Fund raising are awesome events and we at Cubic Promote love them. Why? Well it is one of those awesome occassions where everybody wins. The charity or needy cause will definitely benefit from the extra funds, whilst their profile also benefits. What makes it even better is that these are such community based events where everyone is invited to help out means that adults and kids alike will have a blast. For children it is also educational, they learn marketing skills as well as financial skills.

However with any fund raising using products it would be prudent to keep in mind factors that will effect your sales. The number 1 factor which will effect your fund raising efforts unfortunately cannot be contolled. This is bad weather and is unfortunately responsible for an un accountable amount of missed opportunities. The second factor you can control to a degree. This is the stock inventory of product for sale.

Best Case Scenario Fund Raising Using Branded Products

Is when the very last guest who wishes to purchase one of your items for charity does indeed buy the very last product. Also please remember that all volunteers deserve a pat on the back so it would be nice if they can choose a memento to take home too.

Worse Case Scenario Fund Raising Using Branded Products

There are 2 instances. Firstly if you run out of stock early. ie. midway through early. or Secondly if you have excess stock of 20% or above.

Tips to Reduce the Financial Impact of Promotional Product Excess Stock

There are a few ways to manage and limit the financial impact of having excess stock yet still giving you a bit of flexibility especially in reducing the liklihood that you run out of stock to sell.

Tip number 1: Sell products that are not perishable unless they are available in small batches. For example cookies and cakes. Definitely still sell them but limit their supply. Instead opt for products and objects that can be kept and re-sold for the next event. Easy examples include pens and stationery products, mugs etc. (ps be wary about highlighters as they can dry out when not in use)

Tip number 2: Discuss with your supplier to see if you can return unused as new products. Therefore you can order more and be comforted in knowing that you do not have to absorb the loss of excess stock. In the instance where the product is branded this may not be possible. So why not order a combination of branded stock and a proportion of unbranded stock. The amount of unbranded stock will be dependent on your risk and comfort threshold for anticipating left over stock.

Tip number 3: Similar to point number 1, but keep in mind that ordering larger quantities affords you more discounts for bulk buying so please factor that into your calculation sums.

These small tips should hopefully reduce the financial impact of having excess stock for sale and will improve your bottom line.