One category of fundraising products that's always popular are items that are pre-purchased in bulk and offered for immediate sale. A prime example of this type of fundraising is doing a candy fundraiser.

Each seller carries a box of candy bars for sale at prices generally in the $1 to $2 range. Often, sellers will seek out high-traffic locations such as grocery stores where they can offer their candy bars to large numbers of prospects in a short period of time.

Other examples of immediate delivery merchandise include:

Discount certificate books
Almost every major fast food chain has some type of discount offer that they make available to fundraisers. Of course, each local franchisee has to be contacted for approval by the supplier for these to be made available in your market.

Generally these certificates are good for 'buy one get one free' type of offers. The main advantage of this type of sale is a higher dollar sale based on the perceived value of being able to use the certificates across a defined time period.

Several companies consolidate these offers and combine them with a host of local special offers from restaurants, movie theaters, family fun centers, and other merchants to create a large coupon book of special offers. A major brand in this category is the Entertainment book sold by Sally Foster.

Discount cards
This product is an evolution of the discount certificate booklets into a wallet-sized plastic card. The front of the card usually features your group logo and an expiration date while the back details roughly a dozen merchant offers.

Sales are generally made with a supporting flyer providing details of the special offers and extrapolating a dollar value based on repeat usage in a one year period.

These discount cards usually sell for $10, depending on the merchant's offers. They represent an easy way to raise significant amounts due to the high revenue per participant and larger than average profit margin.

Raffle tickets
Numbered tickets or scratch cards linked to a chance to win prizes are used to obtain funds. Prizes can be a single large item such as a big screen television or a medley of smaller items to create more chances to win. The cost of the prizes is usually less than 50% of the funds raised.

This approach needs to be checked for compliance with local laws. It also needs a strong sales effort because the net profits are provided by the sales made after the cost of prizes is covered.

Many groups swear by the 'big prize' approach with larger groups raffling off such expensive merchandise as snowmobiles, boats, or automobiles. Proceed with caution here. Make sure you will raise enough money to cover the cost of the prize with plenty of money left over. Look for a partner such as an automobile dealer who wants extra publicity.

Spirit merchandise
Popular with youth athletic groups, these sales feature items with the group's logo that can be used to show support for the team's activity.

Examples include stadium cushions, drink cups, foam fingers, noisemakers, T-shirts, etc. These are usually sold via a concession stand at events. Because of the high markup, they can produce significant revenues to larger organizations over a season.

Seasonal fundraising products
Take advantage of the built-in market for seasonal fundraising products tied to specific holidays or seasons. Examples of great products for fundraisers include pumpkins, frozen turkeys, citrus fruit, Christmas trees, holiday wreaths, Valentine's roses, flower bulbs, pine straw, gardening supplies and more.

Pick the right fundraising products for your group's next fundraiser, follow our sales tips, and watch your profits soar.