Product Sales are great for Beginning Fundraisers

Are you new to fundraising? Have you just been asked by your organization to be in charge of the next fundraiser? Don’t know where to start with the project? I think that product sales are one of the easiest ways to conduct a fundraiser. Your

organization can earn several thousand dollars over a short period of time with product fundraisers.

There are many options for product fundraisers besides the old standbys of candy and gift wrapping paper. You have to make sure, though, that you have enough people in your organization who are willing to sell your products. Schools and large non-profit groups do well with product fundraisers when they have a large sales force.

So, what products can you sell and where do you obtain them? Your organization may already have an annual product fundraiser. In that case, all you need to do is be in charge of it this year. For example, in the spring time selling flowers is common, as is selling flower bulbs in the spring. I know of an organization that holds a “Daffodils Day” every year. The daffodils are sold outside of popular locations, such as Starbucks, for a dollar a piece. The flowers are an implulse purchase and the organization sells thousands of them in one weekend. I also know of a Boy scout troop that has an annual gourmet nut sale right before the Christmas holidays. The Scouts buy the nuts in bulk directly from the nut packing company and spend a day bagging them in one pound bags. They make several thousand dollars with this annual sale. Their customers buy from them year after year and use the nuts in holiday baking and for gifts.

The above fundraisers are held without buying the products from a fundraising product distributor and are quite successful. However, you can also work with a fundraising product distributor and sell thier products. Working with a distributor has several advantages. In my previous post I wrote about fundraising reps and the work they do to help nonprofits sell products. I recommend these kinds of fundraisers because the companies provide a lot of support and make the sales go so much smoother. They know what sells and they offer a wider variety of products than a nonprofit could get together to sell. In my next post I’ll go into more detail about fundraising product distributors and how to work with one.

Article by Amy Passmore of DIY Fundraising. Visit www.diyfundraising.com for do-it-yourself fundraising ideas for nonprofit organizations, clubs, schools and groups.