Fundraising Concepts

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If you’re thinking of a fundraiser what could be better than candle fundraisers? This product is as popular as cookies and cakes – maybe more so. Selling candles will make a very successful fundraiser for your cause. Candle fundraisers are welcomed by everyone and are very popular. Depending on the foundation having the fund raiser for or how many supporters you have to work with you, it can bring a generous amount of money for your cause.

If you are working towards a church fundraiser then you will likely have all the help you need form the congregation where you can get your candles very easily by asking each member to make their own candles. Candles are not that hard to make and can be scented and decorated to suit the time of the year.  This will prove to be a very profitable way to have a candle fund raiser as your cost will be very little. If you have your candle fundraisers near a holiday, then use that theme of the holiday to decorate your candles. Make sure that each person understands what they are expected to do and how many you will need them to make.

There is another way you can have candle fundraisers and that is by ordering them from a company that does just this, provides candles for fund raiser. They have a set price and you can make your own decision on what you charge for each candle, but this is also an excellent way to have a fund raiser. These candles burn nicely. Some of them are not made with paraffin but made with soy. This allows them to burn cleaner.

You will find that these candles come in two sizes and with a wide variety of scents. You can contact these companies on the Internet where you’ll find a wide array of candles for your fund raiser. The reasons for the candle fundraisers will give you a good idea of how many you need. If you are having candle light service for a certain cause, you will find you need many of these candles. If you are having a sale of candles at a candle fund raiser, then the amount you need might be somewhat less.

Whatever candle fund raiser you decide on, it is sure to be a hit. Everyone loves candles  -most especially the scented ones. Candle fundraisers are a sure winner when it comes to fundraisers and will make your fund raiser a very big success that will provide many donations.

Selling candles can be surprisingly effective, if done well.

Krispy Kreme fundraising has been helping schools, youth sports groups, and churches raise money since 1937. Krispy Kreme doughnuts are a great fundraiser. Raise money by selling fresh doughnuts. Works well for school fundraisers, churches, clubs, and youth sports teams.

Krispy Kreme fundraising has three different programs:

Traditional doughnut sales
Gift certificates
Partnership cards

Krispy Kreme Fundraising – Traditional Doughnut Sales
Perfect for the fund-raising needs of schools, clubs, churches, and other non-profit organizations. Doughnuts are made fresh and packaged by the dozen in special fund-raising boxes.

Customers buy them by the box and your profit is generally 50% or more per box. Pricing and availability will vary.

Contact your local Krispy Kreme store for fundraiser group sales pricing.

Krispy Kreme Fundraiser – Gift Certificates
They are an alternative to actual product sales. Customers redeem each certificate for one dozen Original Glazed Doughnuts at any participating Krispy Kreme retail shop.

Certificates give your customers the option to help your organization and pick up their doughnuts at their convenience. Minimum order required.  These work especially well for smaller groups that may not have as many volunteers to draw from to help with pick up and delivery.  Consider using gift certificates to sell during another fundraising event.  This is called an overlay and can increase profits without having an additional fundraiser.

Contact your local Krispy Kreme store for gift certificates for fundraisers.

Krispy Kreme Fundraiser – Partnership Cards
These partnership cards allow customers to get a free dozen Original Glazed Doughnuts with the full price purchase of any dozen of their choice.

Ten punch cards allow the customer up to 10 free dozen doughnuts with the purchase of 10 dozen. (Limit of 3 free dozen per visit with the purchase of 3 dozen.)

Pricing allows for 50% profit for each card sold.

Program availability varies by market and cards may not be valid in all Krispy Kreme locations. Minimum order required.

Contact your local Krispy Kreme store to purchase your fundraiser partnership cards.

Looking for tips on writing a better fundraising letter? Use these quick tips
to craft your next donation request letter. Feel free to modify the sample
letter below to fit your specific needs.

-Good news – Always start the letter with a series of good news
-Use bullets to build momentum and make entire letter entertaining and informative
- Use foreshadowing to tease your reader and keep him or her reading.
- Create a widow at the end of the first page (a thought that’s finished
on page two)
- Make your reader turn the page
-Describe what you want to do next
- Tell what you’re going to do.
- Why you’re going to do it.
- How you’re going to do it.
- What results you expect.

List suggested contribution amounts
- Use even numbersin graduated amounts
- Offer a monthly auto charge credit card option ($10 a month is $120 a year)
- Include a blank line for write-in amounts
-Remind readers that their contribution is your budget – Your successes have been possible because of their past contributions
- Thank them!

Use P.S.’s for skimmers
- May titillate skimmers and get them to read the entire letter.
- To create a sense of urgency.

Sample Donation Request Letter

Date

Dear Name of sponsor,

On (date of event), I will join hundreds of others to help end the devastating effects of multiple sclerosis by (riding/walking/skating) in the MS (event name). By making a pledge on my behalf, you are supporting research and local services to those affected with this unpredictable disease.

Give details – Tell your story: I have a personal stake in this particular event. My (dad, aunt, sister) has MS. Not only do I want to help him/her, but also the many others diagnosed with MS. MS is a disease that affects the central nervous system. Some symptoms of MS may include loss of balance, impaired vision and hearing, fatigue, muscle weakness and, in some,
paralysis. Even simple everyday living skills become increasingly difficult.
Everyone is affected differently by these symptoms.

My goal is to raise at least (specify dollar amount) this year, which represents $1 for every person with MS registered with our local MS Chapter. Please help me reach that goal with your pledge. Your donation is tax deductible. If you wish, you may mail all or part of your payment amount today in the self-addressed stamped envelope enclosed with this letter.

Otherwise, I will collect your pledge after the event. Please make your check
payable to the National MS Society. My deadline to get my pledges in is (deadline date).  Following the event, I will send out a brief recap of the MS (event name) to all my sponsors.

Thank you in advance for your support. Please call me if you have any questions or comments about the MS (event name).  I can be reached at (phone number).

Sincerely,

Your name

For larger fundraising projects you should put together a team to help you otherwise you will be stretched far too thin and stand a good chance of failing. The ideal team from a cost perspective is volunteer-based but you might have to occasionally hire someone especially if it’s for a specialized task that most people can’t do.

Many people dread being asked to volunteer and do so begrudgingly but you will be surprised at how many people you ask will be more than happy to “roll up their sleeves” and pitch in for no other reason than to help out a good cause.

The best people to approach in building your fundraising team should be individuals or groups that are sympathetic to your cause. Example: Parents with players on the football team have a vested interest in helping the team get new uniforms.

Others are just naturally giving in their time and are usually involved in several projects at once. If you can land one of these types of go-getters on your team they often have the drive and ambition of several volunteers.

To find volunteers just use common sense. Try the people that are tied to the cause first and build from there. You might consider placing ads in your local grocery stores if they have free Community Bulletin Boards in the entrance and exits. Another idea is to approach your local paper and see if they will donate a small ad for you to use to find help.

Talk to your prospective volunteers and tell them exactly what you are trying to accomplish and what you would expect from them in terms of time and effort. It’s a good idea to have some type of fundraising plan drawn up that you can show them as this not only shows that you are organized and serious but they will also be better able to see how the time and skill requirements fits into their schedules and abilities.

Training should be done by you or someone that knows the exact role the volunteer will be performing and you want to be sure to thoroughly go over any tasks and duties they will be performing so there are no misunderstandings later on. Be careful to not talk down to them or lecture them. Remember, they are giving you one of their most precious resources, their time, so respect that and them as a person and you will go far.

It is important to match the task with the person when making job assignments. You probably wouldn’t want someone who is an expert in selling to stuff envelopes when they would be more valuable and happy working the phones trying to solicit donors.

If you are working from an office environment be sure and make it as pleasant and comfortable a place as you can. Easy access to snacks and drinks (maybe provided free by a generous donor?) should be available and any other creature comforts you can add will be most welcome.

If it’s a long project you might want to consider some type of event for reaching a milestone. This would of course depend on your budget but it could be something as simple as bringing in pizza to celebrate.

Always keep an eye out for overwork and stress. People that have volunteered want to help you so respect them and if it looks like they are being overwhelmed it’s time to bring in some more help. The key idea is to keep them happy and wanting to continue to help rather than feeling like they are stuck because they are too polite to quit.

Be sure and give praise and say thanks often to each and everyone of your volunteers. Let them know how appreciative you are of their help.

Keep an eye out for any personality conflicts and work swiftly to resolve them. This might be something solved easily like relocating someone to another part of the office or it might mean asking the person to leave. Don’t be afraid to do this if you have to because you ultimately are responsible for the group as a whole and the success of the project falls on your shoulders. Be a leader!

Follow these simple steps, communicate frequently, respect and thank your team often and you will find that your fundraiser will be a great success!

If you need to hold a fundraiser and don’t know where to begin there is help out there for you. It is time for you to seek fundraising consulting advice especially if your fundraising event is going to be on a larger scale. Fundraising consulting will help you organize and take you through the steps to ensure your fund raising efforts will be successful.

A fundraising consultant will advise you where to start and the process you will have to go through to get where you’re going. Usually you know what you need the funds for but don’t know where the money will come from. All fundraising events start the same way regardless of if they are already established or something new. Using fundraising consulting services will help you add a professional look to your fund raising campaign.

The first advice you will get from a fundraiser consultant is that to start asking those closest to your organization for help. Depending on the size of the fund raising and your organization you will need the following: a board of directors, staff, volunteers, vendors, community businesses and individuals and finally a foundation. The second most important bit of advice you will receive from a fundraising consultant is never lose sight of the ones that started this with you. Start with those that are the closest to you to ask for help and stay with them throughout your fundraiser, these are the people that will get you through. They are your donors and will be critical to the success of your fundraiser.

A fundraising consultant will tell you that if you approach a new person for help, the first thing they will ask is what other sources of funding do you have. They will check to make sure where your support is coming from. If you have a strong support group it can go a long way in convincing someone that the fundraising is worth it. Through fundraising consulting, you will learn whom you can do business with. You will learn what vendors give donations and which ones don’t.  If they don’t care to donate to your fundraising directly, they may give you a discount on your purchases.

Fundraising consulting is the only way to go when trying to organize on a large-scale project. The advice you will get from your fundraising consultant will mean more dollars in the end for your project. Once you establish a connection with a fundraising consulting service, you can use them for all your fundraising needs in the future.

How can fundraising consulting help us?

High school—a constant hub of activities, studies, and events—and the last years of our school days shared with friends. High schools always hold a variety of events to raise funds for the many extra curricular activities that makes school fun.

High school students are old enough to realize that in order to have a successful fundraiser, a business plan should be in place. The plan should begin with the question, “what are we raising funds for?” What expenses will be incurred is also another consideration for your plan. Research the most successful fundraisers for high schools to produce. There are many Internet websites that have hundreds of ideas.  Don’t use the same fundraiser year after year if profits have continuously declined. Recruit a lot of volunteers who are willing to work for the cause, and check your calendar to make sure there aren’t a lot of other charity events going on at the same time.

Once your plan is in place, think about the type of fundraiser you would like to hold. Successful fundraising ideas include scratch off cards, discount cards, car washes, bake sales, candy sales, seasonal gift catalogs and book fairs. You can find lots of information about any of these on the Internet.

Finally, make sure students alert the community about the fundraiser and promote it by placing flyers throughout the community. You might also try to get a radio or television station to sponsor your event, thus gaining greater exposure. Make sure thank you notes are sent to all those involved.

School budgets are short. Cities even need help. On top of that, there are all sorts of organizations that are looking to make some extra money to help fund them. Fundraising is the perfect thing to do just that. If you are looking for some remarkable method of fundraising to turn your school or organization around, there are plenty to choose from, but they may not all be remarkable. In fact, sometimes the simplest of plans works the best.

In fundraising, you need to consider two things. First, you need to understand what the percentage of sales you will receive through the fundraiser. This information should be in writing and put right in front of you before you start with the company. Simply, how much are you going to make off of each sale that is made?

Secondly, you’ll need to insure that the products that are being sold as a fundraising tool are worth it. Perhaps they are marked up some to help you get your profits, but they still have to be some type of product that people need if you want them to purchase it. For example, you may want to have a fundraiser that provides Christmas purchases at that time of year. Or, in the middle of winter, a fundraiser could be hot chocolate, candies and candles. When the product is something that the individuals will want, they will be more than likely to make a purchase.

How you present the information is important as well. Make sure to tell your prospective customers that you are raising money for the Boy Scouts or you are helping to afford the school a new computer. When they know what the money is going towards, people are more generous as well.

By taking the time to plan well for your fundraiser, it can be more successful than you realize. If you plan to do fundraising, do it with your best foot forward every time.

Looking for a good fundraising idea?  Candle sales are easy and profitable.  What, exactly,  is a candle fundraiser?

Candle fundraisers are your basic order taker fundraiser. You need to do more than just show pictures of candles. Showing fragrant samples will dramatically boost your candle fundraiser’s results.

The basic concept is the same as all order taker fundraisers. You equip your sellers with a brochure, an order form, and a basic sales script.

The brochure describes the various candle selections and provides details on color, aroma, size, shape, weight, and container type. Price points are usually on the order form itself.

Unlike candy or cookie dough, it’s easy for your sellers to carry samples. Their non-perishable nature makes them a great fit for weeklong sales efforts.

One of the great things about candle fundraisers is how the aroma of your samples makes the selling process so much easier. Most buyers will sniff several samples and imagine how the candles will fill their homes with their pleasant smells.

Perennial favorites are french vanilla, bayberry, apple, pumpkin spice, apple cinnamon, holiday pine, melon burst, and citrus breeze.

Candle sizes range from small two-ounce votive candles all the way up to giant three-pound ball or bell-shaped versions with multiple wicks.

Several fundraising companies have candles in decorative shapes like various fruits, animals, wizards, trees, and figurines. In addition, large rectangles, cylinders, half-rounds, and tapers are always readily available.

Some companies also offer container-based candles which burn more slowly and safely. They also avoid messy cleanup problems. Popular styles are Mason jars, jars with handles, jars with screw tops, and square glass containers.

Profitability
Most fundraising companies offer their candles at a 50% discount. Some suppliers also offer a larger discount for higher volume sales.

The average seller makes five to seven sales. Many of these sales are multi-unit buys, so they average about $80 in revenue. That translates to roughly $40 in profit per seller, which is quite good.

Factors affecting your candle fundraisers profitability include freight charges, quantity discounts, quality of the brochure, number of available candle choices, the motivation level of your sellers, and the duration of your fundraising activities. And of course, the most important factor is having fragrant samples in the hands of your sellers.

This product works well for both elementary school and high school fundraising.

Larger groups can easily earn a quantity discount above 50%. As always, do an RFQ fax quote to the candle supplier list and lock-in your best possible discount up front.

To get the most out of any fundraiser, every participant needs to give their all from start to finish. This includes your team members, parents,  coaches, and other volunteers.

To keep everyone’s interest from waning, make sure that you include fun in your fundraiser each step of the way.

Ten ways to put fun in your fundraising:
1- Do fun things
2- Use fun incentives
3- Take pictures
4- Show appreciation
5- Give out fun merchant prizes
6- Build in fun goals
7- Blend fun, food and fundraising
8- Create fun completion activities
9- Say thank you
10- Have a cast party

Do fun things
Don’t make it drudgery to be a volunteer or a participant. Remember that they’re giving up their free time to help.

Plan fun things to do during each stage of the process that will reward everyone. Not only will it be a more rewarding experience for everyone involved, but you will keep your participants and volunteers eager for the next fundraiser.
And we all know there will be another one sooner rather than later!
Make sure they remember the fun, not just the hard work.

Use fun incentives
Offer a Cream Pie Attack party to all sellers or participants reaching a certain level. Have a fun day where key organizational figures do funny things for meeting goals.

Extreme examples include shaving their heads or dyeing their hair blue.

Some safer, less long-lasting examples could be wearing a funny wig, dressing like a clown, risk the dunking booth, and so on.

Be creative and use an idea that is appropriate to your group.

Kids and adults love these types of incentives and they don’t cut into your hard earned cash.

Take fun pictures
Everybody loves to see themselves in a picture. Take plenty of candid shots. Have everybody pose and ham it up for a group photo.

Be sure to post them where everyone can enjoy them. You could even reward your picture posers with prizes for the best smile, the goofiest pose, or the worst dressed.

Ask volunteers to take pictures throughout the fundraising process so there will be a variety of photos and you can be sure that everyone will be included.

If possible, have a “movie” made of your group during each phase of the fundraising process and show the movie at a wrap up event.

Show appreciation
Show your appreciation to all levels of your organization and supporter base. Be sure to do fun things that aren’t fundraisers.

For example, line up discounts on tickets to athletic events, go on group outings, provide goodies for volunteers during working sessions.

Give out fun merchant prizes
Work with local merchants for great prizes that mean the most to
your group.

Work deals for movie passes, merchandise discounts, gift certificates, miniature golf, or IMAX theater trips for your top performing participants.

As always, make sure there is something in it for the merchant, otherwise you are just another stranger begging for their money or services.

Build in fun goals
Do an event based solely on having fun. Have key organization members commit to doing crazy things once certain revenue goals are reached, in whatever increments are most appropriate for your group and goals.

Let things build to the climactic moment where the head cheese does the ultimate “fun thing” as a way to reward the group for all their support.

A fond memory in the making is for the coaching staff to stand on their heads and sing “Row, row, row your boat” in rounds.

Blend fun, food and fundraising
Remember that you can blend fun into even the most traditional fundraising events.

Everybody knows what a bake sale is, right?  Use a cake walk to sell a large portion of your donated sweets.

Kids love it and you’ll get more for the desserts than if you sold them outright. Consider having awards for the various submissions and then auctioning off the best dessert.

Create fun completion activities
These will motivate your sellers and volunteers as much or more as winning actual prizes.

Think about low cost fun events that you could tie to completing certain tasks, for example:

Top sales group gets a water balloon fight, all volunteers play in a Powder Puff touch football game, or an ultimate Frisbee match.

Say thank you
You can’t say thank you often enough to your supporters and your participants.   Show your appreciation with heartfelt words and deeds.

Have a cast party
Have one for all volunteers at conclusion. Get together at someone’s home or in the fellowship hall with everyone bringing potluck.

It’s a nice way to build goodwill and reinforce a sense of community for future recruiting.

Conclusion
In remembering the fun in fundraising, be sure that each activity, prize or reward is age and group appropriate.

Also, remember the other volunteers… the parents and other adult volunteers that make it all happen. Be sure they are rewarded directly, even if it is a simple remark of recognition and thanks.

Print simple awards on the computer and present them at your wrap up event. Individualize each one: “The Go-To Guy Award”, “The Worker Bee Award”, “The Daddy War Bucks Award”, and so on.

Remember: Make it fun and everyone will come back for more!