A School Fundraising Brochure or Candy Bar Sale?
If you’re torn between whether you should show people items out of a catalog or simply sell candy bars for your next elementary school fundraiser perhaps the following information might help you decide:
1. How Candy Bar Fundraising Typically Works:
Your group places an initial order of candy bars; candy bar boxes are distributed to your group members who then sell the candy bars directly to their supporters where funds are collected at the point of sale. This category is primarily comprised of food items such as cases of candy bars or candy variety packs (i.e. M&M’s, Skittles etc.). The average selling price for most direct sale items ranges from $.50 to $2.00. The benefit of a candy bar fundraiser is the ease of selling highly popular items that are able to be immediately enjoyed. A second benefit comes from not having to deliver product after the sale. Although any group can do a candy bar sale, they are most popular with youth sports leagues and smaller groups.
PROS:
- Because candy bar sales don’t require the ordering and delivery of a product, only one contact with consumers is necessary in order to complete the sale
- Candy bars usually has a very low retail price per item which makes them affordable to most people
CONS:
- If you over purchase you may be stuck with left-over product
- If you under purchase you may have to reorder
- Prizes are usually only offered to the top sellers
- Less variety of products to offer consumers
- Since product is distributed to sellers before money is collected, you will loose money if it’s not turned in
- Because of low price you must sell a lot of candy bars compared to brochure items to make the same amount of money
2. How Elementary School Brochure Fundraising Typically Works:
You request one sales brochure per fundraising participant. The participants show the brochure to potential supporters. The supporter selects a product from the brochure which the participant records on the brochure order form. These order forms are then returned to the fundraising company, who fulfills the order and ships the products to a centralized location of your choice or to the participant’s home. The group members and volunteers then deliver the products to their supporters. Funds are usually collected by the fundraising group at the time that the order is made. Brochure sales programs are ideal for any size fundraising group but are usually most profitable with larger organizations such as a school PTA, PTO and private schools, like Christian and Catholic schools. A typical example of an elementary school brochure might be the popular gift and wrap brochures, cookie dough as well as frozen food programs. Within a normal two week sales period, orders and monies will be collected and compiled with the order forms mailed in to the company. Depending on the type of services available from the pre-sale program selected, the goods will arrive back at your location within a specified time period. Most school brochure fundraising companies provide a delivery service which pre-packages individual items by student. Profit percentages can vary, usually according to the type of product sold and/or prize program selected.
PROS:
- Since all items are preordered by consumers prior to ordering and delivery of the product there is no risk of loosing money because it requires no guess work on how much to order
- Brochures offer a wide variety of products and range of prices
- Easy to include parents and adults in the fundraising efforts by having them circulate the brochure at work
- Prizes are usually offered to every student who participates
CONS:
- Requires an additional step of delivering products to customers
- May require dealing with occasional broken or missing items