Everyone loves an item with their name or face on it – whether it’s team sweatshirts, calendars, cake pans, mugs or picture frames, personalized items are very popular, especially among families (when the personalized item has their child’s face on it). A personalized fundraiser can benefit your group a lot because of this trend. You have a few choices for a personalized fundraiser, making this one that you can do several times through the year, using different items. This also works well around the holidays, when people will want to give their family members something special and elite.

How does it work?

First of all, you’ve got to figure out what type of fundraiser you want to do. This can take the face of just about anything, depending on your group’s focus and your potential customers’ needs. There are a few options for this:

1.  A personalized cake pan fundraiser. This will appeal to families and people who go to a lot of picnics or potlucks. Your group will get in touch with an engraving company that will send you brochures to give to your customers. The brochure will contain the pans and lids that are available for sale, as well as engraving and personalization options, like font and style. Some companies will even engrave both the lids and the pans, so that your customers won’t lose either item at a party or a potluck again. Your customers will order what they want and then give you the money upfront. Once your selling period is over, you’ll tabulate the orders and create one big order to give to the company. Delivery will take a few weeks. Be sure that you are careful how you spell people’s names – mistakes are costly and customers will be angry if they receive a pan with a misspelling. As well, you may be able to offer them other items, like picture frames, serving utensils, cutting boards, and more.
   
   
2. A personalized T-shirt or sweatshirt sale. These work for any teams or organizations, like a choir or dance class. Some personalization options include a picture of your group and some information about them, or a team logo and name. If you’re a sports team, you could design the shirt to look like a jersey. If you’re a music group, you could design it to look like a concert T-shirt, with dates on the back. Your group will get together and choose the design and look of the shirts, then go out and take orders. You’ll make a large order with the company and then deliver the shirts a few weeks later.
   
   
3. A calendar fundraiser. You’ll have to work with a calendar fundraising company and create a personalized calendar for the coming year. You can include pictures from group events, dates that are important to your group for the coming year, or information on the cover. As well, you could also stage it so that one member of your group appears for each month – this is great for a sports team. This can work as an on-hand or a pre-sale fundraiser. As well, some companies offer a “create your own calendar” kit, which allows your customers to collect their own photos and dates and then send it back to the company to be printed and sent back to them.
   
   
4. A mouse pad fundraiser. This one is relatively inexpensive, both to your group and to your customers. Nearly everyone uses a computer, so a personalized mouse pad with your group’s name and picture on it will appeal to parents and families of the members. You can stage this as a pre-sale or on-hand fundraiser as well. Beware – older people who don’t use computers may not be as interested in this fundraiser, which can lose you sales.
   
   

How much can I make?

Depending on the fundraiser, you can make anywhere from 25% to 100% profit. This also depends on how much you sell and if there are any other costs, like shipping or minimum orders, or extra inventory if it’s an on-hand sale. Also, it depends on how motivated your sales team is. If the company offers incentives, be sure to take advantage of that to help your team sell more.

Pros and Cons of Personalized Fundraisers

All of the fundraisers mentioned above have their pros and cons, but you’ll find problems mainly with the ones that require delivery. Shipping costs and late deliveries can leave you with some very unhappy customers, so make sure that you get an ETA on all of your items. As well, on-hand fundraisers require you to have the money upfront, which can be tough for smaller groups. You may find that people won’t be as interested if they don’t have a family member or friend in your group, as well. However, many people love to see themselves and their children on a personalized keepsake that will last forever, and your team members will be proud to display a shirt or item that demonstrates their team spirit and the team’s exclusiveness.