Before We Order: Words in a Fundraiser Email

Subject: What We Can Actually Promise

1Hi Zeynep, Before we send the backpack-tag fundraiser announcement, I want to straighten out our budget language. We are raising money for new outdoor seating at school. The reflective tags seem practical, and students can choose from several shapes. But the announcement should describe what we know, not what we hope. Yesterday, I almost called all the money customers would pay us “profit.” That would have made our plan look more successful than our budget supports.

2Revenue is all the money we receive from selling tags. Profit is what remains after we subtract the expenses of running the sale. The envelopes and order forms are already on my desk. We should record those expenses even though we paid them before taking orders. The student council adviser asked us to keep every receipt.

3Our plan also separates fixed expenses from variable expenses. The supplier charges one setup fee whether we order a small batch or a large one. However, the total amount we spend on tags rises as we order more tags. Calling that spending variable does not mean the price of each individual tag keeps changing. It means the total depends on how many we buy.

4Please change “loan” to “donation” in the line about your uncle's contribution. A donor gives support without expecting repayment; a lender expects the money back. Your uncle specifically said we would not owe him anything. If we described his gift as a loan, readers might think our future sales would have to cover a debt.

5The supplier's deposit is refundable until production begins: we can cancel before then and get that payment back. Customer orders, meanwhile, are transferable. Someone who cannot collect a tag may name another person to receive it. Transferable does not promise a refund. These policies answer different questions, so we should explain both rather than treating the words as interchangeable.

6Finally, our projected profit is a forecast, not a guarantee. We based it on expected orders, but actual profit will depend on completed sales and recorded expenses. If the final amount exceeds our seating goal, the excess will be a surplus available for another approved purchase. Let's leave room in the email for questions before we ask anyone to commit. Thanks, Dario