Jun 06 2009
Candle Making – Selling Your Candles – Fundraising
While many candle makers learn and perfect the craft as a hobby, there are others with goals to make money from the craft. Of the many ways to sell your candles, setting up fundraising programs is one option that you may wish to consider.
Establishing a fundraising program featuring your candles is a great way to multiply your sales force in an economical manner. While hiring and managing a sales force may not be possible, fundraising can be a great way to have many people selling on your behalf. It also allows you to leverage your ability to sell without you doing most of the work.
Here’s how a typical fundraiser works. You find organizations that need to raise money and make an arrangement with them to sell your candles for you for a portion of the profit. You agree to supply each candle to them for a discounted price, and when they sell each candle at a pre-determined retail price that is higher, the organization keeps the difference for their cause.
The percentage of the discount can vary, but is usually somewhere between 20-50% below the pre-determined retail price. The greater the percentage the organization gets to keep, the more they will get excited and promote your product, so be as generous as possible when establishing the profit-sharing arrangement.
Typically, no money exchanges hands between you and the organization until they have collected all of the candle orders. This way, the organization does not need to come up with money out of pocket to give to you. They simply take orders, collect money for the products ordered, and turn one combined order in to you. You then collect your negotiated price for each candle, and they keep the difference. Fundraising is a win-win situation for both parties, and is a great way to get your product out into circulation.
The types of organizations looking to conduct a fundraiser are seemingly limitless. Churches, schools, sports groups, charitable organizations, awareness programs and more are all excellent candidates. All you need to do is seek them out and be willing to work with them.
Not only do you have the opportunity to make good profit yourself, but you are helping an organization in need as well. And while there are many fundraising programs out there for them to choose from, many organizations are tired of the traditional candy and cookie dough sales, and are looking to do something more unique. Candles are an attractive option.
While it is true that fundraising can be a huge help in growing your business, it is not without work on your end. You need to be sure that you have the production capacity to fill the organization’s order in a timely manner (3-4 weeks at most).
You also need to be sure that you can offer them a simple process with easy-to-follow instructions, and fundraising materials to help them collect orders. Be prepared to provide the organizations with samples of your candles as they will want to be able to test your product before agreeing to sell it. Assuming that you make a quality product, this is usually a great thing because the more they love your candles, the more excited they will be to sell them.
There are many ways to create a successful candle business, and fundraising is only one of the many ways it may be possible. Explore your options and decide what the best fit is for you and your ultimate goals.
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Candles are a great fundraiser. You are so right that it is a win win for everybody. People seem to be getting tired of doing the same old fundraisers year after year. It is believe that 85% of all families buy candles at least once a year. Great post.
Great ideas, great blog!
Candles are fantastic for fund raisers. It has been my experience that the profit is higher for the organization with candles and the organization wants to repeat it because it’s a consumable product. Great information here.
Thanks for that! I hadn’t actually thought of Fundraising.
Have you ever tried one of these Cologne scented candles ?
Hello,
I have been thinking about fundraising. I am not quite sure how to start. I think it is difficult to get one in the school if you don’t have a friend that could get you in. I may try 4-h and other groups like that in the area.
I am a candle lover & love scented candles. I have purchased some candles from Veria ( http://shop.veria.com/category/20239183581/1/Candles.htm ) i will gift them to my friends on this Christmas
I am also a candle and scented candle lover. I love fruity ones and recently foun a website that do a massive range of candles. have not made an order yet but will do on pay day
. It was called scentedcandleshop.com. Am very excited about recieving them and will also be gifting them to friends and family this christmas as they also do a wide variety of christmas candles
While many people buy their first soy candles as a “healthier” alternative to the traditional paraffin candle, most continue to purchase them for so many more reasons!
They are a bit more expensive than paraffin wax Scented Candles but as they burn more slowly and release much more fragrance they often work out to be better value for money.
Nice blog, keep up the good work!!! most followed blog!!!
Give away free samples. No, I’m not talking about passing out your most expensive and most beautiful creations. What I am talking about is taking advantage of today’s popularity of the tealights.
I agree with Claire. I love fruity candles! I love lighting them in the evenings while enjoying a glass of wine.
I just purchased two homemade candles
Sorry about the above post. The candles that I purchased are made of soy and are absolutely beautifu. I found them on http://www.etsy.com/shop/DanielleMarieRose They burn beautifully and are clean and eco friendly (no black soot). The seller offers a great deal on these. Check it out, I know you’ll like them as much as me!
Great post! I got my start in the manufacturing of Soy Candles because 10 years ago I bought a soy candle that my daughters volleyball team was selling. I owe it all to one little fundraiser.
i love this blog, great info, thanks!
Fantastic article – Fundraising is an excellent way to get get exposure as well as to get boat loads of sales.
Great post! I like your idea of fundraising with candles. In this economy there are so many organizations that are in need of extra funds to keep going. Good idea that can help both the seller and the organization!
Fun post. I love candles with a unique twist. Candle Notes is a very cool website that allows you to add a personalized greeting to a jar candle. Basically, you can customize your own label. Great gift idea for under $25.00. I love thier creme brulee candle..yummy. Join their mailing list for great discounts.
You have a very nice blog! Love your article on fundraising!
Check out my new site which also promotes fundraising for candle sales. These candles are amazing and will definitely be a new version of candle sales. The purchasers will love them as they actually curl when they burn and are drip free. We carry beeswax and natural, or vegetal, wax products in our SPA, scented line.
Great idea for using candles as a fundraiser! Super article!
Jenn
Great idea! if anyone is looking for eco-friendly candles I bought some unscented white pillar candle online at http://www.millenniumcandles.com for very cheap and they were smoke-free and drip free. they were just perfect. Also thanks for that great fundraisder idea I’m going to share this with my son’s school