Fundraising with Popcorn

If you're looking for a fun product to sell to raise money for your school, team, or charitable organization, consider fundraising with popcorn.

Ideas to Raise Money

Holding a product sales campaign is one of the most popular ways to raise money for all types of nonprofit organizations. For this type of fundraiser, the organization selects one or more products to sell and receives a commission from the fundraising company for each item that is sold.

Product sales fundraisers work particularly well for groups that have a large number of participants, such as school bands, sports teams, and other not for profit activities and groups. Each member is asked to market the product to their contacts, and the organization often offers incentives to boost sales through friendly competition.

Because many organizations run fundraising sales events throughout the year, the key to enjoying success lies with selecting the right product to offer. It's important to choose something that people are interested in purchasing and that isn't too expensive.

It's also a good idea to select an item to sell that is different from the products that other charities in your area are marketing as part of their fundraising efforts. Food product fundraisers are very common, with most groups that engage in this type of money making activity offering candy or doughnuts for sale. Like these items, popcorn appeals to people who enjoy snacking, and it is also has the additional appeal of being a somewhat novel fundraising idea.

There are several reasons that popcorn can be an excellent option for organizations that want to run a successful fundraising sales program. Popcorn is a popular snack, so people are often interested in purchasing it to stock their own pantries as well as to use for special occasion gifts for friends, family, and colleagues. It also has a long shelf life, meaning that customers may be likely to stock up when placing their order rather than purchasing just enough to use immediately. Additionally, popcorn can be sold for a very affordable price, yet still net the organization a healthy profit margin.

There are a number of product options for groups that have decided to implement a popcorn fundraising campaign. When deciding what type of popcorn to market, it's a good idea to consider who your potential customers are and choose the right product, or selection of products, that is most likely to appeal to them.

For example, you may want to market microwave popcorn. This is a particularly good choice if you will be selling products to busy people on the go who are interested in easy to prepare snacks they can enjoy at home. However, if you're interested in marketing products to consumers who are interested in purchasing holiday or special occasion gift items, you may want to sell decorative tins filled with popcorn kernels. It's even possible to raise money selling packages of pre-popped, ready-to-eat popcorn, such as bags or tins of flavored gourmet popcorn treats. It's up to your group's fundraising committee to decide which product is likely to result in the greatest financial benefit for the organization.

If you'd like to pursue fundraising with popcorn, you'll need to select a fundraising company that carries the right product line and offers a generous sales commission to groups like yours. Look for a supplier that offers free materials that you can use to train your sales force and that has simple ordering procedures and affordable shipping rates.

Some of the companies you may want to consider working with are:

• Col. Pops
• EZFund.com
• Popcorn Palace
• Preston Farms
• Pretty Good Popcorn
• Trail's End

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