[bricknblock]

Went to a PTO meeting at my son's school earlier tonight, and I was informed they offer ad placements in the weekly newsletter, for a cheap rate. This school is in a very nice area, and I plan on running the ad. I was told that in the past businesses offer a donation to the school based on a percentage of the sale that takes place through these ads as an incentive. I think this might be a good idea, but I don't want to get blind-sided because of something that I might be overlooking or not taking into consideration. I was thinking about a 5% donation. Anybody have any advice or aspects that I need to take into consideration?

[Lanelle]

Always find out where your leads are coming from before getting involved with giving a quote so you don't unwittingly undercut your own pricing.
Also, is the donation in your company's name or in the client's name? I presume that such donations would be tax deductible.
That helps to minimize the hit slightly if your company is doing the donating.

[bricknblock]

the tax question ran across my head as I was driving home, I believe I could arrange it to benefit the company...I also figure that if I become to know some of the parents within the school (I'm new to the area), the trust factor should already be there, and should help with referrals

[Dale Wiley]

5 % of what ??

Gross sales ????... net profit ???

Set a fixed rate per CONTRACTED job that you get as a result of the add. Say a $ 10 to $ 20 donation for each job. Thats a fair amount and a good donation. All is tax deductible.

Our donations and in kind donations are well above $ 2,000 per year. It helps networking which is our 2nd source of good qualified leads.