Product fundraising is the most popular form of fundraising. Why? Because it offers value to your supporters in addition to making profit for your organization. This does not mean that every product fundraiser is going to be a winner for you and your community. There are a couple of possible pitfalls that could derail your fundraiser and even affect future fundraisers adversely. Here are a few examples:
- Choosing the wrong product. One fundraising company many years ago chose a product called “Resurrection Plants.” The promise was that you could put an ugly looking dried plant into water and it would blossom into a pretty green plant. It did blossom as promised but the plant was ugly and everyone was unhappy.
- Over-pricing the product. Many smaller or new companies promise profits that sound too good to be true. Yes, the profit on that candle might be 50% but the price had to be raised to an artificially high level to get that percentage. This creates two possible problems. The first is that the customer doesn’t buy the item because it is perceived as having low value. The second is even worse. The customer buys the item but it falls short of expectations. Unhappy customers may not support your next fundraiser.
- Imported or one of a kind products. If a product is imported or is not available domestically the company may not be able to supply it and ends up either substituting or canceling the order. Either way, it causes confusion, delays and possible customer dissatisfaction.
You can avoid the problems we just discussed by choosing your product carefully. Two of the most popular categories of products are frozen food items including cookie dough, cheesecakes and snack items and non frozen products including gift wrap and novelty items. At Red Apple/Mrs. Fields our focus is on providing quality American made items. Here is why the Red Apple/Mrs. Fields fundraisers are win/win campaigns:
- Our Mrs. Fields cookie dough and other fine frozen foods are popular proven products of high quality
- Pricing is good. Mrs. Fields cookies for example are about half the price as the mall stores charge.
- Quality non frozen gift and wrapping paper items. 50% of the items are priced at $10 or less with over 70% of the items being American made.
- Quality and fair pricing means more sales. In fact the average seller generates over $60 profit.
Whether you choose Red Apple or some other company for your fundraiser, be selective–your supporters will thank you.
For more information you can fill out this form or to set up your fundraiser, fill out the Group Info Form.