PerformaVending Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Well, I've finally learned my lesson the hard way so you don't have to! About a month ago, I began placing machines with LRU, which forced me to get a charity fast. So, I put two-and-two together. "The church I've attended since I was a kid! Foolproof!" It was pretty much perfect in my mind- I label the machines, they get a little bit of the action, and poof! The logistics and hurdles of yearly sticker costs and charity fees would be over- I helped the church's youth program, and away I would go. Don't do that. Simply put, politics. Though LRU placed things easily and quickly for me, the new charity pitch I was using was getting shot down faster than my old commission pitch. At first it didn't make sense. As it turns out, unbeknownst to me, internally this large, popular church has a "civil war" of sorts boiling in the upper levels, and members have chose sides- that of the pastors and church admins, and that of the board of directors and their program officials. Throughout the organization, members are passive-aggressively going after each other for their differing views on the budget, development, direction, etc. As such, I discovered that several places I pitched were on the pro-pastoral side, and didn't like that my vending machines were benefiting the youth group, which falls under command of the board. After that, I discovered that a lot of business owners are opposed to other churches. I had no idea that church members from the same SYNOD hated each other so much. Businesses refused for various reasons, but after a little looking around, and speaking with the right people, it all started to make sense. Unless the decision maker happened to be a member of this one church, and just so happened to favor the board of directors plans- (the odds are terrible) this charity approach was poison. As I planned my steady exit from this nonsense, the final straw came in. The board wanted me to stop selling Mike and Ike's. Why? One of the board members finds Mike and Ike's "divorce" offensive, and they don't want to be associated with them. So be it. I ran around today and have removed their charity stickers, and threw them in the trash. I'll pay them their final cut of the proceeds at the end of the month, and that is that. What a nightmare. Hopefully no permanent damage was done to my business. I have mentioned several times before on the boards that churches make good charities: THEY DO NOT! Find a good vending charity like NCCS, and save yourself some serious trouble. This is what I get for thinking outside of the box. Hopefully someone else will be able to avoid this pitfall. Good luck everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedvender Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Larger local charity's are ok. One that is used a lot in my area is Teammates it is a mentoring program Started and is watched over by Tom Osborn. I have a friend with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Midlands. I might see if I can get something worked out with them in addition to Missing and exploited Children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted July 28, 2012 Author Share Posted July 28, 2012 Larger local charity's are ok. One that is used a lot in my area is Teammates it is a mentoring program Started and is watched over by Tom Osborn. I have a friend with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Midlands. I might see if I can get something worked out with them in addition to Missing and exploited Children. Agreed, those are good places to try. My statements are not against local charities, but rather a warning about church and church-affiliated charity programs. I was shocked to discover all the internal politics, and was even more surprised to find how negatively it impacted my business. That is the basis of my warning. Good luck Big Red! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedvender Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Yea I am a man of Faith but sometimes Find something local that dose good and leave the politics of faith out of it. I am sorry to hear of the Impact it had on your business but at least you found out now and can adjust things to keep you moving forward. In this situation there is no winner your doing the right thing just cut your losses and move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Wow, what a wake up call. I'm really thankful you posted this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted July 29, 2012 Author Share Posted July 29, 2012 Wow, what a wake up call. I'm really thankful you posted this! If I help one person, that's a victory for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetstop Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Make a Wish is one that I have used before. They are a national name but you can make your donation on a local level, that way it stays in your area and your pitch can promote a local charity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate9303 Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Well, I've finally learned my lesson the hard way so you don't have to! About a month ago, I began placing machines with LRU, which forced me to get a charity fast. So, I put two-and-two together. "The church I've attended since I was a kid! Foolproof!" It was pretty much perfect in my mind- I label the machines, they get a little bit of the action, and poof! The logistics and hurdles of yearly sticker costs and charity fees would be over- I helped the church's youth program, and away I would go. Don't do that. Simply put, politics. Though LRU placed things easily and quickly for me, the new charity pitch I was using was getting shot down faster than my old commission pitch. At first it didn't make sense. As it turns out, unbeknownst to me, internally this large, popular church has a "civil war" of sorts boiling in the upper levels, and members have chose sides- that of the pastors and church admins, and that of the board of directors and their program officials. Throughout the organization, members are passive-aggressively going after each other for their differing views on the budget, development, direction, etc. As such, I discovered that several places I pitched were on the pro-pastoral side, and didn't like that my vending machines were benefiting the youth group, which falls under command of the board. After that, I discovered that a lot of business owners are opposed to other churches. I had no idea that church members from the same SYNOD hated each other so much. Businesses refused for various reasons, but after a little looking around, and speaking with the right people, it all started to make sense. Unless the decision maker happened to be a member of this one church, and just so happened to favor the board of directors plans- (the odds are terrible) this charity approach was poison. As I planned my steady exit from this nonsense, the final straw came in. The board wanted me to stop selling Mike and Ike's. Why? One of the board members finds Mike and Ike's "divorce" offensive, and they don't want to be associated with them. So be it. I ran around today and have removed their charity stickers, and threw them in the trash. I'll pay them their final cut of the proceeds at the end of the month, and that is that. What a nightmare. Hopefully no permanent damage was done to my business. I have mentioned several times before on the boards that churches make good charities: THEY DO NOT! Find a good vending charity like NCCS, and save yourself some serious trouble. This is what I get for thinking outside of the box. Hopefully someone else will be able to avoid this pitfall. Good luck everyone! Thanks for the information. Sorry about the strife at your church. That's tough to deal with. I'm the pastor of a congregation here in SC and thought about using our feeding ministry as my charity. In the end I decided not to for the very reason you mentioned...someone saying, "what about my church? We have a food ministry.". I decided it'd be better to use something national. I have found that people from my church can get me in the door to lots of places too. They are often happy to help. Of course, it helps that I'm there pastor. One guy from my congrgation told me I should try to locate wearing my collar (I'm Lutheran so think collar like a catholic priest). I decided not to for ethical reasons, but I bet it would get me in the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLam Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Thanks for the post. This was very insightful but perhaps an extreme case of politics and dirty laundry spreading throughout the town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertInPhilly Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Are you sure you're not talking about a Vfw or American legion. The politics in those places is either awesome or beyond terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Just thought I'd point out that the original post is almost a year old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffd95 Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 I was very upset when Mike and Ike divorced. hahahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate9303 Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 I was very upset when Mike and Ike divorced. hahahaha I thought those crazy kids would last forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendamania Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Make a Wish is one that I have used before. They are a national name but you can make your donation on a local level, that way it stays in your area and your pitch can promote a local charity Is anyone using this charity ? I called and they told me they don't participate in vending programs anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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