Digital Fundraising – The Most Profitable and Efficient Fundraiser

Overview

When it comes to fundraising for a team, club, or school activity there are a seemingly endless number of options. Selling popcorn, cookie dough, and discount cards or hosting sports camps and car washes are all popular fundraisers, but which one is the most profitable? With limited time and resources, how do you know where to focus your fundraising efforts?

To answer this question our crack team of investigative fundraisers researched all the options – interviewing area coaches and going straight to the websites of top fundraising companies themselves – and ranked each fundraiser based on profit and time investment.

The winner? On-line digital fundraising is the most profitable fundraiser that takes the least amount of time! Read on to see how each of these fundraising options compare.

Profit Rank #1: Digital Online Fundraising

👍 PROS: 80% Profit to Team; Very Low Time Commitment and Highly Incremental (Up To 90% of Donations Can Come From Outside The Local Area)

👎 CONS: You May Have To Get Your Cookie Dough at The Grocery Store

🕓 WHEN TO RUN: Start in Pre-Season and Run Until Season End

Written by: Sean Connors, eTeamSponsor

Profit Rank #2: Booster Cards / Discount Cards

👍 PROS: 60-80% Profit to Team; Team Bonding Opportunity and Way To Show Value of Hard Work

👎 CONS: Very Time Consuming to Set Up and Execute; Team Typically Loses Money on Unsold Cards

🕓 WHEN TO RUN: Pre-season

Written by: Paul Reynaud, Concord HS Head Football Coach

Profit Rank #3: Popcorn

Profit Rank #5: Cookie Dough Sales

👍 PROS: 30-60% Profit to Team; Good Team Bonding Experience

👎 CONS: Very Time Consuming to Execute (typically 8-20 hours per student)

🕓 WHEN TO RUN: Off-season or Pre-season

Written by: Nichole Schumann, Clayton Valley HS Head Cheer Coach

Selling Popcorn and Cookie Dough are two popular fundraising options for teams or activities. There are many companies that offer perishable foods like these for your team to sell. You purchase these items from the vendor (who adds their mark-up and profit to the selling price) and then your team re-sells these items to students and parents at your school at a price that typically leaves your organization with a profit of between 30% and 60% of the selling price. Selling perishable foods can be a good bonding experience for your students and an opportunity to show them the value of hard work (and hard work it is – see below).

There are downsides to selling perishable foods, especially the fact that they need to be properly stored and delivered in a timely manner to maintain quality. In addition, you need to consider the time it takes to sell the products, about 8-20 hours on average per student. One of the leading popcorn fundraising companies also advises that  “results may vary and are based on the experience of your group, your local demographics, group leadership, and the amount of time you have to run your fundraiser”. The time spent selling perishable items door-to-door is also time your students could be using to perfect their craft, so we recommend holding these sales during the off-season or pre-season. This way you won’t interfere with their training and preparation for upcoming games or events.

Profit Rank #4: T-Shirt Sales

👍 PROS: 40-50% Profit to Team; Great for Team Support; Fun Way To Show Team Spirit

👎 CONS: Very Time Consuming to Set Up and Execute; Team Typically Left with Unsold Shirts

🕓 WHEN TO RUN: Pre-season

Written by: Nichole Schumann, Clayton Valley HS Head Cheer Coach

Profit Rank #6: Sports Camps

👍 PROS: Promotes School in Local Area – Helps Cultivate Next Gen Of Players; Great Team Bonding and Leadership Experience

👎 CONS: Only 30-40% Profit to Team; Very Time Consuming to Set Up and Execute (Typically 20-80 hrs Per Participant); Logistics and Cost of the Facility Rentals

🕓 WHEN TO RUN: Off-season

Written by: Steve Jacoby, De La Salle HS Football Coach

Sports camps are a fundraising option for your organization with a lower profit of between 30-40%. These camps are typically run by the students and coaches and provide great leadership and skills development opportunities for both participants and the students themselves. They are also a great way, especially at the college level, for students to earn money. For schools that do not offer scholarships to prospective students, income from these camps can help level the playing field with schools that DO offer scholarships. Lastly, camps are a great way to get your organizations name recognized by parents as well as the next generation of students for your program.

While sports camps provide opportunities for skill development and community engagement, they can be quite expensive. Costs for running a sports camp include facility rental, supplies, and wages to name a few. Sports camps also require a significant amount of time to plan and execute with the typical time investment ranging from 20-80 hours per participant. As a result, we recommend running your sports camp during the off-season to not interrupt training and games for your students while in-season.

Profit Rank #7: Car Washes

👍 PROS: Great activity for building team unity; helping the local community;
Getting a tan and building muscle

👎 CONS: Only 20-30 Profit for the Team; Very Time Consuming to Set Up and Execute;
Requires purchase of additional supplies

🕓 WHEN TO RUN: Off-season or Pre-season

Written by: Nichole Schumann, Clayton Valley HS Head Cheer Coach

A Car Wash fundraiser can be a fun way for a team or activity group to collaborate and work together towards a common goal. Additionally, car washes provide an opportunity for teams to engage with the local community and strengthen their bond with supporters. 

That said, it’s important to consider the financial aspects of holding a car wash. According to the leading supplier of car wash fundraising supplies, the profit margin for car washes is only 30%, and can be as low as 20% when you factor in the cost of water and the value of your team’s time. The time commitment can also be substantial, with participants needing to invest 10 to 20 hours to plan and hold the car wash. Given the significant time commitment of hold a car wash, we recommend running this fundraiser during warm weather months in the pre-season or off-season.

Conclusion

In conclusion, digital online fundraising has transformed the way school, team, and activity fundraise. With its remarkable profitability, minimal time investment, and expansive reach, digital fundraising has proven to be the most effective and profitable form of fundraising. Schools and organizations that embrace this innovative approach unlock new possibilities for generating funds, providing them with the necessary resources to enhance educational experiences, support teams, and empower a wide range of activities. By tapping into the limitless potential of the digital world, we can revolutionize the way we fundraise, fostering growth, unity, and success for schools, teams, and activities in the U.S.

Sources: 1. Digital Fundraising industry average based on review of eTeamSponsor.com and websites of two competing digital fundraisers.  2. Booster/Discount Cards information based on US Fundraising Spreadsheet from May 2023 –  profit range is based on 80% all cards received being sold including any “free cards”. 3. Popcorn fundraiser data based on review of ABC Fundraising website on May 16, 2023: “Typical fundraising groups earn 50%-60% profit with the Popcorn fundraiser”. 4. T-shirt fundraiser information based on review of Custom Ink website; assumes that t-shirts are sold for between $20-30 each. 5. Cookie Dough fundraising information from review of BigFundraising.com Program Details which lists typical profit of 40%. 6. Sports Camps based on interviews with High School Coaches 7. Carwash fundraising information based on review of Sudz Fundraising website FAQ May 2023: “What Profit Can Our Group Make? Your profit is 30%”.