Well, there goes another successful Autumn campaign. Well done to everyone, housepoints galore! There were loads of orders, oodles of work, plenty of deliveries and, what matters most, lots of happy schools. There is only one thing left to do - send out the invoices. It's the bit nobody likes I can assure you, apart from the taxman I suppose.

This year we are emailing all the invoices to cut down on paper, postage and the like. Last year we did a trial and it worked out well so this year we're going for it. If, however, you want your invoice sent by post please let us know.

Back soon...

Hello there

It's a busy week isn't it. We've got the US Election. Bonfire Night. My Nan's birthday. And then it's deadline day on Friday 7 November for Initiatives' Autumn 2008 campaign. So, if any of you are still to send your Master Order Forms there is no time to delay. Fundwizard is by far the quickest way to post your order - click here and weave your magic

It must be said that it has been a very difficult time for fundraisers given the current economical climate and the affect that has on everyone. Yet due to the commendable efforts made by you all we can report it has once again proved to be a successful campaign. Housepoints to everyone! 

The Autumn 2008 campaign has got off to a great start and the orders are now rolling in steadily, indeed Fund Wizard has been very busy! The best order we've received so far is just over £1,500 (£450 net profit for the school!) but it's early days yet.

They had a great strategy by the way: once they'd received all the pupil's orders they decided to pay a visit to some of the local businesses and offices, helping them to rake in quite a few more substantial orders. Hats off to them!

It's possible that with all the money you made with the Initiatives campaign you're now wondering how to spend it all. Well, if school gardening is high on your agenda you could do a lot worse than taking a look at Greenhouse Sensation's website. They're a great bunch of people, extremely helpful and so knowledgeable too. What's more, they even offer reductions to schools!

Good news for anyone wanting an excuse to eat chocolate - it's National Chocolate Week on 13th - 19th October 2008. And you may find that it inspires you to sell more chocs, helping your fundraising campaign. Take a look at the website to find out more about good quality chocolate, the history of the cocoa bean and much more. Click here

Well, it's the start of a new school year which also signals the start of a new Initiatives fundraising campaign. We're betting on a bigger, better and more successful fundraiser than ever before especially with the wider range of products on offer - not least the offer of our Christmas chocolates.

If you have not yet requested your free fundraising pack why not take a look at our catalogue, which you can easily browse online. I'm sure you'll like what you see.

And for all those schools who have already registered - your pack is probably being delivered as I type! So get promoting and hand those catalogues out as soon as possible for the best return ever!

Good Luck!

And yes chocolate is the new initiative at Initiatives.
We wanted something new to introduce to the catalogue and after some reflection we decided upon the brown stuff. It's been a real chore having to do all the taste testing but we persevered in the name of fundraising - hopefully you'll love the selection on offer.

We have had the marvellous opportunity to work with Serge at Alex Olivier, a very fancy chocolatier, and where possible the ingredients have been sourced from Fairtrade suppliers.  We reckon it's important we should do our bit to help fight against the unfair trading  that occurs in the developing countries where cocoa, amongst many other crops, comes from. To learn more about Fairtrade click here

The new catalogue for Autumn 2008 will be available soon, very soon, so please keep a look out - you won't be disappointed!

Bulbs are back in fashion!

Why? Because they're so easy to grow and there are so many wonderful varieties to choose from. And once they're planted only a tiny amount of care ensures you'll have beautiful flowers in spring for at least the next few years and sometimes evermore.

Take a look at this advice from the BBC and see how easy it is.