Still Need You

“If you ever need a group to make cards I think my group at work would love to do this during our slow time in the winter. Just let me know.”

After seeing that comment we wanted to make sure we’re all on the same page, we ALWAYS could use more cards! Unfortunately we can never tell how many cards we’ll get a quarter. First, there are several groups who’ve expressed interest in making cards, but haven’t found free time during the week. Then as touched on in a prior post, people often hosts events, but don’t get a chance to send them (Seal the Deal). Then it’s very rare that we get groups to Stream It, consistently make cards on a quarterly basis without us reaching out requesting additional cards. And to be honest, most of the time we’re BEGGING for people to make more cards!

Here’s more insight. Since we're a certified non-profit, we have to keep track of ALL our expenses and donations! So we decided while we're tracking that, we can also watch where ALL the cards are coming from and going to with detailed formulas in our excel chart. For example, there’s a formula which shows if people made cards the last quarter:

• =IFERROR((B61-VLOOKUP(A61,'Q1 2015'!$A$15:$B$70,2,FALSE))/VLOOKUP(A61,'Q1 2015'!$A$15:$B$70,2,FALSE), "None Last Quarter")

In summary, what the formula does is shows us the percent difference (e.g. 20% more cards than last quarter) for each group quarter over quarter. But if a group didn’t host an event the prior quarter, it simply shows us “None Last Quarter”.

With that excel chart we start to reach out to groups who’ve made a bunch in the past but have a ‘None Last Quarter’ next to their name. This way we can make sure that we’re not heckling people who just made cards.

While looking into all this data we learned there’s no way we can get over 1,000+ cards without at least one group making 150+ cards. Here’s a breakout of who did that in each of those prior quarters:
• Q1 2013
             o Mayfield Junior School – 227 cards
             o Northwestern – 202 cards
             o University of Illinois Chicago – 169 cards
• Q4 2013
             o PHD Media – 223 cards
             o Isobar – 164 cards
• Q1 2014
             o CervantesKids – 356 cards
             o QuickenLoans – 163 cards
• Q2 2014
             o KForce – 675 cards
• Q3 2014
             o QuickenLoans – 285 cards
             o Millward Brown – 187 cards
• Q2 2015 (as of June 5)
             o Minnesota State University – 413 cards
             o Hickory Woods Elementary – 237 cards
             o Huron Consulting – 222 cards

As you can see, we often get HUGE stacks of cards from HUGE companies….but what you can’t tell is how many times we see “None Last Quarter” on our chart. Also, based on our promises to hospitals we need 1,250 cards each quarter! So no matter what else is going on, WE STILL NEED YOU!

#WeStillNeedYou #UpliftingSpirits #EveryCardCounts

To see more pictures and stories please check out our website www.cardzforkidz.org, like us on Facebook page, follow us on Twitter , visit our Google+ page, or visit our LinkedIn page! Also, check out some of our videos on YouTube!