4 Tips For Being Efficient At Easy Sports Fundraising

1. Check Your Profit Margin - With fundraising, it's all about profit margins. This is the amount of funds you actually have after all your costs have been paid. There are lots of fundraisers that are sales based that have a lower profit margin because of what it costs them for the products that get sold. Your typical candy fundraiser will have about a 50% margin which means you get to keep roughly half of what comes in. The other half pays the expenses of the candy. So it's a good idea for you and your team to take the time to find fundraisers that carry a profit margin of 70% to 90%. Then you get more bang for your efforts.

2. To Sell or Not sell - When you sell things like candy or magazines, it can take an awful lot of time and divert you from your true focus, which is a successful sports season. The fact is that athletes get tired of the whole process of selling and their sales tend to drop off near the end of the fundraiser. So this means you need to use a fundraiser that involve literally little or even no selling. For these types of fundraisers, there are online tools and direct mail campaigns to make use of. They have lower costs and hold higher profit margins.

3. Beware of Upfront Costs - Some fundraisers involving sales will require a fee for purchasing products to sell. This can be problematic due to the fact there are no guarantees about how much money you are going to be able to generate. Try to find companies who won't need their money until the money begins to come in, and then only a fair percentage.

4. Check With The School or Organization - Before jumping into a decision about what type of fundraiser to start, check with the administrators involved. See what kind of guidelines they may have. The last thing you need is to begin your fundraiser only to find yourself out of compliance with proper procedure.

Watch out for things like 'mailing guidelines'. A lot of schools will have these. They set rules that are very specific about how pieces that are mailed are sent out. And also watch when dealing with 'Donor Gifts'. Once a person donates to the fundraiser, some schools require that the donor gets a gift for their donation.

These are just a few helpful tips for ensuring that your fundraiser goes smoothly and is a success. Watch for the things outlined here and remember that these companies are being paid for helping you raise money, and that the bulk of the effort should not be on you.

By: Jennifer Briggs

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There are endless possibilities and methods for organizations to start fundraisers. Get more fundraising ideas for non profit organizations.