We’ve been successfully doing our own event. Why should we switch to having HKFR do it for us?
That’s an excellent question, and usually the first one we are asked! There are two reasons you should let HKFR handle your event: time and profit.
It’s true you can do your own event and keep up to 100% of the profits depending on your costs; but if you’ve ever actually planned, executed, and wrapped-up a fun run, read-a-thon, or donation drive yourself, then you’re probably also very aware of the enormous amount of time and work that entails! For many, the load is simply unbearable and that’s where HKFR comes in.
Who couldn’t use more time, right? HKFR’s team handles nearly every aspect of your event with only limited assistance needed from you – from the planning to the kickoff to the daily prizing to the final event itself! Of course you can be more involved if you wish, but why not let HKFR’s team of experienced personnel do it for you? This is what they do every day and their focus is to make your event the easiest and most successful ever!
The other major benefit of having HKFR run your event is the profit. Yes, keeping 90-100% of the money through a DIY event sounds great; but what if you worked with a company that gave you 60-75% profit but raised a significantly larger amount of money for you? That’s precisely what often happens for schools that work with HKFR! It’s not uncommon for schools to double, triple, even quadruple their intake using the HKFR platform rather than doing it themselves, and that increase, despite the program’s “lower” profit percentage, usually means a much higher final profit for the school!
For example: in 2019, a private K-8 school raised $12,000 doing their own fun run and keeping nearly 100% of that as profit. In fall 2020, they allowed HKFR to do a virtual fun run (the Fit & Fun program) for them during the pandemic. With about the same number of students as the year before, they raised $72,000 and received appx. 70% profit, giving them a net profit of just over $50,000! So as you can see, keeping a lower percentage of a much bigger number can make real dollars and sense!
What does running an HKFR event look like?
In a nutshell: as smooth, efficient, worry-free, and profitable as possible! Our proven methods minimize the amount of time and effort needed to execute the event while maximizing the profit to the school.
About four weeks prior to the start date of the fundraiser, HKFR creates individual mini websites for each student, provides the school with t-shirt order forms (when applicable), and designs custom logos and promotional posters for the program.
One week prior to the start date, HKFR notifies the school’s parents of the upcoming kickoff and on the start date itself, a video presentation is made to the students, parents, and staff officially kicking off the event!
Most programs run for two weeks, during which time students utilize their mini websites to reach out to family and friends for donations. 5-minute Fit & Fun videos are uploaded daily to the students’ websites and teachers may also choose to show them in their classrooms (live or via Zoom).
Prizes, which are individually packed by student and sorted by classroom for easy distribution, are awarded throughout the program (typically once a week), with dates having been determined during the planning process.
For Fun Runs, there are multiple run times (usually starting at 8:30 a.m.) and multiple tracks on Fun Run Day, both of which are determined during the planning process. For Fit & Fun drives, a 30-minute video is uploaded to the students’ mini websites on the day of the event.
Once all money is collected and prizes have been distributed, the school receives profit check, typically 3-4 weeks after the event day
What is our profit margin?
Your organization can earn up to 70% for Fun Run, Fit & Fun, and Read-a-Thon, and 75% for a Donation program! We say “up to” because there are many variables involved in the different events that can affect your final profit margin – things such as the number of personnel required to manage an in-person event; the event’s location; whether certain accoutrements, like t-shirts, are desired; and so on. Fortunately, HKFR is very good at managing these variables and estimating costs, so the vast majority of groups reach or get very close to these profit percentages when it’s all said and done.
How long do most schools run an HKFR program for?
We’ve found the most effective length of time to run an HKFR program is for 2 weeks. Anything less than that and we reduce our chances of successfully soliciting donations from potential supporters; anything more and the program tends to get tired. This is something we discuss during the planning process so together we can determine the most effective length of time for your school specifically.
Does the event’s chairperson have online access to monitor the fundraiser?
Yes! HKFR gives the event chairperson access to their own online portal through which they can monitor donations and the fundraiser’s progress.
How do teachers keep track of their class’s donations?
They don’t! HKFR does this for them and each teacher will have their own online portal to see the status of their class’
What forms of payment from donors does HKFR accept?
HKFR accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, as well as checks and cash (optional).
Can donors living outside of the U.S. support our event?
Yes! The reach of our program is as far as you want it to be, and if that means contacting potential supporters living outside the United States, we’re ready to help! The donor simply pays with a credit card or payment service (like PayPal or Venmo) and our processor converts the foreign currency into US Dollars. At the time of this publishing, we do not charge for this service even though HKFR does incur foreign currency conversion expenses.
Do donors receive a receipt for their contribution?
Yes! Donors who pay online immediately receive an emailed receipt for their donation.
Who do the parents and donors contact if they have an issue?
HKFR handles any questions or issues from parents and donors so you don’t have to! They simply contact HKFR directly and we take it from there. Excellent customer service is just one of the many reasons why so many schools return to work with us year after year!
What kind of record-keeping is provided by HKFR?
Upon completion of the program, HKFR can provide the school with excel reports showing each student’s collected donation totals as well as classroom totals.
What resources does HKFR provide for a Fun Run event?
HKFR provides everything needed for the fun run. Including a giant inflatable arch, sound system, cones, water stations, markers, power cords and more! Most HKFR Fun Run events require just 2 or 3 of our staff to run, but the number is really dependent on the size of the school. Our goal is to make your event organized, efficient, and fun, so don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!
Are custom-printed t-shirts available for a Fun Run event?
Absolutely! HKFR handles all of the design work, printing, delivery, and distribution of the t-shirts and passes our bulk pricing along to the school. T-shirts typically cost $4.50 to $5.50 and are available in sizes ranging from Youth Small to Adult XXL.
How do we tie-in our corporate donors with an HKFR event?
It’s simple! The school solicits its corporate donors as it normally would and collects donations directly from them. HKFR isn’t really involved in that part of the process since the donations aren’t typically associated with individual students. If they were, then the corporate donor would simply make their donation online under the appropriate student’s name. If you’d like your corporate donors’ logos printed on the backs of the event t-shirts (only applicable to Fun Run events), you just need to supply us with photo-ready artwork and we’ll do the rest!