HappyPurim’s blog

Important:  The dates below are simply suggestions. Except for Purim–there’s no changing the March 8th date this year!   There is plenty of wiggle room in this timeline. Please make adjustments to fit your needs, and please keep in mind any deadlines for ordering your Mishloach Manot baskets or supplies.  It’s often best to work BACKWARDS when creating your own timeline.

We get lots of questions about this post from 2007. It’s likely because it was an overly simplistic answer to one of the most important decisions that you’ll need to make when running a Mishloach Manot fundraiser: How much to charge?

There really is no simple answer. Every community is different and every organization has different dynamics. Demographics play a large part in this decision, but the type of organization you are plays an even larger role. We see some synagogues with 1,000+ members in affluent areas that raise less than synagogues with 300 members in non-affluent areas.

What’s the key factor?  How well your members know each other. Are you a close-knit community? Do most of your congregants show up to your events?  If all of your members know each other, you’ll likely have very large orders, IF you price it right. If your members receive from 50 people on average, you can charge $2 per name, and you’ll gross $100 per recipient!

If your members don’t know each other, charging $1-2 per name won’t necessarily mean larger order sizes. And besides, you’ll need to charge more just to cover the cost of the baskets. If your members’ receive from only 1-3 people, you may need to charge $5-$7 just to cover your costs.

There are lots of ways to “play” with your pricing using HappyPurim.com, such as buy 5 get 1 free, or special group or bulk discounts, that have shown tremendous success.

There’s a lot more at play here that can be covered in a couple of blog posts. Please feel free to call us at 201-47-PURIM, or email sales@happypurim(dot)com to learn more about what we’ve learned from helping run hundreds of Purim project fundraisers over the years.

Important: The dates below are simply suggestions. With Purim falling on March 20 in 2011, there’s plenty of time after Chanukah/January 1st to get your fundraiser up and running. There is plenty of wiggle room in this timeline. Please make adjustments to fit your needs, and please keep in mind any deadlines for ordering your Mishloach Manot baskets or supplies. It’s often best to work BACKWARDS when creating your own timeline.

1. In December:
   1. Identify the person/s who will run the fundraiser
   2. Decide on a “theme” for your baskets (not necessary, but popular; we’ll post more about “themes” later).
2. By January 1
   1. Compile (or get from organization office) a list of all the members in your organization. Make sure to double check for accuracy!
   2. Figure out where you’re getting your Mishloach Monos supplies or baskets from.
3. By January 15 – Finalize all details of your Purim fundraiser; *If you’re usingHappyPurim.com’s Mishloach Manot software, this is when you should setup your administrative console.
   1. Pricing
   2. Are you offering any type of deal? (early-bird discount, send to as many as you want for a flat price, etc.)
   3. Reciprocity (with our software you can easily charge a different price for Reciprocity orders)
   4. Delivering the baskets or having your members pick them up?
4. By January 20
   1. Prepare a letter to your members informing them of the details of the Purim project.(HappyPurim has templates available)
   2. If you have a large contingent of non-internet users, prepare a physical order form or download Happy Purim’s order form.
5. By January 30
   1. Have your order forms, envelopes and/or mailing labels printed. (not necessary if you’re emailing your members)
   2. Make sure you have volunteers to help with the folding and stuffing on January 30th.
6. On January 30 (Sunday) – Prepare mailing: Fold and Stuff!
7. On January 31 – Mail or email order forms.  You’ll notice that we leave a 6 week ordering window. Typically 2-6 weeks is a good amount of time. Read this post for a discussion about the length of ordering windows.
8. March 13 11:59pm (Sunday) – Deadline for placing orders.
9. Week of March 13
   1. Pack the Shalach Monos.
   2. Print your “scrolls” – that is, the personalized letters that list all the names of the people sending to each recipient. (If using HappyPurim.com, this only takes a few clicks of your mouse!)
10. March 20 - Purim! – Deliver the Shalach Monos!
11. Sometime after Purim – Bill for reciprocity charges.  Not necessary if usingHappyPurim.com, it’s automated!

You should modify the above timeline to fit your needs. If we missed anything, or you’ve got a suggestion to add please let us know!

This calendar is designed for users of Happy Purim’s Shalach Manot Software based upon our experience. Click here for a post with more details for anyone still doing this manually.)

We’ve been getting lots of questions recently about pricing—specifically in light of rising food and packaging costs. The most important thing to keep in mind when thinking about raising the pricing on your shalach monos, is that it’s a tough time for many of your congregants (members, parents, etc.). Even if they haven’t been personally affected by the economic slowdown, many are afraid they will be affected and are thus cutting back on their spending. You should also keep in mind that there’s a certain threshold that people are willing to spend on Purim baskets—if you exceed that price point, many will make their own shlach manot or simply choose not to participate. That specific price varies by community demographic, but typically synagogues and schools that price their baskets as low as possible, have the highest participation rates, the most orders and the highest AVERAGE order size. People seem to become “click happy” if the price is low enough, and will send to many, many people.

So what to do about your Purim project this year? If you can, leave your pricing the same and market your fundraiser as being economically sensitive. Or raise your prices a small amount, say 25 or 50 cents. Or, our Happy Purim software offers the ability to charge a higher price for reciprocity orders, so you can leave your initial pricing the same, but raise your reciprocity prices. As always, please feel free to call, email or leave comments below.