It’s our usual dank, dark, damp, close season, and this is not really an article with an awful lot to do with Cricket, but it is some food for thought, and an explanation as to how I raised almost £200.00 for our Club in the last 2 years – whilst saving money for myself – and without costing myself a penny!
As you all ought to know by now – making online purchases via links on the Reed CC website can earn our Club substantive accumulations of sales commissions. This process has been going for years and is known as affiliate marketing.
Our Reed CC website constructor Baz Curtis was a pathfinder in recognising the availability of this field of prospective Club fundraising, and as long as 10 years ago brought many specific corporate links to the Club website for members to use to benefit our club. Unfortunately, bar a few stalwarts, support of this initiative never really “took off”. However, in 2015, online purchasing is now much more widely undertaken, and there is a now a much simplified user format of commission raising being offered. This is called “Easyfundraising”.
The Easyfundraising mechanism is so easy to use that you can actually upload either an App to your mobile phone or tablet computer, or a programme to your PC or laptop that shows if websites that you are visiting to make a purchase are already “Easyfundraising member sites”. If that is the case then you just need to click on the Easyfundraising logo/signage to get a “no cost to you” donation made to Reed Cricket Club.
So the mechanism is very easy – IF you can be persuaded to register with Easyfundraising and nominate Reed Cricket Club as your chosen partner/beneficiary.
With the explosion in people buying products, policies, and services online, there is a significant income stream for our Club here for the taking!
The Easyfundraising top supporters chart on the Reed CC website currently shows me at the top with a total of £390.10 of sales commissions achieved for our club. This has not cost me a penny! In fact I have saved myself and my family a lot of money, whilst at the same time raising these funds for Reed CC!
So how did I do it?
On simple straightforward online purchases, by buying via the Reed CC link or from my installed Easyfundraiser strapline.
These commissions automatically roll in from people like Amazon, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Argos, Homebase, Curry’s, John Lewis, Screwfix, Pixmania, Hotels.com, PandO Ferries, PandO Cruises, Thomson’s Holidays, Cartridge People, Vistaprint etc etc etc…. The commissions range from just 1% to over 5% and whilst some are just a few pence as they say at Tesco – “Every little helps”!!
However, the biggest donations are there to be made whilst at the same time combatting the CONTEMPT that many Insurance companies, Service Providers and Utility Companies have for their often naïve/lazy customers!!
When your Household Insurance Policies, Car Insurance, Breakdown Recovery Contract, Phone Contract, or Gas and Electricity Supplier come up for renewal, how many of you compare the new policy rates with the old to check the % increases on the prior year?
How many of you check your rates and charges against the market using a comparison quote site?
The differences in charge rates for the same cover is often amazing, and you can save large sums by switching providers.
Additionally, the real contempt for the consumer is shown when many of these providers attract you in Year ONE with a tremendously attractive rate, and then on your next annual renewal sneak in much higher rates that can actually include increases of up to 33%!! So – if you don’t check your renewals your previously very good value provider has become much higher charging.
Do check renewals annually, and if necessary carry out the comparison exercise each year.
With Car Breakdown Insurance, in the last 3 years I have switched every year from AA to RAC back to AA, and each time have saved myself money on a proposed renewal premium, and raised between £10 and £17.50 for ReedCC!
Many of the companies operating in these insurance, car breakdown, and phone/broadband service fields do offer substantial affiliate marketing commissions through Easyfundraising, so you can save yourself money and raise money for our Club at the same time.
U-Switch is a comparison site that actually pays a commission to Reed CC via Easyfundraising if you switch through them after they have done the comparison exercise for you.
Switching or opening some Bank Accounts can also produce significant commissions if done via Easyfundraising from the Reed CC website. Santander 123 Account = £17.50 for each account opened!
Switching services and accounts is very easy these days – I have switched Banks, Telephone and Broadband Services, and Gas and Electricity providers MANY times without any issues!
Examples of such commissions are:
AA Breakdown – £17.50 RAC Breakdown – £7.50
BT Broadband/Phone – £16.00 SKY Broadband/Phone – £40.00
Aviva Home Ins. – £30.00 Swinton Home Ins: – £15.00
First Utility – £20.00 EDF Energy – £10.00
Santander 123 Bank A/C (Excellent A/C – very good features!) – £17.50
So please look at Easyfundraising via the Reed CC website – and do sign up and join.
Nominate Reed CC as your beneficiary.
Do load the Easyfundraising App or Programme into your internet devices to get the easiest method of usage.
You can do this by clicking on this link: https://new.easyfundraising.org.uk/donation-reminder/
Or download the app for your mobile device from here
After that it is plain sailing – all the way to the Clubs bank!!
It is money for old rope!
Any queries please speak to me or Baz!!
JQH
(This Occasional column is written by John Heslam Club Chairman of Reed Cricket Club. The views expressed in the article are his own and do not necessarily comprise those of the Clubs General Committee)
