| Another great way to raise funds is a fruit fundraiser. | | | | You can easily offer more than one type of fruit and |
| This works well as a fall fundraising activity because | | | | even include foods that compliment them. Consider |
| the holidays are coming up and fresh fruit is a real | | | | offering fresh pecans or other nuts. Certain types of |
| family treat. Plus, moms love it because a holiday fruit | | | | candy or seasonal items also go well with fresh fruit. |
| bowl makes an attractive centerpiece! | | | | You can also combine offerings from different |
| Getting started | | | | suppliers in the same fundraiser. For instance, you can |
| Your first decision is what type of fruit to sell. One | | | | offer holiday poinsettias along with citrus products. |
| big seller is citrus fruit. You can sell fresh oranges, | | | | Or, Christmas wreaths and trimmings also go well |
| oversized juice oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, | | | | with November order-taker fundraisers for holiday |
| tangelos, and other winter favorites. Or you can | | | | delivery. |
| offer fresh apples in a wide variety of flavors. | | | | Calendars are another year-end top seller that you |
| Once you've made your selection, find a fundraising | | | | could include. Offering other choices creates additional |
| company that offers good prices and most | | | | revenue from incremental sales by offering another |
| importantly, high-quality sales brochures. Your | | | | choice to those who don't like fruit, those want to |
| customers are going to be ordering based on the | | | | help even more, or those who are willing to help, but |
| pictures, the prices, and the sales pitch, so it's | | | | don't want to spend that much. |
| important to select a good supplier. | | | | If you have a small group, consider partnering with |
| Sales pitch | | | | another group to reach minimum order requirements |
| For your sales pitch, you want your sellers to | | | | for best pricing. For example, a school club could |
| emphasize three things - your group, your cause, and | | | | partner with a church youth group and both could |
| asking for their help. It's not enough to just show up | | | | benefit from better pricing without overlapping sales |
| at someone's door with a brochure, say your church | | | | too much or saturating the market. |
| or school is selling fruit, and hope somebody buys | | | | Summary |
| something. | | | | A fresh fruit fundraiser can raise a lot of funds with |
| There's an art to a direct sales pitch when it's used | | | | the right sales approach. Work with a good supplier |
| for fundraisers. Here are some key tips: | | | | and make sure your sellers know exactly what to |
| 1 - Look people in the eye as you smile and introduce | | | | say to maximize sales. |
| yourself while extending your brochure. | | | | To further boost sales, combine complimentary items |
| 2 - Clearly state the name of your group and name a | | | | with your fruit offering such as Christmas wreaths, |
| specific reason why you are raising funds. | | | | poinsettias, or calendars. Usually, sales volumes are |
| 3 - Ask for their help and use the word 'because' as | | | | quite large because you're selling fruit by the box, |
| part of the request. The word 'because' is a proven | | | | case, or bushel. As a result, individual sellers will |
| subconscious psychological trigger word and using it | | | | exceed several hundred dollars in gross revenue, |
| will greatly boost your sales. | | | | making this a great way to raise funds. |
| Example: 'Can you help us out because we really | | | | Collect payment with the order and provide free |
| need those new uniforms?' | | | | home delivery within a scheduled timeframe. Then sit |
| Fundraising tips | | | | back and plan next year's annual fresh fruit fundraiser! |