NCSBA and NCPTA Endorse Online Shopping Fundraiser

Just in Time for Holiday Shopping Season

The North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA) and the North Carolina PTA (NCPTA) have jointly endorsed a program that allows local PTAs to sign up and get cash back from shoppers’ online purchases. The program is called The Furtal Program (located at www.furtal.com) and it creates a free website for each local PTA where supporters start their online shopping, while also learning about the latest-greatest activities or upcoming events at their PTA or school. Whenever a visitor goes to a local PTA’s Furtal website and clicks on a retailer’s link to make a purchase, the local PTA gets a percentage of the purchase in cash back to their organization. 

The parent company of Furtal has affiliate marketing agreements with well over 400 online retailers, including some of the most popular shopping sites on the Web. These retailers pay a commission for any purchase made by any shopper on any PTA Furtal website.  

To get started, the only action required by the PTA is to create a Furtal website for their school with a simple online “registration”. The Furtal system automatically generates a customized website for that PTA. This website includes links to all participating retailers as well as an array of communications tools for the local PTA unit.  

PTA members and supporters can find their favorite PTA Furtal website by going to www.furtal.com and typing the name of the school into a search tool.  

Debra Horton, Executive Director of the NCPTA, says Furtal is a great fit for the NCPTA. “NCPTA’s mission is to help every child’s potential to become a reality. Furtal provides our local units with a free website for communicating our activities and information for parents and caregivers to their members while also providing a funding opportunity.”  

Furtal is the brainchild of entrepreneurs Brad Hinely and Marty Hollingsworth. Mr. Hinely said, "Furtal provides an easy-to-use program that allows schools to participate in the benefits of the tremendous ecommerce activities occurring on the web. School supporters simply continue to do what they are already doing, i.e., shopping online….just with the small change of visiting their Furtal website first…and the school gets revenue from these transactions. It can add up to a lot of money!! We are excited to have an endorsement from NCPTA and NCSBA." 

Ed Dunlap, Executive Director of the North Carolina School Boards Association, likes the furtal program for two reasons: 1) the funding it can produce for NC education, and 2) the opportunity it provides to collaborate and better support the NCPTA.

“We are excited to have an opportunity to work with NCPTA on the Furtal Program. We really like the prospect of utilizing innovative techniques and tools to help our schools.” 

Since announcing the endorsement, Furtal has signed up 200 PTAs and more are signing up every day. With the holiday shopping season upon us, Furtal and the PTAs are hoping all their supporters will remember to come to their PTA Furtal websites to start their online shopping. As Mr. Hinely sees it, Furtal can truly make a difference for schools in difficult times. “If everyone in NC that wants to help school kids will just use their local PTA’s Furtal site for their online shopping this holiday season, it can add up to some significant support for PTA’s and the schools. “ 

Furtal is now available and free to any PTA. To learn more about Furtal or find your local PTA site, go to www.furtal.com. 

For more information contact 

Marty Hollingsworth
Ph. 910-471-4090
Email: marty@furtal.com

Debra Horton
Email: djh@ncpta.org 

Ed Dunlap
Email: edunlap@ncsba.org