Valentines Day is a great time for fundraising,
particularly for school groups and small nonprofits. Here are some quick ways
to raise funds with Valentines Day fundraisers.
Roses Are
Green
One of the easiest ways to raise funds on Valentines Day is to
sell roses. You can offer single roses, a full dozen, various flower bouquets,
or delicious chocolate roses.
Each one can usually be sold at 100%
markup for a 50% gross profit margin. You can source discount roses from
supermarkets with flower departments, wholesale florists, or websites that
specialize in bulk shipments from rose-growing areas on the West
Coast.
Obviously, men will make up the bulk of your target market for
flower buyers, so you should gear your marketing to them. You'll need to
pre-sell your roses or stake out some high-traffic areas to reach a lot of
last-minute guys.
Chocolate roses are a great seller in schools and
workplaces. They are a great gift that fits a good niche on Valentines Day.
They are unique and generate a lot of interest. They are also a safe gift to
give for non-romantic purposes, and they never go to waste.
Take
advance orders whenever possible and have a central pickup point. You can also
increase your results by providing extra services on Valentines Day such as
gift delivery, singing telegrams, offering last-minute roses in high-traffic
locations, etc.
Create Gift Baskets
It's easy to create gift
baskets for your group to pre-sell for Valentines Day. Simply go to a craft
store such as Michaels and purchase the quantity of baskets you'll need. Then
do several shopping runs to major wholesale clubs like BJ's, Sam's Club, and
Costco for your gift basket contents.
Create some baskets with a
selection of wine, cheese, chocolates, coffee, candy, gourmet biscuits, etc.
Give them each a theme and establish a variety of price ranges.
Once you
have your samples ready, you can start pre-selling. Use a simple order taker
form and collect payment upfront. Then, create the rest of the baskets needed
to fulfill your advance orders.
Use a central pickup point or offer
local delivery or UPS shipping for an extra charge.
Auction
Valentines Day Gifts
Another great Valentines Day fundraiser is to
conduct auctions of gifts appropriate for the holiday. Your choices include
running an event-based auction, conducting a silent auction, hosting an online
auction on your website, or listing your gifts on eBay. You can even do
combinations of these four auction styles.
Some simple items to auction
are the gift baskets mentioned above. You can also offer restaurant gift
certificates, specialty items, business services, or donated
items.
High-ticket items that you can offer might include spa visits,
limo rides, romantic weekend getaways, and a night on the town at a gourmet
restaurant.
Don't forget to offer gifts for men such as sports
memorabilia, event tickets, bottles of wine, etc.
Raffle Themed
Prizes
Another way to raise funds is to sell raffle tickets. You can
offer a selection of prizes such as those Valentines Day gifts previously
mentioned. Or, you can even include some with a different theme or timing such
as ski vacations or a condo stay with a week at the beach.
Raffles
offer an easier way to reach a larger potential audience than you might draw
for an event or for various types of auctions.
A raffle allows you to
put a larger sales force to work than you can with other methods, but be sure
to check your local regulations regarding selling raffle tickets.
Final
Note
A key point with any fundraiser is to attract plenty of advance
publicity. For more information about publicizing your fundraiser event go to
www.fundraiserhelp.com and look at publicity.
Good luck with your
Valentines Day fundraisers!
