Pick our fundraising winner!

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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.