Funds And Fun With Fundability, Inc.

By Larice Nescott

The Program

When St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Allison Park, PA undertook a major church renovation and expansion project, the parish council looked for ways to subsidize the contributions already pledged. We obtained information about Fundability, Inc. from St. Joseph's Church in Wheaton, IL, which has participated in this fundraiser for several years.Fundability purchases gift certificates from vendors most people already patronize: Burger King, KFC, Olive Garden, Pizza Hut, Exxon, Mobil, Shell, Casual Corner, Foot Locker, Gap, Old Navy, TJ Maxx, Barnes & Noble, Home Depot, J. C. Penney, KMart, Office Max, Sears, Toys R Us, and Marriott Hotels, to name a few. Fundability sells these certificates to us at a discount. Our parishioners and friends buy the certificates from St. Alexander's at face value, and the church keeps the difference as "profit." The parishioners use the certificates the same as cash to purchase items or services.Participants purchase only what and where they want without spending extra! Each time they buy certificates to make their normal purchases, they donate money to our building fund. Participating retailer profits range from 2% to 18%. Fundability does not require any minimum purchase.

Administration of the Program

Since I obtained the initial information on Fundability, Fr. Paul Suda, our parish priest, asked me to chair the program in our parish. I called persons in our parish, and created a committee of 13 people, so that we could rotate program coverage for every Sunday.Prior to starting the program, we passed out information booklets to every parishioner and addressed all questions and concerns. Fr. Paul arranged for a parish presentation following Divine Liturgy a few weeks before the Fundability kick-off date. Fundability, Inc. provides all information and required forms. However, our committee felt that the order form for parishioners was too complicated and lengthy (almost 4 typed sheets in very small font size). We created our own weekly order form and information booklet. We ran special notices in our weekly and monthly bulletins, reminding people of the program and highlighting any specials offered by the participating retailers.Parishioners complete and turn in their order forms and checks on Sunday. Our coordinator tallies the orders, verifies the payments, prepares the deposit, completes the order form, and faxes the order to Fundability. We arranged automatic withdrawal from our checking account so Fundability can process our order immediately. (We set up a special checking account for this purpose.) In 4 working days, when Federal Express delivers the order at the coordinator's door, the coordinator checks the certificates received against the original order. Then certificates are sorted by order, placed in an envelope with the order form stapled to the outside, and await delivery the following Sunday.We keep a supply of certificates on hand so that they are available for immediate purchase. (We find that gas, some restaurants, and certain store cards are popular.)Once we started the program with Fundability, we learned that several other stores had similar fund raising programs: Pittsburgh's major grocer, a local grocery, a popular restaurant, Kohl's Department Store, several beauty shops, etc. We've incorporated all of them into our Fundability program. (The parishioners don't need to know that we place our various orders differently; they just want their certificates and coupons in hand.)

Problems with the Program

There are a few minor irritants. Sometimes popular certificates are placed on back-order because the demand for them is so great. Sometimes retailers quit the Fundability program, and are under no obligation to give advance notice. You need someone who is detail-oriented to supervise the program.

Benefits of the Program

You are not selling anything. You're not asking people to "buy" pizza, or subs, or magazines, or candy, or wreaths, or wrapping paper, or greeting cards, or anything else promoted by the fund raising companies. If you are planning to stop at Wendy's for a quick bite before the kids' softball game, then use your certificate. If you're buying ballet shoes (or soccer or basketball shoes) at Parade of Shoes, use your certificate. If you're purchasing fabric at Jo Ann's for a school craft, use your certificate. If people are going to be patronizing these stores ANYWAY, then they should be encouraged to use their certificates to make that purchase. The other benefit is that the certificates themselves can be used as gifts. They're easy to purchase and easy to send.To contact Fundability, Inc., call 1-800-952-3808.

Larice Nescott is choir director and an active member of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Allison Park, PA.

Other parishes known to participate in the Fundability Program include:St. Joseph, Wheaton, ILSt. Innocent, Tarzana, CASt. Nicholas, Saratoga, CAAlexandra Safchuk, formerly of the St. Innocent Parish, Tarzana, CA stressed the need for the program coordinators to be well organized, which, she says "is totally necessary to be profitable."Beverly Cingolani of St. Nicholas Parish, Saratoga, CA noted that their Fundability Program works exclusively with supermarkets in the area. For a nominal yearly family membership fee, a bonus component is added to the regular supermarket value card, that keeps track of the purchase totals scanned at the check-out register. "Quarterly, the parish receives a check for virtually doing nothing," Bev states. Last month the parish received a check for $561, and this from only a dozen or so families that presently participate.

Taken from the OCA Resource Handbook for Lay Ministries