Who does what
Fundraising companies for schools should do the work. Here is the split.
The whole point of hiring a fundraising company is to stop running the fundraiser yourself. Here is exactly what Brian and Giving Market take on, and the short list that stays with you.
Fundraising companies for schools come in two kinds. One kind sells you a catalog and wishes you luck. The other kind runs the sale with you, day by day, and picks up the phone in week two. Brian has been the second kind since 1994, with Giving Market, a Booster company, behind him for the products, the store, the shipping and the prizes.
Who does what
Brian handles
The calendar, the kickoff script, the parent letter, the midpoint push, the finish, the delivery plan and every question in between. One phone number the whole way.
Giving Market handles
The fall and spring catalogs, the online store with share links, shipping to the school and to supporters in any state, and the VIP Duck collectibles and prize program.
The school handles
Picking the two-week window, sending the packets home, running a five-minute kickoff and handing out boxes on delivery day.
Families handle
Sharing a link. That is the job. Grandparents, aunts, coworkers and neighbors order from their phone and the box ships to their door.
What a fundraising company should never ask of you
- Money up front. No setup fee, no deposit, no minimum order. If a company needs a check to start, that is your answer.
- A month-long sale. Long sales stall. Two weeks keeps the energy up and gets the check to you sooner.
- A gym full of boxes. Orders should arrive pre-sorted by student. Delivery day is an afternoon with a few volunteers.
- Counting prizes by hand. The prize program is tracked in an admin site. Every student’s progress is already there.
- Hold music. You should know the name of the person running your sale and have their number.
Why one person plus a big company works
Brian is one guy in Greensboro, North Carolina. Giving Market is a national supplier with warehouses, an online store and a prize program. Put them together and a school gets the catalog and shipping of a big company with the attention of someone who knows your principal's name. In fall 2026 that was 40 fundraisers and more than $700,000 in sales.
What that looked like this fall
A K-8 charter in Charlotte with 1,400 students sold $45,000 in eighteen days. An elementary school in Lexington, North Carolina with 600 students sold $35,000. A middle school in Reidsville with 830 students sold $26,000. Every one of them ran the same two-week sale with the same split of work. Read them on the case studies page.
What happens on the first call
Fifteen minutes by phone or video. Brian asks about the goal, the calendar, what you ran last year and how it went. He asks who will run point and who handles the money. He checks your two-week window against the book fair, spirit week, testing and holidays. If the program is a bad fit for your school, he tells you on that call. If it fits, he sends the catalog, the parent letter and a one-page summary for the principal the same day. That is the whole onboarding. Nothing to sign up front and nothing to pay.
If you are a school, PTA or PTO, start there. Band, chorus and cheer programs have their own page at teams and groups. The step-by-step is on how it works, and schools in the Mid-Atlantic can see what their neighbors ran.
Questions people ask
Do fundraising companies for schools charge the school anything?
Mr. Money does not. Zero upfront cost and no minimum. The sale pays for itself out of what supporters buy.
Who handles the money?
Online orders are paid at checkout through the store. Paper orders are collected by the school the way you collect now. Brian walks the treasurer through both before kickoff.
We are not in North Carolina. Does that matter?
No. Brian runs sales by phone, email and the online store for schools in any state. Orders ship pre-sorted to the school or direct to the supporter.
What if something is short on delivery day?
Call Brian. He tracks every shipment and handles shortages himself, so the office is never on hold with a warehouse.
Ready to raise more this year?
Tell Brian about your school or team. He replies within one business day with a plan and a date.