Basics 101: Targeting Your Fundraising Market

In order to maximize your fundraising productivity, it is very important that you, as a sponsor or fundraising coordinator, take into consideration the predominant market clientele to which your products will be sold. The synergy of offering the right fundraising product to the right customer will always result in increased profits for your fundraising group.

If you had a choice between trying to sell ice to an Eskimo at the North Pole, or attempting to sell that same ice to a prospective customer visiting Death Valley, which would you more likely choose. Obviously, you would not waste your time trying to sell ice to someone who has very little need for more ice. You would concentrate on the person in Death Valley who really needs the cold refreshing ice. Conversely, a propane heater would probably interest the Eskimo much more than it would interest the person visiting Death Valley. In these two illustrations, the people are the same, but the product needs are significantly different. Similarly, matching your customers with the right choice of fundraising products, can be the difference between an average and an exceptional fundraising experience.

If you were planning a product fundraiser for your group or organization, would you focus your attention on 1) choosing your product, or 2) choosing your customer clientele? Naturally the answer to this question is, “Both of the above.” Sometimes the choice of certain products or product types automatically determines your customer base. For example, having a jewelry sale usually eliminates most male participation (whether seller or buyer). Brochure sellers such as fundraising candles, flower bulb fundraisers, Alkaline Battery fundraisers, etc., sell well to adults (male and female), but are usually just “so, so” to school age students. Since youth and school-age students are the major sellers of these products, it is quite obvious that their concentration of sales efforts should be predominately to adults they know, rather than to their student peers. If sales are specifically directed to an adult clientele, lack of student sales should not be disturbing. Edible Brochure Sellers such as Cookie Dough fundraisers and frozen pizza fundraisers typically target both the young and the old. Even though they are usually purchased by adults (parents, grandparents, friends of the family, etc.), the whole family usually gets involved with the choosing of the items on these brochures. Additionally, for the last five years, cookie dough fundraisers have been the very top sellers in the fundraising market.

Candy Fundraising items, particularly candy bar fundraisers, sweet and sour fundraisers, and fundraising lollipops, which sell for 50¢ - $2.00, are in-hand sellers that sell very well to both students and adults alike. Candy fundraisers are rare in that they sell equally well in all types of markets. School fundraising, church fundraising, sports fundraising, specialty fundraising and non-profit fundraising are all excellent group categories which do very well with candy fundraisers. However, when the selling price of an item exceeds $2.00, that candy item loses much of its appeal in the youth and student sales market. Another fundraising product which has relatively recently begun to become quite successful, is fundraising beef jerky. Because they are nutritionally healthier than most other fundraising food items, beef jerky and meat snacks fundraisers have been substituted for once popular candy fundraisers in various organizations across the country. Both Jack Links® and Oberto® produce delicious meat snacks and beef jerky fundraisers that sell for $1 and are excellent sellers in virtually all fundraising markets.

One last marketing suggestion (although there are dozens of marketing variables) that we would like to mention is the need to know the general socio-economic level of the school, organization, community, etc. into which you will be selling fundraising products. For example, you may be successful in selling a $25 gourmet product in an affluent neighborhood, whereas that product would largely be unsellable in a more impoverished area. Sometimes even a change from one region of the country to another region will result in a totally different sales pattern for the exact same product. Hence, we must stress once again that two of the most important variables in your fundraising marketing strategy are, knowing your market, and matching the appropriate product to the market you are targeting.