What Our Customers Say
How Does Online Fundraising Work?
Instead of asking for donations, sell products using the internet. U.S. Consumers spent $601.75 billion online in 2019 alone. Everyone is looking for innovative ways to make raising money easier.
Touchless fundraisers will expand your market. You don't have to take catalog orders in person. Instead, ask your group to direct friends and family to your online store. After they place their order, we'll ship them their product, and you receive a profit.
Sellers can use our email generator, social media tool, and text feature to reach more people. To learn more, see our online fundraising ideas & tips section.
Why Our Online Fundraisers?
- No Face-to-Face Selling. Generate sales by inviting people to your online store.
- Larger Market. Expand your reach nationwide.
- Realtime Sales Updates: You'll know which group members are selling and how much, anytime.
- Higher Profits: You make up to 50% profit off every product sold.
- No Paperwork. No order forms to deal with or money to collect.
- No Group Deliveries. You don't receive shipments, so there's nothing to deliver. Merchandise ships direct to the customer.
- 100% Product Guarantee. We work directly with your buyers to take care of any product issues.
- Great Customer Service. Our goal is a fast and easy sale.
- No Startup Cost. We won't charge you to set up your store. And there are no order minimums either. Sign up for your online fundraiser today for free.
Questions About Online Fundraising
Group members promote your online store to people using email, social media, and text. You make up to 50% profit off every purchase.
Our biggest sellers are popcorn and cookie dough. Flowers are a unique fundraising idea. Or you can offer a large selection of products. Variety sells because people have more options.
Select a product and submit a ‘start a fundraiser’ form to begin. We’ll then send you your online store ‘getting started’ instructions and access information.
When selling products, be sure to get participants to register. This way, they'll be able to share their unique store link with friends and family. It's also important to remind them to keep sharing the link throughout the sale.
There is no upfront fee to set up and run an online product sale.
You'll have access to your online sales dashboard to check your progress anytime.
People have the opportunity to donate as well.
We recommend keeping your store open for two weeks.
Your profit payment is processed within 15 business days of the close of your store.
Only the buyer pays a fee to ship them their product. Many of our programs also offer free shipping to the customer once a certain dollar amount is ordered.
Online Fundraising Suggestions & Tips
- Schedule a virtual kickoff meeting with your group members. There are plenty of free collaborative software tools available. Learn more
- Set a seller goal. This helps your sellers understand what it will take to help the group succeed.
- Ongoing communication with your sellers throughout your fundraiser is critical to your success.
- Smaller groups can also meet online to discuss individual sales progress.
- Remind your group regularly how long they have left to sell. This helps create a sense of urgency. Stores typically stay open for two weeks.
- Plan your online fundraiser around a special occasion or holiday. This gives people more reasons to buy.
- Encourage sellers to buy for themselves, their friends, and their family.
Hopefully, you’ve determined how much money your group needs. Now you need to communicate what it’s going to take to reach your goal. Before your sale, run your numbers. For example, if you sell $15 items and reach the 40% profit level, you’ll make $6 per item. Divide that number by the total amount needed. So a $3,000 need will require selling 500 items.
Finally, divide the number of items by your group size. If you have 50 sellers, each member will need to sell ten items.
Another way to determine your profit is to use our ‘Calculate Your Profit’ tool. Simply enter your group size and seller goal. The calculator will then determine how much you’ll make. You'll find this feature on each online product page.
So why is setting a fundraiser goal important? Because it gives your sellers a guide and lets them know what you expect. Every project has a start and an endpoint. Knowing how far they have to go will provide them with feedback and encouragement.
Accountability is important. Group members are much more likely to sell if they know you monitor their progress. We allow you to log into your portal to see who’s sold and how much. This instantaneous feedback allows you to check in with your sellers.
You can take corrective measures before it’s too late. This is one advantage online selling has over in-person brochure sales. You don’t know how well everyone does with a catalog sale until after they turn in their order forms.
Tracking sales allows you to encourage and praise their efforts.
You may think emailing participants their sales information is enough. This may not be as effective because it’s less personal and engaging. Many schools use online portals as a way to communicate with their parents. This can help you announce and promote your school fundraiser.
If you can, try to have a kickoff meeting. This can help get your fundraiser off to a stronger start. You should also meet with your group periodically as well. Even if it’s a Zoom call.
What is the most important thing you can tell your group? Register so they can share their online store link with friends and family. The greater your group registration percentage, the more money you’ll raise. It’s that simple.
So, how do you do a virtual kickoff?
If you’re a smaller group, consider meeting on a platform like Zoom to kick off your sale. You can better communicate your purpose, and your group will feel more unity.
Learn how to host a video meeting
A communication app like Facebook Live may also be a helpful tool. Here are the best education communication apps for schools.
When people think about online school fundraisers, one thing that comes to mind is ‘donations’. Many fundraising platforms allow individuals and groups to set up a page and promote it. Then the company collects a percentage of the profits.
But when buying a product online, people receive a tangible item in exchange. There is no cost to set up and run your store. The company initially collects all the money, then distributes the profit afterward. A donation option is also available.