A Bake Sale Doesn't Have to Be Boring!

Bake sales are wonderful fundraising ideas and get people involved in your fundraising effort. Remembering some easy tips will help you maximize your efforts.

How it Works

These events are very inexpensive and pretty easy to coordinate. Bake sales can stand alone or be part of another event to realize more bang for your buck.

It's Not Just A Table With Baked Goods

Think of fun ways to enhance your event like a cake walk, raffle or silent auction. For a cake walk place numbers in a circle on the ground and have music playing. When the music stops, the person on the number called wins a cake. Tickets can be sold for $1.00 to $2.00 per chance. Kids (and adults) really love cake walks…there is something very cool about winning a cake!

Another fun idea is having a cookie raffle. It is different from a cookie exchange (where everyone brings a dozen cookies and exchanges them) in that you sell raffle tickets for the cookies. As people are anticipating their raffle number to be drawn there can be other activities occurring like a silent auction or other entertainment to keep things fun and lively.

More Ideas

Work with your local community to seek donations of highly valued items to encourage raffle ticket sales. You can even pre-sale the raffle ticket ahead of time if you secure really outstanding items.

Think about charging admission to your event. Even a small amount (.50) will add up.

Also take this opportunity to sell other items associated with your school or organization like t-shirts or other items with your organization's logo.

Other great fundraising ideas include offering booth space to local vendors (food related or not) where a portion of their proceeds are donated back to your organization. Depending on the size of the event (if you are going to draw a large crowd), it would be wise to consider a nominal booth space fee for the vendors. It also offers a great opportunity for vendors to sample a new product or promote a new item to your guests.

Think about anyone who may have a connection to a local chef or other food related personality (a local cookbook author perhaps) who could come to your event. They could give a presentation or perhaps sign their cookbook. There are many possibilities related to food, cuisine and dining out. See how chic your bake sale has become?

In Summary

Don't think that a bake sale is boring and outdated. People still love to bake and the last time I checked, people love sweets! Investing some time in thinking about fun, engaging and creative alternatives for your guests will make your event successful and ultimately raise more money.