HOME Best-Fundraising-Ideas.com
Online Fundraising
GLOW Scented Candle Fundraiser
Cookie Dough Fundraisers
Fall / Christmas Fundraisers
Spring Fundraisers
Yankee Candle Fundraiser
La-Tee-Da! Candle Fundraisers
Heritage Candles Fundraisers
Popcorn Fundraisers
Snack Fundraisers
Cheese & Sausage Fundraisers
Coffee Fundraisers
School Holiday Shop
* CONTACT US
* PRINT INFORMATION
* REQUEST INFO BY USPS
* START A FUNDRAISER
For Mobile View: Best-Fundraising-Ideas.com
Fundraising With Candle Fundraisers ... and more!
Serving the 48 lower States
Questions? 1-860-384-3691
deb@best-fundraising-ideas.com
Helping Organizations Raise Money Since 2002
Deciding when to start your fundraiser is a key factor in its success. Choosing the right start and end dates matters! Please take a few minutes to review the information below. It's a small investment of time that can reward you not only with more money for your organization but also with a better experience.
Spring Fundraisers - Be the first organization to start a spring fundraiser. For higher participation and higher sales, beat the PTA/PTO fundraisers, spring sports fundraisers, spring trip fundraisers, etc. February and March can be great months to sell, with less competition and tax returns, which can help you achieve higher sales. Also, by starting early, you can promote Easter and Mother's Day sales. Start early so you don't have to worry about receiving your delivery before the end of a sports season, the school year, Mother's Day, or similar events. Most fundraisers should run for approximately 2 weeks. Be sure to close early enough to allow time for late orders to be accepted, for your orders to be entered, and for the company to process, pack, ship, and deliver your fundraising order. We also suggest taking a month-long break after the holidays before starting a fundraiser, to give your supporters time to catch up financially after holiday expenses. Also, some fundraising companies are still printing their spring brochures.
Why starting early in the fall matters: For a fall fundraiser, the earlier you start, the better your results will be! Organizations will achieve significantly higher sales when they start their fundraisers in August or early September, rather than in October and November. Why? It's because of competition and burnout. Beat the competition and the tremendous volume of fundraisers that are held in the fall. Families and customers are eager to participate in their first fundraiser and quickly become less willing to ask friends and family to keep purchasing as additional fundraisers are launched by PTA/PTO fundraisers, club fundraisers, sports fundraisers, and other youth organizations. As each week approaches December, we see participation and average sales per seller decline. Many organizations believe that waiting to start a fundraiser in November will lead to higher sales because people will be shopping for holiday items. But the results show that overall sales are significantly lower. Although you can certainly fundraise in November, here are some reasons to consider starting earlier:
Requesting Information – We highly suggest reviewing the information in your packet, then calling us with any questions, choosing a fundraiser, and let's get started asap, if possible. Additional information about our other programs is available on our website, Best-Fundraising-Ideas.com. If, due to scheduling, you can't start a fundraiser until a later date, that's okay! We recognize that not all groups can start early. It's better to fundraise in November for your organization than to postpone your sale! The only time we do not recommend starting a fundraiser is in December.
PS, And there's more! Start in September, or as early as possible, while enthusiasm is at its peak and families are more willing to participate. You'll achieve higher participation and higher sales. Supporters are less willing to purchase later in the fall, after they have already donated to other fundraisers, and as their holiday expenses rise. And if they do purchase late fall, they will generally buy less.
Don't risk brochures being out of stock or sold out - Don't miss out on your favorite fundraising brochure. Some programs sell out, and once the brochures are gone, it's too late to register. And sometimes companies end up needing to order more earlier in the season or experience printing delays, especially in October, when they discover they need more brochures than they had printed.
Consider how long each company takes to process, pack, and ship your order. Some programs, such as our candle fundraisers, can run through Thanksgiving for Christmas delivery, if needed. That said, whenever a repeat organization runs its fundraiser earlier in subsequent years, it sees a dramatic increase in sales. With candle fundraisers, participation and sales averages are always much higher when they start in the fall season. Shipments for candle fundraisers can take just a few days in early fall, but later in Oct and Nov, plan on 7-10 business days, depending on order volume. Other programs, such as Otis Spunkmeyer and Heartland, have early cut-off dates as early as early Oct for Thanksgiving delivery and early Nov for Christmas delivery. Plus, if you want a faster turnaround for your shipment, orders placed in Sept will ship in about 3 weeks after receipt, but can take up to 6 weeks when placed in Oct or November. September is NOT too early to promote stocking up for holiday gift-giving. For fundraisers with our Winter Wonderland, Gourmet Goodness, and Happy Spring, the same holds true for higher participation and sales for Sept fundraisers, and orders can be shipped sooner. With cut-off dates of the end of Oct for Thanksgiving and around the 3rd week of Nov for Christmas delivery, we encourage starting in Sept, followed by early Oct for these brochures as well. Visit our website for the latest cutoff dates for each program. Plan on up to 3 weeks or so for the order to ship. For Snackin' in the USA, allow 3 weeks for orders to ship after payment is received.
Plan enough time to deliver the items – Your fundraiser doesn't end on your closing date. Allow more time for distribution. Remember, although some programs can ship within a few days, others require 4-6 weeks to ship during the peak season in November, when the largest volume of fundraisers are closing. Also, your participants need additional time to distribute items to their supporters. For any program, your orders will be packed and shipped sooner when closed earlier in the fall, simply because there is less volume. Also, you want to start your fundraiser early enough for everyone to receive and enjoy their holiday items! For supporters who purchase holiday items, allow time for them to wrap and share their holiday gifts, burn their holiday candles, and share food at holiday parties.
Shipping takes longer during the holiday season. It has always taken longer as the holidays approach, but it has been particularly true in the last several years. Start your fundraiser early to shorten how long your shipment will take, to lessen the risk of shipments being delayed or boxes being lost in transit, and to eliminate the stress of worrying about getting your delivery before Thanksgiving, before Christmas, or the end of a sports season or the start of a winter break. With frozen/refrigerated items, fundraising companies contract with common carriers that transport food with refrigerated trucks. But during its journey, refrigeration only runs while the truck is in transit and is unavailable if there is no driver at the next stop. As the fall continues, there is an increased risk that shipments will be delayed due to a lack of trucks and drivers and volume-related issues. The company reserves the right to delay a shipment if it is aware of shipping issues. You can decrease these risks by starting your sale in September.
If you are locked into your selling dates - Call us and let's discuss your dates, the number of participants, what products you have an interest in selling, how much time you will have to receive your order once it has been placed, etc., and we can offer suggestions on which programs may work best for your organization.