Fund-raising - Post Falls, Idaho, United States
What We DoOriginally, we started Custom Tile by Xthings as a side business. It was basically a hobby. We made tile murals for homes and businesses. Then a non-profit approached us and we did a few tile murals recognizing their donors. They were well received. Finally, a non-profit consultant suggested we focus on not only making murals for non-profits but also raise money for the non-profits by getting sponsors for all of the tiles. Now we help non-profits thrive while creating large, unique works of art.What Sets Us ApartThere are many things. First, we have developed a process that is very low risk for the non-profits. The mural is sized to the money that is raised so that the non-profit retains at least 80% of the funds. The money goes to the non-profit and then they pay us afterwards. Also, ending up with a large work of art is fairly unique. Our standard mural size is 100 square feet, although we did one twice as big. We also help non-profits that don't have dedicated fundraising staff.Our Keys To SuccessHaving dedicated salespeople who work all day, every day on raising money for non-profits and can build on each success. It is easy to love your work and be dedicated when the vast majority of the money raised goes directly to helping the non-profits accomplish their missions. We also think being a turnkey solution for raising additional money is very attractive to non-profits, especially when it is designed to be so low risk for the non-profit. If we don't get the expected support we downsize.Our AccomplishmentsWe've helped food banks, Meals on Wheels, parent-teacher associations, chambers of commerce, Boys and Girls Clubs and other non-profits raise money they wouldn't have had otherwise.