Americans love their coffee. That makes this manageable grocery item an ideal choice for a product-based coffee fundraiser! (More fundraising ideas.)
Running a coffee fundraiser
Coffee fundraisers are often run as a catalog (or brochure) fundraiser. The coffee fundraising company you choose will provide your group members with all the marketing materials they need. Buyers can choose among a variety of coffees, flavors, drinks, and accessories. Orders are usually paid for at the time the order is taken. When the order arrives, it will need to be sorted into individual seller’s orders and distributed.
As an alternative, groups do have the option of purchasing coffee and products upfront at a wholesaler and selling it at various events as on-hand sales. The disadvantage here is that your group will have to front the cash for the purchase, and you may limit your profit if you are unable to sell the coffee. Some groups choose to run an order-taking fundraiser, but purchase a small amount of extra product for on-hand selling events.
Other than coffee
Not everyone on your potential buyer list will be a coffee drinker and that’s okay. Companies offering coffee fundraisers have anticipated this need and usually offer varied products such as teas, cocoas, mixes, and chais.
Advantages of coffee fundraisers
- Coffee has wide appeal
- Coffee is a grocery item people buy anyway
- Coffee and accessories make great gift items
- Coffee is consumable, so the fundraiser can be run each year, possibly more often if customers really like the product
- Coffee has a long shelf life and doesn’t spoil, so refrigeration/freezing of delivered product is not an issue
- Coffee fundraisers work well in conjunction with food product fundraisers like pies, cakes, and cookie dough
Organic and fair trade coffee
Some coffee fundraising companies focus on responsible product supply and offer this alternative in their coffee fundraisers. Your group can choose products that include organic offerings, or guarantee that their products meet fair trade and employment standards, and that their coffees, teas, and cocoas are grown, harvested, and processed by farmers and employees working under good working conditions for a fair wage.
The wide appeal of coffee sets this everyday product up to be a very well-received fundraising item. Coffee fundraisers are easy to run and are affordable options for fundraising groups and supporters alike. All of these factors combined put coffee fundraisers at the top of many group’s fundraiser product lists. (More fundraising ideas.)