are correct, then press "Generate Statement". This will create a PDF statement showing both donations and purchases for this buyer. The total of purchases is shown so that is the amount to be paid at check-out. The statement may be printed and given to the buyer. There is a payment stub portion at the bottom to help record the payment.

What if someone donates but does not attend? How can a statement be prepared to show the donations?

Once the fundraiser is over and all of the donations and purchases have been entered select the menu option "Fundraiser → Add Donors" to Buyer List. This will create a buyer record for anyone who donated items but was not already listed as a buyer. Once these buyer records are created they can be selected and their statements may be generated. These statements may be helpful to the donors for tax purposes.