Direct Sales VS Order Taking Fundraising

Should you use direct-sale fundraising products or pre-sale brochures for your next fundraiser?

1. Fundraising with Direct Sale Products:
How it works: Your group orders an inventory of products; these products are distributed to your group members who sell the products directly to their supporters; funds are collected at the point of sale.

Pros

• Requires only one contact with individual consumers
• Program is shorter in length than Pre-Sale because there is no product to deliver and no returned goods to deal with.
• Usually a very low retail price per item which results in an easy sale

Cons

• Slight risk if you over-purchase
• Less variety of products to offer

Vs.

2. Fundraising with Pre-Sale (order taker) Brochures:
How It Works: Your group requests 1 brochure per fundraising participant. The participants show the brochure to potential supporters. The supporter selects a product from the brochure which the participant records on the brochure order form. These order forms are then returned to your fundraising company, who fulfills the order and ships the products to your group. Your group members and volunteers deliver the products to their supporters. Funds can either be collected at the time of the selection or upon delivery.

Pros

• No guess work on how much to order, therefore no risk!
• Brochures offer a wide variety of products and range of prices
• With this type of fundraiser it’s easy to include parents and adults in the fundraising efforts.

Cons

• More work and time because you must deliver products and often deal with a few returned goods.