How Cookie Dough Fundraisers Work
Selling cookie dough follows the form of a classic product-style fundraiser. Your group takes advance orders or pre-buys the cookie dough and sells it at a profit. The cookie dough you sell is frozen and may come in tubs, tubes, or pre-portioned boxes, each generally weighing about three lbs. Popular flavors include:
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When working with a cookie dough fundraising company, you can expect to see profits between 40% and 60%. The products you're provided with generally retail between $10 and $14. Companies also often supplement your efforts with selling brochures, signup sheets, and other advertising materials designed to help ensure you have a successful fundraiser. For more information on working with fundraising companies, please see Church Fundraising with a Company.
Planning a Cookie Dough Fundraiser
As with any fundraiser, the most important parts of the drive happen before you sell anything at all. Set a goal you'd like to reach. If you want to make $5000, how many portions of cookie dough will you need to sell? How many volunteers do you have available? How many portions will each volunteer need to sell in order to reach your goal?
Be sure to consider the time of year by which you'd like your customers to have their sweet treats, keeping in mind that the turnaround time between taking an order and delivery of goods is typically around three weeks. The early fall can be a great time to sell, in preparation for the holiday season. Drives of this kind are often easier to run with a committee.
Motivating Volunteers
It's likely that certain people in your group or congregation really love fundraising, and would be your top sellers with or without extra motivation. For those in your flock who might be a bit more reticent, however, there are some great, easy ways to spur them on to higher sales. Consider offering different levels of prizes based on sales -- even for the minimum sale level which you expect all your volunteers to achieve. Plan an after-drive pizza party or ice cream social to show your helpers how much you appreciate all their hard work.
Encourage your sellers to take their brochures and other advertising materials to their schools and places of business. Finally, set a reasonable time limit for selling -- two weeks is generally enough time, though you should use your judgment and plan accordingly.
With the right company, proper planning, and willing volunteers, a cookie dough fundraiser can be a great way to raise funds for your church or religious organization. With no startup costs, a comfortable profit margin, and plenty of sugary goodness, it's small wonder that cookie dough fundraising has become a popular choice for non-profit organizations of all kinds.
