Scarsdale Entrepreneur Launches New Venture

Scarsdale resident Grant Son has just launched an exciting new venture. It is an online fundraising program for schools called ClassClick.net that helps schools raise money through the sale of magazine subscriptions. Grant is very familiar with the world of school fundraising as he spent eight years at Time Inc. working with several fundraising companies.

Selling magazines can be an effective method for schools and organizations to raise money and putting the process online makes it easier for everyone. Grant’s company, ClassClick.net, has cut out the need for distributing catalogs, collecting checks, and students selling door to door; it can all be done online. They have developed web-based tools to enable school administrators and organizations to conduct productive and time efficient fundraisers and produced an online magazine store with the top 167 magazines.

At ClassClick.net 50% of sales revenue goes back to the organization and the process is simple.

Here is a short interview with entrepreneur Grant Son:

Tell us about your family:

My wife Lisa and I have lived in Scarsdale for 12 years and have a son Kyle, age 14, and a 12 year-old daughter named Kaitlyn. Both Lisa and I enjoy playing tennis and I met my current marketing partner, Brett Gerstenblatt when we both played on the Scarsdale Men's Tennis Team.

What is your professional background?

I have been in the magazine and online media business for almost 25 years including almost 20 years at Time Warner in their magazine company, as well as a stint as CEO of SchoolSports before it was sold to ESPN plus a few years at the NFL. I returned to the entrepreneurial world and last year I started Greater Good Ventures. Our first venture is the online fundraising program ClassClick.net.

What sparked the idea for ClassClick.net?

Selling magazines is a great way for schools to raise money. However, until now the process was too cumbersome and time consuming for teachers and students. We cut out the need for distributing catalogs, collecting checks, and students selling door to door –and put it all online.

We developed online tools to enable school administrators to conduct productive and time efficient fundraisers and produced an online magazine store where we offer the top 167 magazines. The subscription prices are all authorized by the magazine publishers and are much more attractive than prices at the newsstand.

How does Class Click's revenue stream to the fundraising group compare to traditional competitors?

Because we save money by not producing costly catalogs and order forms, we can give 50% back to the organization while other fundraisers give much less.

Is ClassClick.net only for schools or can other organizations use it to raise money as well?

The technology works for all non profit organizations. In fact our church just finished using ClassClick.net to raise money to build homes for orphans in Haiti.  We found that on average donors spent $60 and purchased three or four magazines. They found that the campaign was easy to run.

What are the main benefits to using Class Click over customary fundraisers such as a bake sale or a car wash?

There is growing push back against bake sales as fundraisers as child obesity has become the number one issue in schools across America. Many cities and states are no longer allowing bake sales or the sale of candy in schools. We are helping a school in New York City because their rules no longer allow bake sales.

Other fundraisers, such as car washes, are more labor intensive and take away time from either the classroom or the playing field.

How can people get started?

With three easy steps, parents can order a magazine, invite other friends and family to participate and purchase magazines. To check it out, go to http://www.classclick.net/