Fundraising Ideas

Christmas Fundraisers - A great idea for churches, youth groups, and schools is to sell Christmas trees and holiday wreaths.

For many groups, Christmas fundraisers can be the biggest fundraising event of the year.  The key is planning and volunteer coordination.

Selling Christmas Trees is a great holiday fund raiser! 

 Things to remember when planning your Christmas fundraising event:

• Recruit plenty of volunteers
• Price it right
• Advertising is the key
• Make your Christmas tree lot stand out

Recruiting Volunteers - Have volunteers sign up in shifts. You’ll need volunteers to sell the trees, cut stumps and load the trees on cars, and others to make wreaths to sell from the trimmings.

Pricing - Know what your competition has and how it is priced. Price your trees and wreaths accordingly. Make sure potential customers know that all profits are for a good cause.

Don’t skimp on advertising - Your Christmas fundraising efforts will only be effective if people know you are there! Take advantage of newsletters, email lists and even TV and radio. 

Stand out from the crowd - Make your tree lot visually appealing. Use twinkle lights, yard ornaments and pretty signs. If your budget allows, get a snow making machine or one that blows bubbles that look like snow.

Additional information
We have hundreds of articles with fundraising advice on the best ways to raise funds.  Read this article for more details on fundraising with Christmas trees and this one to add Christmas carols to your holiday fund raiser event.

Fundraiser Help advice on having Christmas Fundraisers.

2008 Fundraising Calendars - A great fundraiser for schools, sports teams and other groups is selling scenic or custom calendars.

For 2008, fundraising calendars are easier to create than ever.  Simply choose digital pictures of your team or group and submit them to your calendar supplier.

Calendar fundraisers are fun!

Things to consider when doing a calendar fund raiser:

• How many could you sell?
• Price ranges
• Profit margins
• Do you want custom or general?

Sales tips
Some suppliers don’t have minumum purchase requirements so if you have a smaller group, look to those companies.

Pricing
Pricing can vary wildly depending on how colorful or creative you want to be.  Typical cost for a calendar for fundraising is about $4-$5. 

Profits
Calendars sell well at around $10 to $12 for a high quality product.  Anytime you can get 50% to 60% profit on a fundraising product, you’ve done very well.

Selection
Think about what your potential customers will want in a calendar.  If you are selling to only your group, a custom calendar is the way to go because everyone likes to see pictures of themselves!  If you are selling to the general public, a calendar with popular scenes is the right choice.

Additional information
We have hundreds of fundraising advice articles on the best ways to raise funds.  Read this article for specific sales tips and this one for including a raffle with your calendar fundraiser.

One supplier we recommend is Falling Leaf Publishing because they have high quality calendars, there are no up front costs, and no minumum purchase is required.

Fundraiser Help advice on doing 2008 fundraising calendars.

Halloween Fundraiser - Here’s a great way to raise funds with a Pumpkin Patch Halloween fundraiser that only takes a little bit of upfront money to get started.

Here’s what you’ll need for your halloween fundraiser:

• A good roadside spot for sales
• Hay bales for backdrop
• A truckload of pumpkins

Line up your location, organize your volunteers into sales teams, and head to the local Farmer’s Market to buy a truckload of pumpkins and a dozen hay bales.

Spread out a few bales of hay on the ground and use the rest as backdrops. Scatter your pumpkins around on the hay with the best side facing the street.

Place roadside signs starting a few hundred yards away so drivers don’t have to decide at the last split-second to turn off into your parking area.

Price your Halloween pumpkins to make a profit, but don’t go overboard on the markup. Use the Saturday before Halloween for an all out push on pumpkin sales. Offer face painting and other fun activities to draw a crowd.

 And that’s how you put together your own Halloween fundraiser.

A cookie dough fundraiser is a great way for schools and youth sports groups to raise funds. You’ll find selling cookie dough an easy fundraiser because it’s a product that families know they can use, kids love it, and the price points make for excellent profits.

A cookie dough fundraiser is an order taker with delivery a few weeks later. Most times, the product is sold in frozen form in tubs or pre-sliced frozen cookies, so you’ll need to coordinate deliveries with a set delivery day.

The best way to maximize your cookie dough sales is to expand beyond the usual circle of potentail buyers - family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. That means selling to the general public from sales tables at high-traffic locations such as grocery stores, drug stores, etc.

Use large banners and flyers for your cookie dough fundraiser featuring your group name, contact information, and clearly state why you are raising funds. Having social proof of how the funds raised will be used helps get prospective buyers over the decision hump, as do pre-baked sample cookies.

A second profit tip is to offer an alternate product to offer those who say no and those who say yes. The most attractive, high-profit offering is a two-for-one pizza card that costs $2 and retails for $10.

That way, you can make a sale to those who don’t want cookie dough or are concerned about delayed delivery. You can also make a possible second sale to those already buying.

Maximize your profits by maximizing your revenue at each sales opportunity. Increase the number of sales opportunities and your fundraising will wildly exceed expectations.

And that’s it for these quick tips. For more detailed advice, read my full article on how to maximize your cookie dough fundraiser profits.