Fundraising with Chocolate

by Deane Brengle, Editor of the Fundraising for Small Groups Newsletter

Selling chocolate may be one of the oldest fundraisers but it is still very popular with buyers and sellers alike.

Everyone loves chocolate.
Varied assortment.
Easy sell - Low prices.
High profit margins.

This booklet is designed to introduce you to fundraising with chocolate if you haven't done it before. If you are already doing a chocolate fundraiser this booklet will help you discover the latest offerings and ideas in chocolate fundraising.

Overview of this Fundraiser

Chocolate is sold two different ways - direct sale and by brochure.

Direct Sale
Chocolate is ordered from your fundraising supplier. It is distributed to the membership who sells it to parents, relatives, friends, supporters, and the general public. Money is collected at the time of the sale.
Brochure
Chocolate is sold to parents, relatives, friends, supporters, and the general public by way of a brochure/order form furnished by a fundraising supplier. Orders are taken over roughly a two week period for specific chocolate varieties. At the end of the sale period order forms are tallied and the chocolate is ordered. About two weeks later your chocolate is delivered and you distribute the chocolate to your buyers. Money can be collected at first contact or at delivery.

Either way you sell it chocolate comes in lots of different varieties. Various product sizes and price points are offered by each supplier.

Potential Income

Fundraising with chocolate is an easy way to raise funds. With such low price points almost everyone will buy chocolate if asked. And it's a good fundraiser to repeat year after year.

Generally speaking, you can make 45 to 50% profit. The fine points of each program vary from supplier to supplier and will affect how much money you will make so be sure and ask about them:

Availability/cost of a prize program. Some suppliers include a prize program at no charge and for others it's an extra that will affect your bottom line.
Cost of the catalogs/order forms/money collection envelopes. Some suppliers include all the support pieces at no charge and some suppliers charge for them.

Remember to bookmark this page! (CTRL-D)

Print this booklet now Return to index

Complexity

This fundraiser is very straight forward, but there are a couple of questions you should ask yourself:

Minimum order - if you have a small group inquire if the supplier has a minimum order
Direct Sale or Brochure
- Direct Sale- Pros: Requires only one contact to complete sale, time to complete fundraiser is generally shorter (an important consideration if funds are needed quickly), the buyer can examine the actual product before making a decision, requires payment upfront. Cons: May over/under order. May not be able to make returns.
  Scheduling- once you determine you want to do a chocolate fundraiser, it will take about one/two weeks to get your chocolate, one week to hold your sale, and one week to get the money turned back in. That's three/four weeks minimum start to finish.
- Brochure- Pros: No guesswork on how much product to order, brochures allow the group to offer a wide variety of products and range of prices. Cons: Takes longer to complete the sale, may require group to tally orders and sort by seller or pay for presorting/computer tallying.
  Scheduling- once you determine you want to do a chocolate fundraiser, it will take about one/ two weeks to get your order form/catalogs, two weeks to hold your sale, and one week to get the order forms and money turned back in, and two weeks to get your chocolate delivered and distributed. That's six/seven weeks minimum start to finish.
Time of year- chocolate doesn't stand up to the heat very well. Some suppliers don't ship in the hot summer months. Sellers will have to be careful in any case not to let chocolate get to warm.

Recommended Fundraising Supplier
I've taken the time to carefully review all the suppliers that provide chocolate fundraising programs and I am recommending a variety of chocolate fundraisers from Efundraising.com. They have both direct sale and brochure fundraising programs. All their chocolate fundraisers feature up to 50% profit.

World's Finest Chocolate Direct Sales- Rich and creamy with a variety of great flavor combinations including milk chocolate, caramel, almond and even peanut butter! A free $2 off Pizza Hut coupon on every bar. And only World’s Finest Chocolate products can be personalized with your group’s name, logo, message, and even a picture to better support your fundraising efforts! Up to 50% profit!
Find out more about World's Finest Chocolate Fundraisers.
Hershey Fundraisers Direct Sales- Hershey Bars, straight or variety packs. Includes Hershey Milk Chocolate bar, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Kit-Kit and more. On each bar wrapper your buyers receive a $1 SUBWAY® coupon. Each seller will also each get a Sony Connect Cash Card. Plus, you’ll receive a FREE 5lb. Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar as a special group incentive. Up to 50% profit!
Find out more about Hershey Fundraisers.
Efundraising Chocolate Brochure Sales- Deluxe chocolates in a full color brochure. Something for everyone including a selection of sugar free treats. Items are priced from $7 to $18. Up to 50% profit!
Find out more about Efundraising Chocolate Fundraisers.