New Fundraising Tool for Dance Studios

CostumeManager.com launches Storefront Fundraising site, giving dance studios a free online fundraising tool to sell dancewear, shoes, accessories and costumes to their students.

Dance industry pioneer, CostumeManager.com, announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind website today – one that allows users to create and manage their own online fundraising portals, right from their computers.  Paul Henderson, a dance studio owner, created CostumeManager.com in 2007 as a way to streamline the costuming process for his dancer students.  As the owner of 8 Tiffany’s Dance Academy locations in California, with thousands of students, CostumeManager.com was created out of sheer necessity.

After discovering that most dance studios around the country face a desperate cash flow problem during and after the slower summer months, Henderson decided to help studio owners solve that problem.  “The trick,” he said, “was to figure out a way to improve the studio’s cash flow, without exposing them to extra risk, costs and work for the already overburdened studio owner.”   He realized that it was possible for studio owners to profit on the myriad of products their dancers were already buying somewhere else. 

Leotards, tights, shoes, skirts, warm-ups and accessories are worn in countless dance classes, every day, and Henderson believes that Storefront Fundraising will yield additional profits to the studio of $50 – $100 per dancer, per season.  “That’s like getting an extra month of tuition right when you need it most!” said Henderson.

Beta testers of the system have glowing reviews. 

Lindsey Kaplowitz, owner of Starpath Dance Academy in Cary, North Carolina has been beta testing the site for 8 months and she says, “It’s been amazing!  I plan on using the profits from my Storefront to get the biggest and best recital venue for my dancers next season.”

Elizabeth Ercila, owner of Fancy Feet Dance Academy in Sacramento, CA said, “I use the money for my Velocity Dance Group and also just the upkeep of the studio; new marley floors and paint…also extra props for our younger dancers.”

Tamie Griffith, owner of 5678 Dance Modesto in California said, “I use my profits to pay for my teachers’ costumes, provide scholarships for students in need, and I take teachers to dance conventions for learning and training.”

Erica Fairfield, owner of The Dance Affair in San Jose, CA said, “I recently updated the look of my staircase and front lobby. I was able to get new carpet for the staircase and laminate for our lobby floor!”

CostumeManager.com’s Storefront Fundraising is made possible because of its superior technology based on the Salesforce.com – Force.com cloud-based platform.  In addition to superior technology, CostumeManager.com’s partnerships dozens of costume manufacturers and over 100 dancewear brands make its online catalog enormous and comprehensive. 

“The process for studio owners is pretty simple, really”, Henderson said.  “First, they create a free online account in our system.  Then, they browse the online catalog and create lists of products that they want their dancers to buy.  They decide the retail price and then promote the lists to their dancers.”  He said that if a studio owner uses Storefront’s pre-configured lists, they can have their Storefront online and selling within about 10 minutes. 

Once products are purchased, CostumeManager.com fulfills the order completely.  The studio doesn’t have to do anything. 

CostumeManager.com packages each dancer’s purchases in their warehouse in California and then ships each dancer’s bundled packages to the studio for easy distribution by the studio’s staff.  “It’s really a win-win for everyone involved.  The dancer is going to pay a fair price for the things they were already going to buy anyway. Studio owners earn a monthly profit on everything sold in their Storefront, which will help the studio flourish, instead of flounder in debt.  The dancewear and costume manufacturers also win because CostumeManager.com is free for them to list their products and our technology makes it possible for our partner suppliers to better predict delivery timeframes and what will sell.”

For more information visit www.CostumeManager.com/Storefront or call (877) 632-6234.