How to Pick the Best Fundraiser for Your School

How to choose a fundraiser that works.

A sponsor recently asked how they got paid for HAVING a sale with us. Although the answer may have been evident to some, it raises a fundamental question. How do we select the best fundraiser for our school?

We offer two types of fundraising programs. One is where sellers have a product in their hands to show people. This is called a direct sale or point of sale because a product is exchanged for money on the spot.

The second type is a brochure sale. Instead of having a product to show, customers order items in a brochure, and the student then delivers the items after being shipped to the school. Here are the primary differences between brochure fundraisers and point-of-sale transactions.

How Product Fundraising Works

Groups can purchase products up front at a discounted price, then turn around and sell them at retail. The difference is their profit. Products are purchased and delivered before the kickoff. Although many schools opt to obtain a purchase order, then pay for the product afterward. Once the group has sold the items, they return their investment and profit.

See our product fundraisers.

The Advantages of Selling Products

One advantage to selling products is sellers can show them to a potential customer. This allows the buyer the opportunity to see the item before purchasing. Another benefit is once a sale is made, sellers don't have to return a second time to deliver the product. Students also find a candy bar fundraiser or selling lollipops easier because of the lower cost. Thus, more people can afford to buy. Product fundraisers seem to work well with smaller groups.

Why Consider a Brochure Fundraiser?

Brochure fundraisers allow groups to present items found in a sales catalog beforehand. Sellers use an order form to collect orders and a money collection envelope to collect money. The price of each item shown in the brochure is the retail amount. The company then bills the school at a lower wholesale price for items submitted to the company for processing. School keeps the difference between the retail price paid by the customer and the wholesale price paid to the company.

Brochures typically offer more diversity than products, especially when selling the large seasonal shoppers. Schools also like brochure sales because they only pay for their customers' orders. Plus, the money has already been collected before submitting their order. There is no upfront cost to the school for supplies.

When picking the best fundraiser for your school, we encourage you to consider all the options.

Author Bio

Clay Boggess has been designing fundraising programs for schools and various nonprofit organizations throughout the US since 1999. He’s helped administrators, teachers, and outside support entities such as PTAs and PTOs raise millions of dollars. Clay is an owner and partner at Big Fundraising Ideas.