Fundraiser Calendars –
Simple And Lucrative!

The great thing about Fundraiser Calendars is that they have so much to offer...

1. They are profitable and rewarding.

2. They will grow awareness for your cause all year round...

When someone buys your calendar and puts it on their wall they will have your organisation's logo, website address, Sponsor Supporter Wall address, and/or Online Apparel Store Address looking at them all the time!

It will also be exposed to everyone who then visits that person and sees your calendar.

3. It will also give you a chance to advertise your planned fundraising events for the coming year like your Golf Day, or your Trivia Fundraising Evening.

Just put a small caption on the date when the event is planned. Ex. "March 1st: Golf day, check (website) for details."

4. Fundraiser calendars will also work really well for a wide range of charities and nonprofits... In fact most charities could make use of this great fundraising idea.

Just like the cookbook fundraiser you will raise funds mainly through the sale of your calendars. Obviously the more sales you make, the more funds you will raise...

You will also raise funds through sponsoring/advertising on your Calendars from local businesses. It's a Win-Win situation!

Not to mention the funds that will be raised because of the awareness that your Calendars raise throughout the year. Just make sure you use a good "Call To Action" on each page!

Let's learn how to do this fundraising idea...

Run a Successful Calendar Fundraiser:

Even though fundraiser calendars are quite simple to do they will still take a good amount of organizing to get right. Here's what you'll need to do...

Timing:

Obviously your timing is very important... No one is going to buy your calendar in the middle of the year.

So plan to have your fundraiser calendars on sale from November to the midway or end of January! And remember that Calendars make great Christmas gifts!

Decide On Production:

Once again just like a cookbook fundraiser there are two ways of producing your calendars...

1. A basic calendar - Designed and made by yourself. Or...
2. Professionally done – Made by a local or national Publisher.

Obviously the decision will come down to you, but I would definitely suggest you use a company to make your calendars. The calendars will just look so much more professional... And because of that you will sell many more of them!

Find a Company...

Finding a company to publish your calendars shouldn't be too hard. There are so many publishing companies worldwide that you can choose from.

For USA groups and organizations I'd recommend Photo Galley for this. They have fully customizable Calendars with a few different types of calendars to choose from.

You can also use a simple Google Search below to find other customizable Calendar printing companies...

Design Your Calendar:

You will need to decide on the theme of your calendar... and also find the appropriate photos to go with it!

There are so many options to decide from for your theme it's quite remarkable!

Be creative with it and decide on what would be the best seller with your target customers! Some themes could be:

• School sports photos.
• The best art and drawings! (By your students)
• Photos of the previous year's fundraising events.
• Class photos.
• Local wildlife or monuments.
• Or if you're brave what about a nude calendar, like from the movie Calendar Girls!

Finding or taking the photos for your calendar shouldn't be too hard either, but just make sure they are of decent quality... The better the quality the more likely of higher sales!

Another option could be to hold a competition. Get supporters to enter their best pictures or art work (within the theme) and then offer prizes for the photos or art that is selected!

This idea will also help advertise and gain interest for your fundraiser calendars!

Call To Action:

You should have a clear "call to action" on each page of your Fundraiser Calendars to continuously promote your cause. Something like this...

Simple, to the point, and in a way that encourages them to stay in contact with your cause or to help out by donating!

Find Advertisers & Sponsors:

You should start by approaching/contacting local companies and businesses. Start within your circle of supporters and then work your way out to businesses you're not acquainted to.

Decide on where you will place your adverts in the Calendars and the prices for the different advertising spaces.

Make sure you don't make your calendar too congested with adverts though. The calendar must still be appealing to look at...

If the calendars aren't appealing (because of too many adverts) you won't sell as many as you could do! So find the right balance!

And Finally Publish, Advertise & Sell:

Think carefully about how many calendars you think you will sell and then publish the amount accordingly.

Obviously if your sales go really well you can always publish more.

Promote...

Use your Website, your Newsletters, Social Media pages, flyers, posters, word of mouth, newsgroups and classified adverts.

(Always try and get your advertising done for free... Emphasize the point that you are worthwhile charitable cause!)

Sell...

Selling your calendars shouldn't be too hard if you have promoted them properly.

If you ran a competition to find your photos you can then use word of mouth through all your competitors.

Your fundraiser calendars should be on sale at all your fundraising events during your selling period (Christmas/New Years). Check with local book stores etc. to see if they would be happy sell your calendars too.

Extra Options...

You should also provide the option for people to buy your fundraiser calendars off your website...

And another great option is to sell and advertise on eBay (Read the eBay page to find out more about Fundraising using eBay).

You could also use a sales team (especially if you're a school or group with Kids) to go around taking orders and/or selling your fundraiser calendars.

The "Let's Raise Money" eBook by Jack Atwell has great info and advice on using a sales team. Click the link to read my review.

Ending Off:

So to run a successful calendar fundraiser you will need to (1) Time it right, (2) Pick a great theme, (3) Find the appropriate photos, and then (4) Market and Sell them properly!

May your Fundraiser Calendars be a great and profitable success for you and your organisation!

And when your Calendar Fundraiser is a success please come back and tell us all about it at the Successful Fundraising Ideas page!

Other Recommended Fundraisers:

Magazine Fundraisers

Discount Fundraiser Cards

Where are you?

Fundraising Ideas Home › General Offline Ideas › Calendars