In Bloom: Flower Bulb Fundraisers

Flowers have brightened your home and yard by gracing it with their color and beauty all summer long. With fall in the air, it’s time to store your flower bulbs for the winter so they will be ready for next spring. Bulbs allow people to have flowers when other plants won’t bloom, like in the early spring and fall. In fact, many people like to give flower bulbs as Christmas and holiday gifts, because as perennials, they can be planted in fall or stored during winter, and still bloom for many, beautiful years to come.

That’s why this time of year is excellent for throwing a flower bulb fundraiser. A flower bulb fundraiser will have a lot of pull with the gardeners in your neighborhood. It’s a unique way not only to beautify your community, but if you are raising money for children or health care, it’s a great way to show that you support the continued growth of these services in your community.

So you’re sold on the flower power, how exactly do you organize a flower bulb fundraiser?

To host a flower bulb fundraiser, you’ll need the following:

A garden or online organization that specializes in bulb sales. They will have a brochure for you to choose your bulbs from, and many will let you create unique blends for your climate and region. Most companies will offer basic bulbs such as tulips, crocuses, and daffodils. If your community is full of avid gardeners, you may want to go with a garden that offers more exotic bulbs.
Bulb brochures and order forms to take door to door to potential customers. Make sure the company you choose has a colorful brochure with pictures of the bulbs you are selling. People like to see what they’re buying, and pictures lead to successful sales.
Affordable, quality flower bulbs. Look for companies that offer a wide variety of bulbs in the $5 to $6 per bulb range. After all, your avid gardeners will be on the lookout for the basics, plus the stunning, rarer bulbs. For example, queen of the night (or black tulips), mixed daffodils, mixed tulips (including variegated varieties), narcissus, snowdrops, tiger lilies, blue bells, hyacinths, iris, and varieties of wildflowers will draw purchases.
A company that provides detailed planting instructions for their bulbs. This extra detail will go a long way in attaining customer satisfaction, and ensure your flower bulb fundraiser becomes an annual event.
Volunteers to go door to door, to collect the money, to organize and file order forms, to fill orders, and to deliver bulbs to eager gardeners.

Best Practices for Flower Bulb Fundraisers

Selling flower bulbs has its pros and cons, just like every fundraiser does. Remember, you are dealing with living plants, so you have to treat them with gentle respect to ensure your customers receive a quality product. Here are some tips for making your bulb fundraiser a success:

Flower bulbs can be planted in the spring and in the fall, so you can actually get two fundraisers out of one, in the same year!
Bulbs make great holiday gifts, and they store well, so look to sell around festive dates such as Christmas, Easter, or Mother’s Day.
Bulb fundraisers are green fundraisers. This means, especially if your organization has a green mandate, that those who feel the same will buy from you and help you net more sales.
Flower bulbs are perishable. Keep this in mind when you ship, as bulbs have to be sold immediately, or stored in the proper manner, or they will die.
Planting time is also critical, so you will have to be direct about your shipping time, or you will have some very dissatisfied gardeners on your hands.
Make sure to arrange for enough volunteers. A number of people will be needed to help you to sort and bag the bulbs, and also to deliver bulbs on time.

Have fun and happy planting!