Bake Sales
Who doesn't like cake!
Bake sales are an easy, fun and pretty profitable fundraiser. While the idea of a bake sale might seem a bit dated, they do work, and there are a ton of ways to make them more "hip".
Home Made Treats
Your groups volunteers should strive to bring in only homemade goods. This will maximize your profits and ensure that your guests will be treated to unique items they can't get anywhere else. I would be great to have a "theme" for your bake sale fundraiser. During Halloween, have everyone bake "spooky" treats and cakes. Maybe even hold a contest for the "scariest" cookies! Christmas is another very good theme for your bake sale. A Christmas "Cookie Exchange" could become an annual tradition.
Entertainment
A guest speaker can help add to the excitement. Find someone who is maybe a cookbook author, a local chef, or a famous restauranteer! This will help generate a nice "crowd" for your bake sale.
Expand Your Efforts
Take the opportunity of having a small "crowd" by including a few different fundraising ideas. Sell raffle tickets, have a door prize. Invite some local restaurants to sell some appetizers and other snacks. You can either charge a booth fee or take a percentage of the profits. Or both!
Use the partnership with these local vendors to provide some sort of "discount cards" that you can sell at your fundraiser.
Put Others To Work
Product demos can work very well at your bake sale. Invite the Tupperware salesman. Invite the company who sells the steak knives. The salesman will do all the work of the demo, and you can ask for a cut of the profits!
Bake sales will always be a very dependable staple for your organizations fundraising efforts. Keep them fun, unique, and try to include as many fund raising items are you can.
Top Five Do's
1. Have volunteers bring in homemade goods. Store bought items are good, homemade baked goods are better.
2. Sell raffle tickets.
3. Find an interesting guest speaker.
4. Partner with local restaurants to sell appetizers, discount cards, etc...
5.
Top Five Don'ts
1. Limit yourself to only baked goods. Any time you can attract a crowd, your fundraising efforts should always include multiple methods.
2. Forget to offer appetizers or other treats for sale.
3. Be afraid to seek professional event management help.
4. Neglect product demos. They can become very profitable.
5. Forget to "encourage" additional fundraising efforts. Have a cash bar, sell 50/50's, etc...
Top Five Links
1. Professional Auctioneers / Event Management
2. Ticket Printing
3. Tickets/ Flyers/ Postcards
4. Local Newspapers
5. Fundraising