Everyone with kids these days is looking for a new fundraising ideas. Its usually a lot of work for a group of parents as some families would rather just write another check instead. Many families just can’t afford to do that. I have 3 kids that all play sports and I wish I could write those checks but, this is not possible.
Finding the right fundraising products
We have all done the bottle drives, the raffle tickets, the wine, or liquor baskets. Those are some examples that can work but everyone is doing those. Lately it is the 50/50. I might as well write those checks I talked about because I end up giving to everyone $10 at a time anyway. We have searched to find some new ideas and I hope you can find success here below.
Look for local business in you community
Supporting local has gained lots of momentum as of late and I understand why after meeting Peter. Peter has a local meat shop, and he has always been the business we ask for donations. Peter and his family always come to the table to support local teams. I never really thought about how much Peter has given to his community as we have just taken Peter and his family for granted. His family has been in our neighborhood for over 60 years, and like most families, don’t even buy much from his shop because we buy most of our groceries at the chain store. I went to ask Peter for a donation, and he was quite busy, so I started looking around his store. He had a huge variety of products and I thought what if we could help each other. His customers left and I had a chance to pitch my idea. Peter, what if my sons team wanted to sell products from your store, could you pay us a commission on each sale. Peter was confused as I can see no one has ever pitched him that idea before. After talking to Peter and his wife we had found over a dozen products that were his best sellers and we negotiated a fair price so that we could sell the products and get back a commission. Now I had to sell the idea to my team parents. Most were on board, a few moaned, and overall, we had agreed this was a good thing to do. We drew up some sales tracking papers and approached friends and families. After just 2 weeks, we had reached our fundraising goal. Everyone was happy to support as most knew about Peter’s shop and saw value in what they were supporting. Peter and his wife were so happy with the results. I stop by and buy product occasionally and Peter or his wife always come give me a hug, turns out more teams found out about the success we had, and Peter and his meat shop were having a great year. Peter put money back into the community when he purchased a few advertising signs in the local arena and baseball field. Look in your community and I am sure you can find a local business to work with.
Fundraising with products people actually want
How many times have you bought popcorn or cookie dough, you get it home and forget about it? I do it all the time as my kid’s school cannot seem to get away from the junk food traps. I asked why we always do the same fundraisers and I get the same response. We want to make this affordable for all families. I am not ignorant to understanding some families just cannot afford to donate, but I am sure offering junk food is not a great solution either. We are lucky to be surrounded by beautiful farm country and have many local farmers. I noticed a sign while driving to an appointment that a local farmer was offering hanging basket of flowers for sale. My wife always buys that stuff at the local grocery store which I am sure is still local, but the grocery store is going to want to make a profit from each sale as well, and I started to notice so many families have these hanging flowers on their driveway or back decks. Now here is a product people want. The price is fair and by going to the farmer directly could make more sense.
Conclusion
Fundraising can be different, Fundraising can be fun, looking around and seeing what is in your community can make fundraising easier as well. Times are tough on many people these days so offering products at a fair price that a family will use is more effective than ever. Keep this in mind when looking for your next fundraising idea.
