Delicious popcorn, fantastic fundraising

Pick our fundraising winner!

2012-01-10T09:29:00.000-08:00

For the last three months, Popcorn Palace has been picking a monthly fundraising winner in our "Pictures are Worth a Thou$and Dollars" contest and now you get to pick our grand prize winner! Each month’s winner has won $250 for their cause and the winner you pick will win an additional $250!

Review the winners and pick your favorite!

OCTOBER: Fairmont Preparatory Academy

The Fairmont Music program is trying to raise $180,000 so that they can perform at the London Festival of Music in April 2012. ““Our biggest challenge every year is money. We do not receive financial support from our school beyond classroom necessities, so it is up to the students to raise money for their uniforms and competition costs.” - read more.

NOVEMBER: Port Huron Northern Bands

The band raises money so that everyone has the same opportunity to go to trips such as New York City, Disney World and Detroit’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. ”Our dedication goes beyond driving the band members to competitions, games, concerts, and community work.“ - read more.

DECEMBER: Midwestern Christian Academy Cheerleading 

Located in Chicago, Illinois, Midwestern Christian Academy’s cheerleading team has been raising money to offset the costs of hotels room and travel expenses to their national competition in Maryland in February. ”It is group where children can come together to compete in the sport of cheerleading with a strong emphasis on having fun and developing self-confidence.“ - read more.

Click here to vote for your top fundraiser!

December's "Pictures are Worth a Thou$and Dollars" Winner: Midwestern Christian Academy's Cheerleaders

2012-01-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

Chicago Mom, Lori Miller decided to head up Midwestern Christian Academy's fundraising efforts as a way to become more involved in her daughter's cheerleading team, the Lightning Junior Cheerleaders, "It is group where children can come together to compete in the sport of cheerleading with a strong emphasis on having fun and developing self-confidence."

Located in Chicago, Illinois, Midwestern Christian Academy offers excellent Christian educational curriculum for Jr. Kindergarten through 8th grade students. Serving as an educational ministry of Midwest Bible Church, MCA has provided a balanced traditional academic program with a Christian emphasis for over 50 years. As stated in their Mission Statement, MCA is focused on developing the whole child.

"We depend on outside resources, such as fundraising, to maintain our programs and make improvements to our school," said Miller. So the cheerleading squad started selling Popcorn Palace popcorn and pretty quickly had raised enough to offset the costs of hotels room and travel expenses to their national competition in Maryland in February. "The customer service I had received was absolutely amazing!" raved Miller.

For more information on The Midwestern Christian Academy, click here: http://midwesternchristianacademy.org/

Fundraising for a growing family - Pt. 1

2011-12-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

Alabama native, Bonnie Silvey, wants to adopt a baby boy or girl and Popcorn Palace is helping her raise the money needed to make her family's dream a reality.

For more than a year, Bonnie and her husband, Kevin, had been looking for just the right adoption agency. After $30,000 of failed fertility treatments, they were leaving nothing to chance and wanted to be certain that the agency they went with would be a perfect match.

As the parents of an eight-year old girl (from Kevin's earlier marriage) working with an international agency was out of the question. In addition to the nearly $20,000 in fees, they would be required to travel out of the country for weeks at a time, something that they couldn't do. Thankfully they found Open Door, an American adoption agency that was a little more affordable and a lot more flexible.

They officially started the process in September and, because of the financial demands that adoption puts on families, decided to look for ways to raise some money for their cause. It wasn't long before an internet search brought her to Popcorn Palace and even though she's only been fundraising with it for a month, she's already had great success. "I started selling it at a local bank and the response has been amazing!" Bonnie told us.

While the whole family is very hopeful and positive, "our daughter can't wait for a baby brother or sister," they are realistic about the time involved. "We are not in a huge rush and are willing to be patient," said Bonnie in regards to both raising the money and getting their new family member.

Popcorn Palace will follow the journey of the family as they get closer and closer to their new baby.

For more information about Popcorn Palace's fundraising program, email us at fundraising@popcornpalace.com or call at 800-873-2686

November's "Pictures are Worth a Thou$and Dollars" Winner: Port Huron Northern Bands

2011-12-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

Shannon Smith became a “band-mom” when her daughter joined the Port Huron Northern Bands. According to Shannon, the parents are a very close knit group and view the band members as ‘our’ children.

The band raise money so that everyone has the same opportunity to go to trips such as New York City, Disney World, and Detroit's Thanksgiving Day Parade (http://www.youtube.com/user/PHNMarchingBand#p/a/u/0/4LP_qMjwBfA).

"Our dedication goes beyond driving them to competitions, games, concerts, and community work," says Shannon, "We open our hearts and our homes to them, give them moral support in band and in life. We have ears to listen, shoulders to cry on, and arms for hugs."

For more information on Port Huron Northern Bands, visit www.phnbb.com or www.phnbands.org.

Thanksgiving Winners

2011-11-30T07:56:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to our Thanksgiving contest winners, Twitter followers, 2doxies2, SLThrun3 and LoveMyVDub. Meet our Thanksgiving popcorn characters!

We hope that you and your family had a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Follow Popcorn Palace on Twitter for other great contests and giveaways.

It's All About Execution!

2011-11-25T07:17:00.000-08:00

With the busy season upon us, execution becomes more important to ensure that your customers receive their order in time. Below are a few things to keep in mind to avoid delays:

Order Forms: Make sure they are filled out correctly before separating payment. Provide a correctly filled out sample to each of your sellers.

Tabulating/Ordering: Be sure that each order is double-checked for accuracy before it is forwarded to the fundraising company. Make sure you take a look at the order verification to double check your quantities as there may be some companies that will not offer replacement orders or returns.

Payment:The form of payment will determine when your order ships. If you pay with an organization check or electronic payment, be aware that your payment will be held for a few days until it clears the bank. If you are mailing your check, take into account the transit time.

Delivery: Consider the date that you would like to receive your order. Calculate the time your payment needs to clear, transit time, and order processing. For example if a company has a 10 business day policy and you place/pay for the order on December 2^nd, your delivery date will be December 16^th.

Force Majeure: There are instances that are beyond your fundraising company’s control that may delay your shipment. Especially during the winter season, blizzards may shut down offices and shipping carriers may not be able to pick up or deliver orders. Also note that once an order is picked up by UPS or Fed Ex, companies do not have control of how it is handled.

By having a flawless execution, you will able to have a stress free fundraising!

Comrades in Sweat

2011-11-17T12:29:00.000-08:00

The San Pro Baker to Vegas relay team consists of many volunteers and runners who participate in the Challenge Cup Relay/Baker to Vegas Relay which is largest law enforcement event of its kind. The 120-mile running relay from Baker, California to Las Vegas, Nevada is endured annually by law enforcement officers around the world.

The original ideals of the race continue: teamwork, camaraderie, physical fitness and competition. In the beginning, 19 teams competed, mostly LAPD and LASD stations. Over the last 25 years, this cherished event has grown to include 277 teams from agencies all over the world. Nearly 100 thousand officers/runners have competed in this event since its inception. Categories have grown to include Probation Officers, District Attorneys, US Attorneys and full time civilian police personnel.

It takes a huge commitment from the runners and support personnel to even get the team to the race. All members of the team use their own time to attend the race. This means that if your regular days off don’t fall on the days of the race, you have to use vacation to attend.

“Officers maintain a physical fitness program to help them better perform their duties in providing community safety, reduce crime, and assist victims through offender accountability and rehabilitation. ” says Linda Yoakum-Latimer, “All fundraising profits goes toward the race expenses, entry fees, vehicles, gas and administrative cost. There are no monetary profits… just the ability to say WE DID IT.”

To view event pictures, visit http://sdprob.shutterfly.com.

October's "Pictures are Worth a Thou$and Dollars" Winner: Fairmont Music

2011-11-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

Stacey Barta was hired in 2006 to develop a competitive music program for Fairmont Preparatory Academy. During her tenure, she started a concert band, concert choir, show choir, pep band, musical theater and a faculty dance team.

Despite being only 6 years old, the program has competed and earned many personal awards-1st place trophies, national rankings of gold and silver, and many other top honors. The program is extremely diverse with students from the United States, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, and China. Invitations have taken the team to places such as San Francisco, New York, Hawaii and now London.

The organization is working aggressively towards the goal of raising $180,000 this year so they can perform at the London Festival of Music in April 2012. This is an inaugural event and they are hoping to upgrade their status from "National Champions" to "International Champions."

“Our biggest challenge every year is money. We do not receive financial support from our school beyond classroom necessities, so it is up to the students to raise money for their uniforms and competition costs which costs from $1,500 to $3,000 each year depending on where we are going for competition,” says Stacey.

“We raise a large portion of our funds from aggressive fundraising throughout the year. With so many challenges on an annual basis such as lack of instrumentation, lack of funding, and being a small program, I teach my students the most important thing of all for success – No Excuses!”

To see more videos and photos, visit Fairmont Music's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/FPA-Music/81361155942 or their website at www.fairmontschools.com.

Timing is Everything

2011-11-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

When planning your fundraiser, the first question to ask is "when?" Timing is very important and depending on the kind of fundraiser you want to hold, certain times of the year of the year are better than others.

When planning the timing of your fundraiser, take the following into consideration:

· Make sure you do not plan your event on a big social or religious holiday or compete with an existing local event. Don't forget that final exam week is not an ideal time either.

· Take a close look at product delivery times, especially if you are having your fundraiser around the holiday season. Add some cushion just in case shipping is delayed due to weather and other causes beyond the fundraising company’s control.

· Avoid timing your fundraiser right after the winter holidays, when everyone is strapped for cash.

· Plan your fundraiser when you can reach the most potential consumers, so winter, spring or summer breaks are usually out. You also want to be sure that you'll have plenty of volunteers on hand to help.

· Your product may determine when you will have the fundraiser. For example, you don’t want to sell chocolate in the summer months.

Don't forget that your fundraising start/end dates affecs other areas:

· Announcement Date: Be courteous to everyone involved by giving an advance notice. The earlier, the better, so that they can mark their calendars.

· Marketing/Promotion: Your marketing needs will vary depending upon the fundraising type. Do you need the school’s approval to announce the fundraiser in the school marquee, perhaps need time for flyers to be created and printed, or need some time to create a website?

· Recruitment: Remember that the early bird gets the volunteer hours.

Your fundraiser will be successful if it is well-planned and well-attended: timing is key!

Holiday Bowl Cheer!

2011-11-07T07:35:00.000-08:00

For over 15 years, Dream Dancers Studio has been offering dance classes from tap to tumbling. Their goal is to help build confidence, skill and an appreciation for the art of dance. The dancer's hard work paid off as the competitive dance team was invited to perform in the Orange Bowl in Miami, FL.

The dance team was very excited about the opportunity as this was a big deal to a small group of kids from Montana and they were the first team from the state to perform in a bowl game! Naturally the team was very proud to represent their state.

Fundraising coordinator Heidi Lamoreaux said, “We were looking for any fundraiser to do to help us achieve our goal. Your product looked amazing so we thought we would give it a try. We all made great money doing your fundraiser and will do it again because after people tried your product they told us to come back and they would buy more!!”

Heidi’s team has been invited back to do another bowl game and will be flying to San Diego, CA on December 25^th for the Holiday Bowl!

“We have done your fundraiser again already. It has really helped us reach our goal. We will do it again in the future to raise money for our dance competitions since so many people we delivered to loved your product. THANK YOU!!”

For more information about Dream Dancers Studio, visit http://www.dreamdancersmt.webs.com/

Meet our #Popcornmonsters!

2011-11-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Michelle, Sameer, Dan and Lisa for naming our #popcornmonsters!

We had a lot of fun creating them and got some amazing entries. We hope you enjoyed playing along as much as we enjoyed choosing their names from your entries.

Stay tuned, our popcorn creatures are sure to return soon!

Best Boo Wins!

2011-10-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

Halloween is all about treats (and tricks) and we at Popcorn Palace want to share some of our treats with you. Share your best Halloween pics (costumes, houses, Jack-O-Lanterns, etc.) with us on our Facebook wall and you could win our Popcorn Palace 6-Flavor Gift Box!

The winner will be the photo with the most Facebook "Likes." So, post your photo and get your friends and family, ghosts and ghouls to visit our Facebook page and click on the "Like" associated with your photo.

Good luck!

................................................................

RULES:

No purchase necessary to enter.
You may only enter once.
Photos must be posted by midnight (CST) on Nov. 7, 2011.
Voting (liking) will close at 5 pm (CST) on Nov. 8, 2011.
Winner will be announced on Facebook on Nov. 9, 2011.
Winner will be contact via Facebook.
Once notified, winner is responsible for responding with their postal addresses, email addresses and phone numbers (for our shipper).
Postal addresses must be submitted within one week (seven days) of notification.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Blogger or Twitter. You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook, Twitter or Blogger.
Employees, interns, contractors and vendors, as well as their immediate families, of Popcorn Palace, its affiliates, and any representatives or agencies of Popcorn Palace or other persons professionally connected to the Contest are not eligible to participate.
Judges' decision is final.

"Pictures are Worth a Thou$and Dollars" Contest

2011-10-14T09:01:00.000-07:00

Does your organization have a compelling story to tell? If so, enter in our “Pictures are Worth a Thou$and Dollars" Contest.
We will be selecting a winner for the month of October, November and December! Monthly winners will receive a check made out to the organization for $250. Then it will be up to the Popcorn Palace fans to vote on which organization will receive the grand prize of an additional $250!

To enter, fill out this online survey at http://bit.ly/pkTcov AND send an organization picture to patty@popcornpalace.com.

If we do not receive a picture, your entry will be null and void.

As a token of our appreciation, every complete entry will receive a gift!
We look forward to reading your stories!

Rules
• Your entry is not complete until a picture is sent to patty@popcornpalace.com
• Only fundraisers that completed a fundraiser during 2011 are eligible
• All submissions become the property of Popcorn Palace
• You may only enter once
• October entries are due on the 31st. October winner will be announced Nov. 7th
• November entries are due on the 30th. November winner will be announced Dec. 7th
• December entries are due on the 31st. December winner will be announced Jan. 9th
• Voting for Grand Prize winner ends January 31st, 2012. Winner will be announced Feb. 4th
• Prize is non-transferable
• Winner will be contacted via email
• Once notified, winners are responsible for responding with their postal addresses, email addresses and phone numbers (for our shipper)
• Postal addresses must be submitted within one week of (seven days) of notification
• This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Blogger nor Twitter. You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook, Twitter nor Blogger
• Employees, interns, contractors, vendors, as well as their immediate families, of Popcorn Palace, its affiliates, and any representatives or agencies of Popcorn Palace or other persons professionally connected to the Contest are not eligible to participate
• Judges’ decision is final

Passing the Torch

2011-10-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

It’s a common occurrence. One day you have a key point person in your organization and the next day he/she is gone and the organization is left scrambling trying to pick up the pieces. If you've ever been unlucky enough to take the helm of a group or its fundraiser with no preparation, no records, and no help, you know how important smooth leadership transitions are.

Find Your Replacement

• Recruit potentials actively! This will give you time to test the
waters to see how much the person can handle and quickly learn

• If your organization does not have a structured team in place, make sure you have a back-up in place even if it’s a family member

Train Your Replacement

• Invite successor to attend any ‘wrap-up’ meetings for current fundraisers. This allows the person to be involved in discussions pertaining to successes, improvements, and issues

• Assign a task that is important, such as recording and tallying sales or distributing orders to get their feet wet. Ideally go through a dry run so they are prepared for their upcoming role

Keep Good Records

• Include essential information and responsibilities which can serve as a check off list. Items can include an event calendar, guideline outlining each step of the fundraising process from beginning to end, and past fundraising sales figures

• Keep an address book of contacts that the new coordinator can use as resource

Be Courteous

• Alert your preferred vendors of the coordinator change

• Introduce the incoming coordinator to key contacts as often as you can, even if it's via email or phone

Guess and win!

2011-09-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

Change is good and popcorn is delicious! We've changed some of the names of our delicious popcorn and you can win some just by guessing the new names to some of your favorite Popcorn Palace flavors!

The person who correctly guesses all 10 flavor names wins a bag of each. Thats 10 BAGS OF POPCORN! Five runners up win a bag of each flavor they get right (7 correct answers wins 7 bags, 3 correct answers wins 3 bags, etc.).

Click here to enter. Entries close in one month - October 27, 2011

RULES:

No purchase necessary to enter
You may only enter once
Contest runs until October 27, 2011
Winners will be announced on Facebook on November 1, 2011
Grand prize winner will be user to correctly guess all 10 flavors first.
Runners up will be judged by number of correct guesses. In the event of a tie, runners up will be decided by time entered.
Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible
We will contact the winners via Email
Once notified, winners are responsible for responding with their postal addresses, email addresses and phone numbers (for our shipper).
Postal addresses must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of notification.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Blogger nor Twitter. You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook, Twitter nor Blogger.
Employees, interns, contractors, vendors, as well as their immediate families, of Popcorn Palace, its affiliates, and any representatives or agencies of Popcorn Palace or other persons professionally connected to the Contest are not eligible to participate.
Judges decision is final.

Fundraising with a Computer

2011-09-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

The computer has allowed all types of organizations to elevate traditional marketing approaches and keep organizations on top of minds among donors, volunteers and the community, before, during and after our event. Best of all, many tools are free or require low investment. Whatever you choose, make sure that people stay connected to the organization throughout the year.

Internet

Post reminders onyour Facebook page. Or create a separate Facebook business page dedicated to your event. Upload photos, post videos, and network!
Choose a Twitter hashtag for your fundraiser or event. Use the hashtag to keep followers informed about how much money was raised, announce order pick up dates, recruit volunteers, etc
Create a Facebook poll or survey. You never know what kind of interesting information you can discover!

Web Page

Show what your organization does. The stories most likely to inspire action are those that leave feelings or create images in the audience’s mind. Illustrate the benefits your organization provides to the community.
Create a blog using Google’s Blogger (it’s free). Have your volunteers, teachers,participants contribute an article pertaining to the fundraising experience.

Email

Keep an email contact list (an excel sheet will do!) up to date based upon purchase date & item purchased. This way you can segment your email list and tailor your messages.
Email a “Save a Date” for your fundraiser. This allows your recipient to save some funds for your fundraiser and share the information with their social networks. You may receive extra orders!
Send a personalized “Thank You” email. Remember this is a bridge to future support. Don’t forget to include a link to your organization’s page!

Reduce Your Fundraising Noise

2011-08-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest challenges that organizations face today is raising money in a weak economy. Unfortunately, multiple activities all generate fundraising noise. In today’s economic climate, it’s vital that your group reduce its fundraising noise. Supporters are already apprehensive about spending or contributing more money. Once your supporters develop apathy, it becomes even tougher to meet your fundraising goals.

According to the Association of Fund-Raising Distributors and Suppliers, “We learned that school groups that limit the number of fundraising projects conducted throughout the year tend to earn more money with a single fundraising drive. That’s probably because their supporters know they’re only going to be tapped a couple of times and, therefore, they’re more willing to reach into their pockets when it counts.”

Focus on programs that are most efficient and yield the most funds- while limiting the time-commitment from volunteers. If you are considering school wide programs, you should think twice about adding too many fundraisers to the calendar. By putting a greater effort into a fewer number of fundraisers with very specific goals, it is easier to successfully raise the money needed and get greater participation from school families and the community.

Moderation is key!

What did you do this summer?

2011-08-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

Summertime is the best! Road-trips, water parks, museums, BBQs, bike rides, amusement parks, picnics, swimming pools and more are what make up summer. With school vacations and great weather, taking a trip (even to the next town over) with your friends and family to do and see new things is a must.

Old Fashioned Tin

Popcorn Palace took a trip to nearby Galena, Illinois (see below) for the weekend. Now we want to know what you did. Post your holiday memories in the comment section by September 23, 2010 and our favorite will win an old fashioned tin of gourmet popcorn!

HINT: Bonus points if you took our popcorn along. Double bonus points if you email a photo of our popcorn at your holiday destination to contests@popcornpalace.com.

The Contest Rules are at the bottom of this post, but first, here’s our holiday in Galena:

Home to the 18th President. Ulysses S. Grant, the historic city of Galena is situated in the lush Mississippi valley and was founded in 1826, primarily as a lead mining community with shipping access along the Mississippi River. The Galena port was the busiest between St. Paul and St. Louis by the 1850s.

Now, nearly 170 years later, the streets are lined by gaslights and the historic Desoto House Hotel, where Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas once met, still welcome tourists like us! While there, we visited the local brewery (we all know how well popcorn and beer go together), the historic fire station, art galleries and went fishing in the Mississippi River.

Here are some photos from our trip to “The town that time forgot.” Now tell us about your summer vacation!

RULES

No purchase necessary to enter
Contest runs until September 23, 2011.
Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible
We will contact the winners via Email.
Once notified, winners are responsible for responding with their flavor choices, postal addresses, email addresses and phone numbers (for our shipper).
Postal addresses must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of notification.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Blogger nor Twitter. You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook, Twitter nor Blogger.
Employees, interns, contractors, vendors, as well as their immediate families, of Popcorn Palace, its affiliates, and any representatives or agencies of Popcorn Palace or other persons professionally connected to the Contest are not eligible to participate.
Judges decision is final.

Answer questions, win popcorn

2011-08-01T11:59:00.001-07:00

Popcorn Palace wants to see who REALLY reads our blog and so we are giving away popcorn to the first three people to correctly answer 10 questions about blog posts of the past.

So dig back through our blog posts and the first three people to email the right answers to contest@popcornpalace.com will win a six-way container of popcorny goodness.

What musical poster is the popcorn/snowball in front of?
How many breweries participated in this year's Pop Fest?
What year did President Nixon sign Father's Day Into Law?
Who is the leader of The Rich South Band?
How did Matt Weldon learn about Popcorn Palace?
Which member of the Popcorn Palace team was on Heartbeat Radio?
What percentage of profits to fundraisers get to keep?
How long has Janet Robin been raising money for the American Cancer Society
What other name was Emperor Claudius also known by?
After donating to schools, non-profits and churches, how many organizations reached out Pratin Kraisornkovit for more help?

No purchase necessary to enter

Contest runs until August 10, 2011.

Prizes will be awarded to the first entrant to answer all questions correctly.

Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible

We will contact the winners via Email.

Once notified, winners are responsible for responding with their flavor choices, postal addresses, email addresses and phone numbers (for our shipper).

Postal addresses must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of notification.

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Blogger nor Twitter. You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook, Twitter nor Blogger.

Employees, interns, contractors, vendors, as well as their immediate families, of Popcorn Palace, its affiliates, and any representatives or agencies of Popcorn Palace or other persons professionally connected to the Contest are not eligible to participate

Judges decision is final.

Spot the popcorn 2 - Contest 3

2011-07-31T21:49:00.000-07:00

In order to win, your comment must be the first one posted, include the location of the popcorn (in the picture) and your email address.

For more full details of the July Spot the Popcorn Contest, click here.

Good luck, and may the fastest commentator win!

Pass the popcorn

2011-07-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

Until the end of August on Twitter, we are going to be giving away a free bag of popcorn to a random fan for every 30 new followers we get. But this time, not only does the winner win a bag of popcorn but they also get to choose another follower to give free popcorn to.

All you need to do is follow us at www.twitter.com/popcornpalace and retweet (copy and paste) the following message to your followers to increase your chances of winning:

"RT @popcornpalace Win FREE popcorn by following @popcornpalace. RT to increase your odds!"

Then, if you win, you will be given the chance to randomly pick and number and we'll also give popcorn to the follower that corresponds to that number.
Thank you, and good luck!

Rules and Regulations

No purchase necessary to enter
Contest runs until August 30, 2011.
Prizes will be randomly awarded to an existing follower whenever required levels are met.
Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible
We will contact the winners via Facebook message or Tweet.
Winners are responsible for responding with their flavor choices, postal addresses, email addresses and phone numbers (for our shipper).
Postal addresses must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of notification.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook nor Twitter. You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook nor Twitter.
Employees, interns, contractors, vendors, as well as their immediate families, of Popcorn Palace, its affiliates, and any representatives or agencies of Popcorn Palace or other persons professionally connected to the Contest are not eligible to participate
Judges decision is final.

Spot the popcorn 2 - Contest 2

2011-07-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

In order to win, your comment must be the first one posted, include the location of the popcorn (in the picture) and your email address.

For more full details of the July Spot the Popcorn Contest, click here.

Good luck, and may the fastest commentator win!

Spot the popcorn 2 - Contest 1

2011-07-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

In order to win, your comment must be the first one posted, include the location of the popcorn (in the picture) and your email address.

For more full details of the July Spot the Popcorn Contest, click here.

Good luck, and may the fastest commentator win!

Spot the popcorn - Part 2

2011-07-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

Spot the popcorn and win!

Popcorn Palace is giving away lots of free gourmet popcorn between now and the end of July. All you need to do to win is SPOT THE POPCORN!

Twice a week, at random times, Popcorn Palace will post a pretty picture to this blog and the first person to spot the popcorn and briefly describe its location in the comments (See below) wins!

In order to win, your comment must be the first one posted, include the location of the popcorn and your email address. There will be two pictures posted each week, during July, on random days and at random times, so be sure to check back regularly!

HINT: To receive notifications whenever a new post (or picture) is published, subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us with Google Friend Connect (See below).

Good luck - now go find that popcorn

Rules and Regulations

No purchase necessary to enter

Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible

Individuals can only win twice during the month of July

Popcorn Palace has no control over the mechanics of the blog. Our blog is hosted on Google's Blogger platform so technical difficulties should be taken up with Google

We will contact the winners via email

Winners are responsible for responding with their postal addresses and phone numbers

Postal addresses must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of email message

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook nor Google You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook or Google

Judges decision is based on the order the comments appear

Employees, interns, contractors, vendors, as well as their immediate families, of Popcorn Palace, its affiliates, and any representatives or agencies of Popcorn Palace or other persons professionally connected to the Contest are not eligible to participate

Popcorn Beer part 2!

2011-07-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

For the second year, the Rock Bottom in Warrenville, IL will host PopFest where beers from Half Acre, Haymarket Pub and Brewing, Goose Island, Limestone, Chicagoland area Rock Bottoms, and many others will be paired with Popcorn Palace gourmet popcorn.

And, as with last year, a special beer MADE with our popcorn will be unveiled.

20 dollars gets you beer and popcorn pairings as well as a souvenir tasting glass. Tickets can be purchased @

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/180289

Rock Bottom Brewery

Warrenville, Ill

Sat, July 16, from 1 pm - 4 pm

Win popcorn for a YEAR!

2011-06-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

We just awarded our 10,000th Facebook fan a 6-month supply of popcorn but YOU could win a year’s worth of our delicious gourmet popcorn!

If, with your help, we reach 15,000 Facebook fans before the end of August, we will award one fan (not neccessarily a new fan) A WHOLE YEAR’S SUPPLY OF POPCORN!

All you need to do is spread the word and get your friends and family to “like” facebook.com/popcornpalace and YOU could walk away with 12 months of deliciousness!

Rules:

No purchase necessary to enter

The winner will receive a one-year subscription to the Popcorn Of The Month Club.

Prize will be awarded to one Facebook fan (old or new) if we reach 15,000 Facebook fans before the end of August (August 31, 2010).

Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible

We will contact the winner via Facebook message.

The winner is responsible for responding with their postal address, email address and phone number (for our shipper).

Postal address must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of notification.

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook . You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook.

Judges decision is final.

Celebrate your POP!

2011-06-17T13:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day

This Sunday we celebrate those who held the hand of those that brought us into the world. This Sunday we celebrate Father's Day!

And while Mother's Day has a long and storied history, Father's day was simply introduced to ~~compete with~~ complement Mother's Day. The first recorded Father's Day was celebrated on July 5, 1908 in West Virginia and was actually done in remembrance of the more than 200 fathers who were killed in a local mining disaster.

The holiday enjoyed mixed exposure as congress repeatedly shut down attempts by President Coolage and Senator Margaret Chase Smith to make the day a national holiday until President Nixon signed it into law in 1972.

Today, the holiday is celebrated around the world, mostly on the third Sunday of May, and we at Popcorn Palace would like to wish all the Dad's out there a Happy Father's Day!

IndepenDANCE PARTY

2011-06-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

Every year in America, we celebrate our independence with friends, food, fireworks and frolicking.

This year we want to help you throw the ultimate July 4th party by providing you with a free of popcorn to feed all of your friends and family!

All you need to do is tell us on our wall how you plan on celebrating your independence and tell all of your friends to "LIKE" your post. The post with the most "LIKES" by June 26, 2011 will win an old fashioned tin, filled with gourmet popcorn and the two top runners up will each win a Smiley Bank full of delicious treats.

Good luck!

Rules:

No purchase necessary to enter

Prizes will be awarded to the first fan to identify their popcorn in each picture (four winners per picture)

Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible

We will contact the winners via Facebook message.

Winners are responsible for responding with their postal addresses, email addresses and phone numbers (for our shipper).

Postal addresses must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of notification.

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook . You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook.

Judges decision is final.

Fundraising 101: Reducing Fundraising Fatigue

2011-06-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

Though organizing a fundraiser is a large undertaking, it should also be an enjoyable experience! To reduce the stress and fatigue often associated with running a fundraiser, just keep a few simple strategies in mind before beginning your fundraiser and the rest will be smooth sailing!

First, start researching programs at least 1 month before you want to begin running your fundraiser. Check to make sure that your fundraiser doesn’t overlap with any fundraisers that may be running, especially if you plan on selling the same product. You don’t want to bombard your target audience with too many fundraisers at once, particularly because it can become expensive, so scheduling becomes important.

Also, have a set beginning and end date for your fundraiser so that your participants know when they need to turn in their orders, money, or any other information. To make the most of your fundraiser without exhausting everyone involved, try running for fundraiser for about 2 to 3 weeks. During this time, contact local businesses for donations or support, as they could be great sponsors. Just be sure to give them enough time!

Next, try to space out the fundraisers you’re involved with or that you organize. Trying to juggle too many fundraisers at once or trying to run one right after another is a guaranteed way to exhaust yourself, your participants and your customers. Quality over quantity is important in fundraising, and if you’re using the right product that will appeal to your audience, you can be successful without going overboard.

Finally, before beginning the fundraiser, determine how many volunteers you will need to assist you throughout the fundraiser and who will be helping. While family, friends and fellow parents are always a great place to start, you may find that you need more recruits or assistants with specific skills or knowledge. First, consider which jobs you need help with, such tallying orders, keeping track of money, delivering or sorting purchases, supervising participants, etc. Give people jobs based upon their interests and abilities. If you’re short on helpers or are looking to explore options, there are some simple resources that you could try, such as:

• Local high schools - students often need community service hours for programs, such as the National Honors Society

• Local newspapers – advertising locally is a great way to get the community involved

• Facebook and Twitter – posting an inquiry on your personal page may be a call to action for your acquaintances

• Organizations such as the Boy Scouts – many need to perform a service project in order to move to the next level

• Website resources – volunteermatch.org or boardnet.usa are just a few examples of websites that pair volunteers with causes

Marching Towards the Olympics

2011-06-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

With credos such as “Leadership through Musicianship” and “A Role Model of Excellence”, the Rich South High School Band has set high standards of excellence for themselves. With focused determination, diligence and hard work, they live by these principals and embody their “We are The STARS” motto.

The Rich South Band, located in Richton Park, IL, is under the leadership of “Golden Apple Award Nominee” Mr. Y.L. Douglas, Jr. The program consists of a Marching Band, Jazz Band, Symphonic Band and Color Guard, which are all award winning ensembles.

For three of the last four years, Rich South has earned the distinction of “Best Band” in the Bud Billiken Parade, which is viewed by over 60 million people nationwide. In addition, the band has been featured on the ABC7 News segment, “Someone You Should Know” and in 2009 was even invited to participate in the Presidential Inaugural Heritage Festival. Just recently, the Rich South Band performed at the welcome ceremony for the president of China during his short stay in Chicago. With so many accomplishments to their name, the Rich South Band is a force to be reckoned with and their reputation has traveled far and wide.

So far, that the entertainment committee for the 2012 Olympic games in London, England, has invited the band to perform during the international games. They are scheduled to perform on three different days throughout the Olympic festivities.

Of the prestigious invitation, the band’s director, Yolandus Douglas said, “This is great, to be invited once is great, but to be invited twice, I’m so excited for the kids.”

With a total of 109 students in the band, 65 are expected to travel to London next summer. Though the goal is to include the entire band, funding the expensive trip makes that difficult. To raise the necessary funds to make this happen, the Rich South Band is currently on a nine month fundraising plan, which includes a popcorn fundraiser with Popcorn Palace. Having just completed their first fundraiser with Popcorn Palace, the band is working diligently to raise the funds they need. The trip is estimated to cost around $4,500 per student, so every donation or sponsorship helps the students achieve this once in a life time dream.

The band has plans to represent each sponsor on their uniforms during their performances and they welcome any support from businesses, churches, groups or individuals willing to donate.
If you would like to make a donation or sponsor a student, please visit the Rich South Band site at: http://www.richsouthband.org/donations/

These young adults, along with their band director, have proven that they truly are STARS, and we look forward to cheering them on during the 2012 Olympic Games!

The name game

2011-05-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

Popcorn Palace is ready to give away lots more popcorn! And this time we are letting you pick the flavor.

Twice a week during the month of May, we will post a photo (like the one below) featuring pictures of several of our fantastic flavors on Facebook. All you need to do to win is correctly identify one of the flavors in the comments and you will win it! For example, "Top: Rainbow"

That means that for each picture, there are four winners - eight winners a week!

So study up on our flavors, keep your eyes on our Facebook page and pick your popcorn on our pictures!

____________________________

Rules and Regulations

No purchase necessary to enter

Prizes will be awarded to the first fan to identify their popcorn in each picture (four winners per picture)
Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible
We will contact the winners via Facebook message.
Winners are responsible for responding with their postal addresses, email addresses and phone numbers (for our shipper).
Postal addresses must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of notification.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook . You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook.
Judges decision is final.

Fundraising 101: Choosing the Right Fundraising Program

2011-05-06T09:38:00.000-07:00

Once you’ve made the decision to start a fundraiser, there are many questions to consider, but the most important is which program is best for your organization. It’s the first decision that needs to be made as many details depend upon the program that you select. There are three main types of fundraisers to choose from, including: pledges and donations, product fundraisers and event fundraisers.

With pledges and donations, you will ask potential donors for support through monetary or product contributions. In order to gain the support of donors, your organization could contact businesses, ask for help from friends and family members, or go door-to-door.

A product fundraiser is when you sell products that you purchase from a reputable supplier. There are many great fundraising companies that will provide you with information about their products and fundraising program if you contact them. Keep in mind that product fundraisers have different sales approaches, such as direct sales, order programs and online programs. A good idea is to determine which program and sales method would be most profitable for your participants.

Finally, an event fundraiser is an opportunity for the members of your organization to collectively offer a product, service or occasion where profits are raised at that very moment. Event fundraisers can include: bake sales, car washes, walk-a-thons, dances and so much more.

While considering the many fundraising programs that are available, assess how many participants you have and which programs they would be willing to try. Also, judge whether or not your group wishes to conduct a one day event or are committed to a program that will run for a week or more. And of course, consider which program will help you earn the profits your organization is looking to raise.

Hurdling to Success

2011-05-06T09:37:00.000-07:00

Disillusioned by many years of bad fundraising experiences, Matt Weldon was tired of watching his athletes put time and effort into fundraising programs where they reaped very few of the profits and benefits.

As the head boys track coach of Elmwood Park High School, Matt was looking for a new way to earn money for his athletes, but he was cautious and more than a little skeptical. His luck changed when the mother of one of his athletes, who worked for Popcorn Palace at the time, suggested the popcorn fundraiser.

Deciding to give it a try, Matt now has a much different opinion of fundraising programs. Between the money his organization has raised and the customer service that they have received, Matt now calls his fundraising experience “triumphant”. After 4 years with Popcorn Palace Matt says:

“We use Popcorn Palace because of the return that the selling brings in. Not only do we earn a fair share of the profits, but the quality of the product literally sells itself. I often get asked before the season starts if we are doing popcorn again because people can’t wait to order it”.

Though the athlete who recommended popcorn fundraising has long since graduated, Matt and his organization continue to work with Popcorn Palace and plan to do so in the future.

Moms love popcorn!

2011-05-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

We know that you love your Mom and that your Mom probably loves popcorn! Show her just how you feel by winning her some gourmet popcorn from Popcorn Palace. Just post a photo of you and your Mom (or of your kid and you, if you're a Mom) onto our Facebook page before Mother's Day (Sunday, May 8) and whichever photo gets the most "likes" wins!

Our grand prize winner will receive our special 6-way Iris Tin (pictured) and 5 runners up will win a popcorn flavor bag. Winners will be decided upon based on number of "Likes" so send all of your friends to our Facebook page to vote (Like) for your post.

Entries will be accepted until midnight on May 7, 2011 and the winners will be announced on the Monday following Mother's Day.

Rules and Regulations

No purchase necessary to enter
Entries must be submitted by midnight on Saturday, May 7 2011.
Prizes will be awarded to ten entrants with the most "Likes" on Facebook
Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible.
We will contact the winners via Facebook message or tweet.
Winners are responsible for responding with their postal addresses, email addresses and phone numbers (for our shipper).
Postal addresses must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of notification.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Twitter. You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook or Twitter.
Judges decision is final.

Popcorn in one thousand words (not really)

2011-04-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

We occasionally post testimonial stories on our blog, but this time we thought we'd let the pictures do the talking - as they say, a picture is worth one thousand words! Check out some of our best fan-submitted popcorn appreciation pics below.

Share your own pop picks on our Facebook page!

Friend Frenzy!

2011-04-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

It's that time again! We have lots of popcorn to give away and we want to share it with all of our friends and followers. All you need to do to win yourself some delicious gourmet popcorn is tell your friends about us.

Between now and the end of April, we'll be giving a way a free bag of popcorn to one of our social media friends whenever we meet certain follower and/or fan levels on both Twitter and Facebook.

To increase your chances of winning, follow and/or "Like" us and tell your friends to do the same. The more people that join, the more popcorn we will give away.

Facebook

For every 30 new "Likes" we get, we will randomly give away a free bag of popcorn to one of our fans.

So "Like" us at www.facebook.com/popcornpalace and send out the following message to your friends to increase your chances of winning:

Win FREE popcorn by "Liking"www.facebook.com/popcornpalace . The more likes, the more popcorn is given away!

Twitter

For every 30 new followers we get, we will randomly give away a free bag of popcorn (remember, we have 27 flavors to choose from) to one of our followers.

So follow us at www.twitter.com/popcornpalace and retweet (copy and paste) the following message to your followers to increase your chances of winning:

RT @popcornpalace Win FREE popcorn by following @popcornpalace. RT to increase your odds!

Thank you, and good luck!

Rules and Regulations

No purchase necessary to enter

Prizes will be randomly awarded to an existing follower whenever required levels are met.
Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible
We will contact the winners via Facebook message or Tweet.
Winners are responsible for responding with their flavor choices, postal addresses, email addresses and phone numbers (for our shipper).
Postal addresses must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of notification.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook nor Twitter. You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook nor Twitter.
Judges decision is final.

Fundraising 101: Setting Financial Goals

2011-04-01T10:31:00.001-07:00

Before any financial goals can be set, your organization must first decide why you want to fundraise in order to establish a clear overall objective. In order to answer this broad question, consider these more specific questions:

1. Why does your group want to raise money?
Establish the motivation behind your fundraising efforts so everyone is on the same page.

2. What are your plans for the money your hope to raise?
Whether the profits will go towards uniforms, classroom equipment, a trip or a college fund, it is important to understand how the funds will be allocated to help set a goal.

Clearly stated financial goals
will give the fundraising program
a benchmark for success

3. How much money do you need to earn to meet your goal from question #2?
Now it's time to set an achievable and measurable goal for your organization. If you are raising money to purchase equipment, it's always a good idea to research the cost involved, including any
maintenance or repairs that may be necessary down the road. Be realistic and refer to your research to establish how much money you really need.

4. How much time will you need to accomplish your goal?
Most fundraisers will typically run for 2-3 weeks, but the choice is entirely up to your organization. Try to avoid running a fundraiser for too long, as enthusiasm may start to dwindle.

Having this discussion will give everyone in your organization a chance to contribute their input and make sure everyone is working towards one goal.

Fundraising for her Granddaughter

2011-04-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

Whitney Williams has a great attitude and is always ready to offer up a smile. She bravely and gracefully lives her life despite the many difficulties she faces.

Since birth, Whitney has been affected by the condition cerebral palsy, which is a common congenital disorder that affects about 500,000 children and adults of all ages throughout the United States. Cerebral palsy involves the brain and nervous system, affecting muscle tone, movement and motor skills. While there is no cure, the utilization of stem cell transplants is often used to try and combat this condition.

Hoping to provide her granddaughter with every opportunity, Carolyn Brasher was able to raise the funds for a first stem cell transplant, which she says has helped Whitney tremendously. Showing great improvement, Whitney is now able to play cards, which is one of her favorite past-times.

Carolyn is trying to raise money for a second transplant, which could continue to improve Whitney’s ability to use certain functions and her overall quality of life. Carolyn shared that she has raised almost $1600 so far with Popcorn Palace’s fundraising program!

“I just wanted to give Popcorn Palace a big thank you for helping us get the fundraiser for my granddaughter off the ground and started. Thanks so much for your help and advice.”

If you would like to make a donation to help Carolyn raise the funds needed for Whitney’s transplant, please send any gifts to:

FBO for Whitney Williams
Happy State Bank
PO Box 7865
Amarillo, TX 79109

Popcorn Palace would like to wish Carolyn and Whitney all the best in the future!

Radio Popcorn!

2011-03-25T08:04:00.001-07:00

Popcorn Palace team member, Fran Cockrell, recently made two stops to promote our gourmet popcorn on the radio.

On Heartbeat Radio For Women, Fran explained the different kinds of popcorn and when asked about the origin of the Popcorn Palace concept, said, "We know that popcorn is an excellent, wholesome treat that we wanted to make better and kick it up a notch!"

Fran also explains the Popcorn Palace fundraising program "We're helping organizations around the nation raise funds for their trips or computers or what ever it is. We do fundraisers for all sorts of organizations."

Popcorn Palace Interview by Popcorn Palace

On the Joan Hamburg Show, Fran explains that, "We're able to satisfy so many different people's snack needs and have expanded our flavor line to 33 flavors." Fran also notes that Cheddar Cheese continues to be the consumer favorite.

When asked about the production facility in Illinoise, Fran tells Joan how Popcorn Palace hand-makes each order as it comes in, eliminating the need for the standard storage facilities and conveyer belts you would expect to see in a snack production plant.

JoanHamburg Audio by Popcorn Palace

Share Your Story and We'll Share Our Popcorn

2011-03-20T20:04:00.000-07:00

Hundreds of people have achieved incredible fundraising success by selling Popcorn Palace popcorn.

Through our blog we share some of these inspirational fundraising success stories. In the past, we've highlighted people who've sold our popcorn to raise funds for missionary trips, pug rescue, sports equipment, cancer research and much, much more.

You've read their stories, now we want to read yours! Submit your best Popcorn Palace fundraising stories, photos and/or videos through our facebook wall or email and we will reward the top 10 entries with a blog post and a bag of free popcorn of their choice. Don't wait, The contest expires on Friday, April, 15.

The Popcorn Palace fundraising program requires no investment and fundraisers keep 50% of the profits for the cause of their choice. For more information, click here.

Rules and Regulations

No purchase necessary to enter
Entries must be submitted by Friday, April, 15, 2011.
Prizes will be awarded to ten entrants selected by Popcorn Palace.
Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible.
We will contact the winners via Facebook message or tweet.
Winners are responsible for responding with their postal addresses, email addresses and phone numbers (for our shipper).
Postal addresses must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of notification.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Twitter. You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook or Twitter.
Judges decision is final.

The Muppets do "Popcorn"

2011-03-07T07:37:00.000-08:00

We're posting this for no other reason than that we love both popcorn and the Muppets.

Enjoy!

Fundraising 101: Finding the Right Company

2011-03-04T13:30:00.000-08:00

Coordinating a fundraising is a very generous commitment that demands time and energy. To get the most out of the experience and to maximize your success, choose a company that best matches your organization’s needs and goals.

There are many wonderful fundraising programs available to organizations, and the key is determining what type of product your group wishes to sell and how you will approach selling those products. You might want to begin by taking inventory so you can determine your group’s objectives and how much money you would like to raise. The number of participants in your organization and the number of helpers may influence the type of fundraiser you wish to pursue. Also important is whether your group has the funds to use a program that requires money up front or would rather pursue a program with no up-front costs.

A great place to start your research is the internet, which is an easy way to search for fundraising ideas and programs. When you find some that interest you and seem to be good matches for your group, you can contact the companies directly for more information regarding their specific programs. Many companies will even send samples or information kits that you can present to other member’s of your group.

Here are some questions to consider while you are researching fundraising programs and contacting companies:

What is the profit margin?
Is this program a direct sales, order form or online sales opportunity?
Are there ordering minimums?
Are there any up-front costs?
Does the company provide incentive programs?
Will the company charge for order forms or samples?
Are there any discounts based upon group or order size?
Does the product require refrigeration?
How does the product ship and are there shipping costs?
How is the company’s customer service? Did you have a good experience with the initial conversation?
Does the fundraising company provide attractive and useful marketing materials?
Does this product appeal to a specific type of customer or is there a broad range of possible clients?

Once you have collected information about possible fundraising options, consider your experience with the companies you contacted. This initial contact could be a clue as to what working with this company will be like later on. In the end, select the program that best suits your organization and its goals, which will make for a profitable and enjoyable experience.

Running circles around Cancer

2011-02-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

"You can raise some really good money without trying to sell yourself and the product."

For the last six years, Janet Robin has been raising money for the American Cancer society. "Ever since I lost both my parents to cancer, I have been raising money to put an end to this deadly disease."

She's seen great success with Popcorn Palace fundraisers, "It is my best and easiest fundraiser, " she says. "The popcorn is out of this world and the people cannot wait until my next order goes out."

She had looked at a variety of fundraising options but knew that she'd found the answer when she came across our website. "A lot of people where I work are always selling candy bars and I wanted something different." And differentiating herself paid of, "You can raise some really good money without trying to sell yourself and the product," says Robin. "The flyers were very appetizing and people just came over to my desk to order."

Raising funds to beat cancer is a family affair as Robin's mother-in-law and sister-in-law also use Popcorn Palace to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

Click here to learn more about the American Cancer Society

From Your Valentine

2011-02-09T08:05:00.001-08:00

On the 14th of February every year, we give those we love or like a lot gifts (like popcorn and flowers) to celebrate Valentine's Day.

The origin of the celebration is a little contentious, but the most common story is that of Saint Valentine, a priest who lived during the rule of Emperor Claudius - or Claudius the Cruel as he has come to be known. During this conflict-filled time, marriage had been banned so that Claudius could fill his army with single, unwed men. Enter Saint Valentine. He, along with Saint Marius, decided that this wasn't a fair practice and, in a direct act of rebellion, started to marry in-love Christians. As a result of his disobedience, Claudius had Valentine executed on February the fourteenth. Just before his death, Valentine is said to have written a note to the jailer's daughter, with whom he'd become close, and signed off with, "From Your Valentine."

Years later, in the Middle Ages, young people in Britain would celebrate the death of the martyr by putting their names into a bowl and drawing out the name of their valentine. This tradition too, had its origins in Rome:

"On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry."

So while you might not be pulling your love's name out of a jar, your love is sure to like pulling some popcorn out of a tin. Check out our selection of love-filled popcorn Valentine's gifts and hopefully, if you're lucky, your Valentine will share!

And if you want to win some popcorn of your very own, enter our Valentine's contest.

Individual effort

2011-02-04T13:51:00.000-08:00

"Without the help of my favorite fundraising program, I don't think I will be successful."

Pratin Kraisornkovit of Monrovia, CA is, by his own admission, "not part of a school, club, sport team, church, booster club, 4-H club, PTA or PTO." But even so, Pratin is a dedicated fundraiser.

Pratin approached Popcorn Palace about our fundraising program in September of 2010 after 25 of the schools, churches and charities he'd donated to wrote letters, asking for additional help. "My goal is to raise money for these organizations around Christmas 2010," wrote Pratin. "Without the help of my favorite fundraising program, I don't think I will be successful."

Well, Christmas has come and gone and we are pleased to report that with our popcorn and Pratin's dedication, 17 organizations received checks for Christmas, including: Boy's Town, AARP, Smile Train, The American Cancer Society, Muscular Dystrophy Association and more.

This just goes to show that you don't have to be part of a big organization to make a difference. Thank you Pratin for your hard work!

Fundraising With Popcorn to Fight Cancer

2011-01-28T07:38:00.000-08:00

"Once you have tasted the popcorn, you want more. I will definitely do more fundraising with Popcorn Palace."

Lorraine Robin uses Popcorn Palace's fundraising program to raise money for the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life in Smithfield (Rhode Island). She says, "Your popcorn is delivered fresh, no kernels and so many choices." Her first fundraiser was so successful that she decided to sell popcorn again, "My first customers liked it so much that on my second fundraiser, in addition to my new customers, most of them bought it again." And it's not just her customers who love Popcorn Palace's gourmet popcorn, Lorraine has become quite the fan herself. "Once you have tasted the popcorn, you want more," she says.

With Lorraine's help, the first-ever Smithfield Relay for Life was able to surpass their goal and raise $41,000! According to the American Cancer Society's website,

"The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease."

Popcorn Palace would like to thank Lorraine Robin for choosing Popcorn Palace to help in fighting cancer.

Click here to learn about how you can support the Smithfield Rockn' Robins or how you can get involved yourself.

Contest: How much do you love popcorn?

2011-01-25T07:37:00.000-08:00

"Dear Popcorn,

How do I love thee, let me count the ways.

I love thee to the bottom of the bag, tin or box

My fingers will reach, when popcorn's out of sight..."

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and now is the time to declare your undying love for the corn that pops!

Let us know through a song, sonnet, rap, letter, video or some yet-undiscovered media just how you feel about popcorn. Just post your love dedication onto our Facebook page or, if you have any trouble, email it to contest@popcornpalace.com and we'll post it for you.

Our grand prize winner will receive our special 6-way Valentine's Tin (pictured) and 9 runners up will win a popcorn gift box. Winners will be decided upon based on number of "Likes" so send all of your friends to our Facebook page to vote (Like) for your post.

Entries will be accepted until the day before Valentine's Day, Feb. 13, 2011 and the winner will be announced on Valentine's Day.

Good luck.
Love,
Popcorn Palace

Rules and Regulations

No purchase necessary to enter

Prizes will be awarded to ten entrants with the most "Likes" on Facebook
Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible
We will contact the winners via Facebook message.
Winners are responsible for responding with their postal addresses, email addresses and phone numbers (for our shipper).
Postal addresses must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of notification.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook . You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook.
Judges decision is final.

Riverside Apostolic UPCI: Fundraising all the way to Greece

2011-01-20T15:14:00.000-08:00

"It's easy to sell Popcorn Palace Popcorn because it tastes very good, the profit we make is awesome and people find it worth the investment."

As the Secretary and Treasurer at At Riverside Apostolic UPCI, April Peckham knew just where to turn when she needed to raise funds to send Jacinda, a young parishioner, on a mission trip to Greece to minister to the Gypsies. "Popcorn Palace was instrumental in helping us raise funds for that life-changing trip." They've used Popcorn Palace to raise funds for Youth Camp/Convention scholarships, which April says, "impacts their lives in a positive way."

Although they've only been fundraising with Popcorn Palace for a year, April is sure that they'll be back. "We've tried bake sales and brat fries in the past but made little profit," she says. "When I looked into Popcorn Palace I was excited because we keep the 50 percent profit right away, there's no expense to put into it before we see results, and you guys make it easy to raise funds!"

And it's not just the ease of selling the popcorn, which April says is "delicious," that makes Popcorn Palace their top choice. "Your online system is convenient so I could place my order any time I had a moment to do so," she says.

Riverside Apostolic UPCI strives to "minister to as many needs possible," and as you can see by the photos, their work certainly seems to be reaching those in need.

Year End Letter from the CEO

2011-01-19T14:14:00.000-08:00

To Our Valued Popcorn Palace Customers:

First, I would like to thank you for making 2010 a prosperous year full of memorable moments. Popcorn Palace was able to assist countless organizations around the nation with their fundraising needs and in total, over $2.5 million was raised for a variety of causes. I feel very fortunate to have witnessed both the dedication of the fundraising participants and the kindness of those willing to support such deserving organizations.

In order to provide our customers with a premium product and exceptional customer service, Popcorn Palace has made great strides to continually improve and advance. In this regard, 2010 proved to be a year of big changes for us. Our first major enhancement was the implementation of two brand new fundraising forms, which were designed to better serve our fundraising participants and their customers. We based these changes on customer feedback and requests, something we take very seriously. The forms featured brand new flavors, new gourmet gifts and pricing designed to help our customers receive maximum profits. In addition, a new fundraising program was introduced this year to serve those who are looking for a way to make profits without using order forms. Our Carrying Cases launched right before the Holiday Season and have become a popular alternative to our famous Order Form program.

The biggest change that occurred in 2010 was the launch of our new website in October. Completely revamped, our website is designed to be more user friendly, with convenient navigation and a simplified shopping process. It is a work in progress that we will continue to modify until we believe it is perfect for our customers. Look for upcoming announcements that will explain many of the improvements we are making to the site, including changes to our fundraising page, checkout process and overall browsing. You can expect a website that has our customers in mind every step of the way. I am excited to see the changes that will take place, and I hope that you are there for the journey.

We look forward to working with and hearing from you in 2011.

All the Best,

Timothy J. Heitmann

FUNdraising IN THE SUN

2011-01-17T09:18:00.000-08:00

As the 2011 kicks off, we are pleased to announce the launch of our 2011 Spring/Summer fundraising catalog.

Featuring 12 decadent flavor options, each is available in three different sizes. For a flavor sample, the Snack Bag, with 4 cups of popcorn, is the best way to go. If you’re looking for a more substantial snack, try the Classic Jar, which contains 8 cups of popcorn. And for the popcorn fanatics or those feeding a large group, our 1 gallon Value Bags, which hold 16 cups of popcorn, are the perfect choice!

Our Spring/Summer Order Forms also offer 3 different gourmet gifts! First is the 6-Flavor Gift Sampler, which features six of our most popular flavors in a convenient carrying box. There are also 2 sampler tins, the Popcorn Palace Gift Tin and the Smiley Gift tin, both of which contain 12 flavors in 20 single serving bags.

“Popcorn Palace" has done a great job in providing quality product that meets satisfaction.” - Fabi Rodriguez

Email us at fundraising@popcornpalace.com or to call us at 800-873-2686 for your fundraising form.

New Contest: Pick Your Popcorn!

2011-01-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: Try as we might, we can't get Facebook to allow our fans to tag our photos (we promise that this used to work). As a result, this contest is not running but we are about to introduce a brand-new one!

It's 2011 and we want to give away some more popcorn! And this time we are letting you pick the flavor.

Twice a week we will post a photo (like the one below) featuring pictures of several of our fantastic flavors. All you need to do to win is tag the picture of the popcorn flavor you want and the first person who tag a flavor wins it!

Here's how you do it:

1) Open up the photo of the popcorn from our Facebook page.

2) Click on "Tag This Photo" from the menu below the photo.

3) Click on the untagged popcorn Flavor you want and select your name from the list and, if you are the first to tag it, you win it!

So keep your eyes on our Facebook page and pick your popcorn on our pictures!

____________________________

Rules and Regulations

No purchase necessary to enter

Prizes will be awarded to the first fan to tag their popcorn in each picture
Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible
We will contact the winners via Facebook message.
Winners are responsible for responding with their postal addresses, email addresses and phone numbers (for our shipper).
Postal addresses must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of notification.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook . You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook.
Judges decision is final.

The season for giving

2010-12-03T04:53:00.000-08:00

Win free popcorn!

With holidays galore, December is the season for giving and so we are giving you, our loyal fans and followers, lots of free popcorn.

Between now and December, Popcorn Palace is going to be randomly giving away free popcorn whenever we meet certain follower and/or fan levels on both Twitter and Facebook.

To increase your chances of winning, follow and/or "like" us and tell your friends to do the same. The more people that join, the more popcorn we will give away.

Facebook

For every 20 new "likes" we get, we will randomly give away a free bag of popcorn (remember, we have 29 flavors to choose from) to one of our fans.

So "like" us at www.facebook.com/popcornpalace and suggest the page to your friends or send out the following message to increase your chances of winning:

Win FREE popcorn by "liking"www.facebook.com/popcornpalace. The more likes, the more popcorn is given away!

Twitter

For every 30 new followers we get, we will randomly give away a free bag of popcorn (remember, we have 29 flavors to choose from) to one of our followers.

So follow us at www.twitter.com/popcornpalace and retweet (copy and paste) the following message to your followers to increase your chances of winning:

RT @popcornpalace Win FREE popcorn by following @popcornpalace. RT to increase your odds!

Thank you, and good luck!

____________________________

Rules and Regulations

No purchase necessary to enter
Prizes will be randomly awarded to both new and existing fans and followers
Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible
We will contact the winners via email, Twitter or Facebook message.
Winners are responsible for responding with their postal addresses and phone numbers.
Postal addresses must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of notification.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook nor Twitter. You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook or Twitter.
Judges decision is final.

Spot the popcorn - Contest 10

2010-11-30T13:08:00.000-08:00

Find the popcorn!

In order to win, your comment must be the first one posted, include the location of the popcorn (in the picture) and your email address.

For more full details of the November Spot the Popcorn Contest, click here.

Good luck, and may the fastest commentator win!

Spot the popcorn - Contest 9

2010-11-30T07:10:00.000-08:00

Find the popcorn!

In order to win, your comment must be the first one posted, include the location of the popcorn (in the picture) and your email address.

For more full details of the November Spot the Popcorn Contest, click here.

Good luck, and may the fastest commentator win!

Spot the popcorn - Contest 8

2010-11-29T08:49:00.000-08:00

Find the popcorn!

In order to win, your comment must be the first one posted, include the location of the popcorn (in the picture) and your email address.

For more full details of the November Spot the Popcorn Contest, click here.

Good luck, and may the fastest commentator win!

Spot the popcorn - Contest 7

2010-11-23T07:44:00.000-08:00

Find the popcorn!

In order to win, your comment must be the first one posted, include the location of the popcorn (in the picture) and your email address.

For more full details of the November Spot the Popcorn Contest, click here.

Good luck, and may the fastest commentator win!

Spot the popcorn - Contest 6

2010-11-19T09:15:00.000-08:00

Find the popcorn!

Spot the popcorn - Contest 5

2010-11-17T07:32:00.000-08:00

Find the popcorn!

Spot the popcorn - Contest 4

2010-11-11T14:13:00.000-08:00

Find the popcorn!

Spot the popcorn - Contest 3

2010-11-09T07:11:00.000-08:00

Find the popcorn!

Spot the popcorn - Contest 2

2010-11-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

Find the popcorn!

Spot the popcorn - Contest 1

2010-11-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

Here's your first chance to win popcorn.

In order to win, your comment must be the first one posted, include the location of the popcorn and your email address.

For more full details of the November Spot the Popcorn Contest, click here.

Good luck, and may the fastest commentator win!

Spot the popcorn and win!

2010-11-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

Popcorn Palace is giving away lots of free gourmet popcorn during the month of November. All you need to do to win is SPOT THE POPCORN!

Twice a week, at random times, Popcorn Palace will post a pretty picture to this blog and the first person to spot the popcorn and briefly describe its location in the comments (See below) wins!

In order to win, your comment must be the first one posted, include the location of the popcorn and your email address. There will be two pictures posted each week, during November, on random days and at random times, so be sure to check back regularly!

HINT: To receive notifications whenever a new post (or picture) is published, subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us with Google Friend Connect (See below).

Good luck - now go find that popcorn!

Rules and Regulations

No purchase necessary to enter
Only residents of the U.S.A. are eligible
Individuals can only win twice during the month of November
Popcorn Palace has no control over the mechanics of the blog. Our blog is hosted on Google's Blogger platform so technical difficulties should be taken up with Google.
We will contact the winners via email.
Winners are responsible for responding with their postal addresses and phone numbers.
Postal addresses must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of email message.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook nor Google. You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook or Google.
Judges decision is based on the order the comments appear.

Halloween contest winner: Debbie is well "Liked"

2010-10-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to our Halloween costume contest winner Debbie. Dressed as a spooky fortune teller, Debbie was our first entrant and was able to rally her friends and family to vote (Like) her photo on our Facebook page 32 times!

For her winning entry, Debbie has won an exclusive Popcorn Palace commemorative Halloween tin filled with delicious gourmet popcorn.

Thank you for everyone who entered, it was a great contest with some really creepy and cute photos. Below are two other fan favorites.

Check out Popcorn Palace on Facebook here.

If you have a cause that you need to raise funds for (or you just love the taste of gourmet popcorn) visit Popcorn Palace today!

Win Halloween Treats!

2010-10-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

Halloween is all about treats (and tricks) and we at Popcorn Palace want to share some of our treats with you. You have just one week to enter to win an exclusive Popcorn Palace commemorative Halloween tin filled with delicious gourmet popcorn.

All you need to do to win is upload your best halloween costume photos (of you or your kid/s) onto our Facebook page.

The winner will be the photo with the most Facebook "Likes." So, post your photo and get your friends and family, ghosts and ghouls to visit our Facebook page and click on the "Like" associated with your photo.

Good luck!

................................................................

RULES:

The winners will be the user who submits the photo that receives the most "Likes" on Facebook as of midnight (CST) on Oct. 26, 2010.
We will contact winners through a Facebook message.
Winners must reply with mailing addresses within 2 days (48 hours) of message being sent.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook. The photos you provide will only be used in a Facebook photo album and possibly on a future Popcorn Palace blog post.
Judges decision is final.

Popcorn Month Giveaway!

2010-10-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

October is National Popcorn Month and we want to celebrate by giving one of our wonderful fans a bucketload of our delicious gourmet popcorn. All you need to do is visit our blog and email the answers the following 10 questions to fundraising@popcornpalace.com. The winner will receive a very special 3.5g tin containing mini-bags of ALL our flavors (33 mini bags total).

Read on and good luck!

1. Name three of the new flavors that launched with the new Website

2. What state are the Mighty Tiger Band representing on their trip to the White House Ellipse?

3. What flavor did Sheetal Bhagat, a finalist from TV’s Masterchef create for Popcorn Palace?

4. Which teams made it into the finals of the Hotspurs Labor Day Soccer Tournament?

5. What flavors of Popcorn Palace popcorn did Rob and Carrie Moran have at their wedding?

6. At which baseball field are you most likely to find the ladies of Popcorn Palace?

7. Which brewery decided to create a unique and delicious beer made of popcorn?

8. What breed of dog does Homeward Bound help find homes for?

9. How much pressure is required inside a kernel of popcorn to make it pop?

10. What year did ING Hoops Youth Organization become a non-profit?

Rules and Regulations

No purchase necessary to enter
Only one entry per person
The Winner will be drawn on Monday, Nov. 1, 2010.
We will contact the winner via email.
Winners are responsible for responding with postal address.
Postal address must be submitted within two weeks (fourteen days) of email message.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to Popcorn Palace and not to Facebook.
Judges decision is final.

Check out Popcorn Palace on Facebook here.

If you have a cause that you need to raise funds for (or you just love the taste of gourmet popcorn) visit Popcorn Palace today!

Welcome to our new home (page)!

2010-10-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

Launched just last night, Popcorn Palace's new and improved website (popcornpalace.com) makes finding and buying your favorite gourmet popcorn couldn't be easier!

The bolder, brighter website features bigger, more appetizing pictures of our popcorn. We are also pleased to announce that we've introduced seven new flavors, which include: Berry Your Blues, Fleur de Sel and Ginger Caramel Rogers to celebrate our new site.

And while the new site has more convenient navigation and a simplified shopping process for consumers, it also makes life simpler for our fundraising folk. The redesigned fundraising section allows you to manage your account through a dashboard, giving you a convenient account overview.

So whether you are selling or eating our popcorn, our new site was built just for YOU!

Check out our new site and flavors today!