Choosing the right product and the right time to sell it

Fundraising involving selling products are great and can raise lots of money for your organisation, but it is essential to choose the right product.  There are so many things to choose from and it is important that you choose something that is good fit for your organisation.  It may be worth spending some extra time to research what you want to sell.

Choose quality, useful, novel items

You may be tempted to sell lower quality merchandise because you may get greater profits, but this can really harm your efforts.  You shouldn’t be selling stuff that no-one would want to buy retail anyway. 

No-one wants more junk!

Choose a quality item that is competitively priced.  Find a product that is useful and novel, and if possible one that can be branded with your organisation’s name or logo.  This added awareness can generate extra publicity and people will remember who they supported and be more likely to support you again in your next campaign.

It's all in the timing

The timing of your sales effort can be critical.  Don’t try to sell ice-cream in the middle of winter, or plan an outdoor sales event if it likely to rain.  Plan around other community events and holidays.  Don’t run a campaign when most of your members are preparing for their final exams.

Sales fundraisers work best when they are run over a short period of time – a week or two.  This way you can keep motivation high and focus your efforts.  If you have a continuous fundraiser without much drive, it is very easy for people to forget that you have a fundraiser going on.  When choosing the dates for your campaign, try to include at least one payday.

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