Great fundraisers such as school rummage sales have the potential to bring in a lot of money, but also require much time, effort, and physical labor from numerous participants. Organizations that sponsor their own fundraising garage sales tend to do so only once per year. The return is good, but the time and labor commitment is immense.
Ongoing fundraisers have the potential to bring in a steady albeit smaller stream of income. Over the course of a school or calendar year, the amount of money earned may meet or exceed the amount made at the annual rummage sale, for less time and effort.
Good Fundraisers: Coffee Fundraising
Some coffee fundraisers offer organizations the opportunity to both profit from selling a much desired product and do some good in the world at the same time.
The Vermont Coffee Company coffee fundraiser offers organizations the ability to raise funds by selling organic, fair trade coffee. Fair trade coffee sellers guarantee that coffee farmers earn a fair return on their investment growing, picking, and producing coffee for sale. By purchasing fair trade products people who participate in this coffee fundraiser help end a cycle of poverty in coffee growing countries caused by prices so low they do not cover the farmer's costs of production.
Once a relationship with Vermont Coffee Company is established, it takes little time and effort to order the coffee and keep track of sales. Coffee fundraisers provide a steady stream of funds for schools, churches, and other organizations.
Fundraising Items Such as Toner Cartridge Recycling
The Funding Factory promotes recycling while helping organizations raise funds. The Funding Factory provides free containers for the collection of both printer toner cartridges and used cell phones. Organizations using this fundraiser also receive free shipping labels so they do not incur the cost of mailing old cell phones and cartridges back to Funding Factory for recycling.
Each toner cartridge and cell phone type has a designated monetary value which can be looked up on the Funding Factory site. When the shipment arrives back at the factory, the appropriate amount of money is deposited into the recycler's online account.
Similar to selling free trade coffee as a fundraiser, toner cartridge and cell phone recycling serves the dual purpose of doing something good for the world and raising money at the same time. The plastic parts and ink residuals in old toner cartridges take up enormous space in landfills. One cartridge or one old cell phone may not seem like much, but some estimate that Americans throw away over 100 million laserjet and ink cartridges every year.
Organizations may place their Funding Factory collection boxes in places of business, including stores that sell new printer supplies. When the box is full, call UPS to pick up the box at no cost, and a get a new one delivered also at no cost. Good and easy way to raise funds.
Other Easy Fundraising Ideas
Bake sales and car washes are fun and not especially difficult to organize, but they make money on the one day of the event. Consider having an ongoing, weekly bake sale for a church. Members may take turns baking items on a weekly basis.
Teenagers with lots of energy may enjoy raising money by asking at a local gas station if they can offer to wash cars for $5 each on a sunny, weekend day.
The benefits of ongoing fundraisers, however, are that once they are set up they are an easy income stream. Fair trade coffee and recycling have the added benefit of doing something good for the world while raising funds. And they are both easy to maintain.
