Fundraising For Youth Groups
How To Select The Right Fundraiser
Youth Groups are almost always in need of funds. Holding fundraisers to
finance important trips like tournaments, museums, and musical events are just
some of the needs that have to be met through fundraising. Others include the
need for uniforms, sports equipment, art supplies, musical instruments, and
more.
There are a lot of different ways your youth group can raise the funds they
need. In this article, I will explore some of those with you and try to help you
avoid some of the pitfalls. I will let you benefit from my experience and I will
help you avoid some of my mistakes.
Let’s start right off with candy. I have tried to use candy as a fundraising
tool on more than one occasion for more than one youth group.
Pros and Cons of using candy as a youth group fundraiser.
Pros: Candy is cheap and can be sold for a great profit for your youth
group. Everyone likes candy, so it’s a fairly easy sale, especially if you go
with name brand candy. The candy is cheap enough that most people have enough
money in their pocket to purchase it.
Cons: Candy melts. Trust me on this. Candy melts and when it does, your
profits melt with it as you try to clean whatever it melted all over. The
members of your youth group eat Candy and when the parents have to pay for all
the candy YOU let their child eat, you get phone calls. Trust me on this. You
get a lot of phone calls. Candy smells. Trust me on this. Wherever you store the
candy will smell like candy forever. Bigger children steal candy from smaller
children and again parents end up paying for the candy and you get the phone
calls.
Coupon Books are another commonly used for youth group fundraisers.
Pros: Some coupon books are filled with free stuff and everyone loves
free stuff! Your youth group can raise as much as $10 per coupon book so they
need to make less sales to reach their goals.
Cons: Everyone still has last year’s coupon book. None of the coupons
have been used. They never have it with them whenever they go somewhere they
might have been able to use it for. I have been to a door to sell coupon books
and had a guy hand me 7 unused coupon books as his donation. He said if I resold
those, I would be able to raise more money than if he just bought one again this
year. Coupons expire. They usually have a cost of about $10 to $15 per book, but
of course the children in YOUR youth group will never lose any of them and their
parents won’t be calling YOU, like with the candy.
Basically, every fundraiser your youth group takes on will come with
responsibility and they all have their pros and cons. However, if you look for a
product that has the following features, I believe you will have a more
successful fundraising opportunity for your youth group.
1. Choose products that do not melt, expire, rot, or otherwise perish.
2. Choose products that do not have a large cost per unit, no matter what the
profit.
3. Choose products that everyone uses and will get a lot of uses from. Something
they will remember being very useful will get them to continue supporting your
youth group.
4. Choose products that do not require a lot of storage space.
5. Choose products that are popular like things with the donor’s favorite major
league baseball or football team logo on them.
If you follow those simple rules, your youth group fundraiser will be easy to
manage, you won’t end up stuck with a lot of leftover product to store, your
storage area won’t smell, you won’t need to clean up messes, and best of all,
the parents of your youth group participants won’t be calling you.
About The Author
D. David Dugan is the president of DD&C and personally helps to maintain
their computer support forum at
http://forum.dugancom.com. Be sure to check out the Brax Fundraising website
www.braxfundraising.com
Related Pages
Custom Silicone Bracelets - Selling fundraiser bracelets is a great way to support your cause - Custom silicone bracelets are an attractive way to raise funds and show you care.
Christian Fundraiser - Ten unique ideas for a Christian fundraiser - Fundraising products or events with a Christian theme or approach.
Christian Fundraising Events - Six ideas for Christian fundraising events - Church fundraisers that are fun, family-oriented, and raise funds fast.
Youth Group Fund Raiser - How to
increase demand and get a stronger sales response in your fundraiser.
Youth Sports Fundraising - Tips for
improving the results of your youth sports fundraising - Fundraisers for youth
sports teams that always do well.
Youth Group Fundraising - Two low-cost
youth group fundraisers that are fun, quick, and easy to do.
|
