| by Howard Gottlieb, President, Easy
Fundraising Ideas
Raising Money with Fundraising Products: Direct Sale
Products
Part Seven
The most common product fundraiser is of course the candy
bar fundraiser. This type of fundraiser has been very
popular with sports leagues, schools, and most any other
fundraising group.
In a typical candy fundraising event, each participant is
given one or two handled carriers of candy to sell. Most
candy bars sell for one dollar. Costs, however, are dependent
on the amount of candy your organization purchases. Larger
groups get the benefit of higher profit margins because of
their ability to purchase in larger quantities. That is why
you often see sports
league fundraising centered around candy.
Hershey's and M&M Mars, two of the largest candy manufacturers,
dominate the candy fundraising industry. Both have dedicated
marketing departments that design fundraising specific wrappers
and incentives to differentiate fundraising candy from candy
purchased in a vending machine or corner discount store.
There is some confusion about buying fundraising candy.
Organizations typically purchase candy by the case and then
sell by the carrier. Confusing the two can result in overbuying
candy, which cannot be returned due to safety concerns. Most
candy is shipped with four handled carriers in each case.
The number of candy bars in a carrier can vary, too, adding
to the confusion. Some carriers hold 36 pieces, while others
hold as many as 54 pieces.
In addition to the major name brands, there are also companies
that provide candy only to the fundraising industry, such
as The
Original One Dollar Bar chocolate fundraiser. Many fundraisers
have come to prefer these types of products over the national
brands because the products themselves are typically larger
and the group is not competing with vending machines or discount
stores.
If your organization is considering a candy sale, you need
to take weather into consideration. Chocolate candy can be
shipped as long as temperatures stay below 82 degrees. Candy
can be shipped during the summer months in climate-controlled
vehicles; however, these vehicles do not serve all geographic
areas.
Fundraising
lollipops are an alternative to chocolate bar sales.
Fundraising lollipops typically sell for 50 cents, about
half the price of a candy bar. Unlike chocolate bars, lollipops
can be shipped any time of year. Another advantage of lollipops
over chocolate bars is the number of shapes and types of
lollipops available.
Lollipops are simple to sell in nearly all environments.
Elementary schools might choose to establish lollipop Fridays,
on which students who bring money to school can purchase
lollipops as they are leaving school. Banks and offices can
place lollipops in stands alongside collection boxes. Sporting
groups find lollipops extremely easy to sell at heavily attended
sporting events.
A key consideration when choosing which product fundraiser
to utilize is your organization's ability to buy and pay
for product in advance or to establish credit and your willingness
to possibly have unsold candy at the end of your sale.
Candy and lollipop sales are considered direct sales in
that you hand customers their product at the time of the
sale, as opposed to pre-sell or brochure fundraisers when
customers must wait for the products to be delivered. Your
organization needs to own the direct sale items in order
to hand them to customers, so payment arrangements must be
made.
Statistics show that around 10 to 15 percent of product
fundraising is selling candy. The rest of the money is raised
either through pre-sell brochure fundraisers, event fundraisers,
or other fundraising tools. The market for product fundraising
is estimated to exceed $2,500,000,000.
Your group should decide whether to use a catalog to pre-sell
a fundraising product or to purchase products in advance
and hold a direct sale. Here are some pre-sell fundraisers
you might consider:
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