It's bound to happen to everybody at some point or another - the dreaded fund-raiser. Maybe you missed one of your club's meetings, and the next day, are informed you have been put in charge of organizing the Christmas charity drive.

Or maybe your child's coach called, desperation dripping in his voice, as he begs you to find a way to pay for the team's new uniforms. Or your co-workers have decided to sponsor a trip to Disney World for a sick child, but they have no idea how to pay for it.

In my case, I volunteered to find a way to pay for my local museum's new computer system. I knew that most of the people in my group had little use for candy bars, and proceeds from a bake sale would hardly put a dent into the price of the equipment, but I was unsure how to find the perfect fund-raiser for my organization.

For inspiration, I turned to the Web and was delighted to find useful and interesting ways to fund the high-tech purchase. Using the Internet had many benefits over the traditional methods of hunting for fund-raising ideas.

Instead of spending weeks waiting for catalogs from unseen companies, I was able to view merchandise right away and compare pricing and profit margins. Most companies listed 800 numbers where I could talk to a live person, but email also let me receive information without waiting for standard business hours.

It was also interesting to see the bulletin boards provided by some of the merchandising companies. I was able to incorporate ideas from similar organizations into our effort and throw out ideas that others said were a waste of time.

It's important to protect your organization's investment from unscrupulous companies, whether you have found their merchandise on the Web or by some other means. If you see merchandise you are interested in selling for a fund-raiser, contact the Better Business Bureau in the company's town to see if they have a good track record.

Some business sites list organizations that have sold their merchandise - contacting them will let you know the pros and cons of their selling methods. Ready Fund-Raising Company bills itself as America's oldest fund-raising company. Here you can find useful products to sell such as planning calendars, scented candles and battery operated lights.

This is a national wholesale fund-raising company, specializing in providing programs and products for schools and organizations to raise money. They sell completely by mail order, and will send out catalogs of any product category that interests you.

Check out their fund-raising programs such as sport-theme lollipops, jewelry, candy kits and seeds. Signing their guest book will allow you to receive monthly mailings on new fund-raising ideas.

A unique product from Ready Fund-Raising is their Young Shoppers Club, a kit for elementary schools to run a school store for students to purchase holiday gifts. The "store" contains a selection of more than 100 gifts, all priced within a child's budget - from 10 cents to $10, with most gifts under $3 – and free color flyers, budget envelope decorated tablecloths, gift bags and plastic carry home bags.

A step-by-step Chairperson's Guide, complete with planning calendar, clip art, sample letters and announcements is also included. The company says the kit is risk free. A school sets up the store at their convenience, using their volunteers, and only pays for the gifts that are sold.

Fund-Raising.Com acts as clearing house for companies that sell fund-raising products. Site editors have assembled a comprehensive list of innovative fund-raising sources, including major corporations, like Dominos Pizza, that have programs designed to raise money for organizations and schools.

Also listed on the site are books that will help you achieve your fund-raising goals, and a bulletin board with practical ideas from people who have found good money-making products or have come up with unique ways to involve their community in a project.

To help an organization while working for your own, consider selling products from Deer Creek Sewing. This California company is a division of the Work Training Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the training and employment of people with disabilities.

Deer Creek manufactures a variety of items from cotton and synthetic fabrics. Their specialties include tote bags, aprons and nylon and clear vinyl packs. Their prices are very reasonable, and custom design is available.

The fund-raising page of SchoolGrants is a wealth of information for educational groups looking to raise money, but other organizations will definitely benefit from the information found here. The site contains well written, practical articles on preparing for a fund-raiser and using the Internet to raise money.

I especially liked the tips from other readers that included stories about actual events, what the groups did correctly and what they would change the next go-around.

The Fundraising Yellow Pages is perfect for the fund-raiser of a small group like a booster club, sports team, marching band or scout group. The extensive directory is divided into categories such as food products, cookie dough, coffee and discount pizza cards. This site also offers an email fund-raising newsletter for small groups.

Knowing my organization has many avid cooks, I settled on Morris Cookbooks, a publisher of personalized fund-raising or keepsake cookbooks. Their site allowed me to view the company's history and references, get ideas about publishing a cookbook and view what I needed to do to get started.

I was even able to download the software necessary to type in the recipes, thus saving money on each cookbook printed. My group will even be able to sell the cookbook through the company's Web site when it is complete.

Best of all, with the advice from the company, I am confident that my organization will be able to reach our goal of profiting $1,500, thus allowing us to purchase a computer and all the trimmings.