Choosing the right things to sell for fundraising can be tricky. You need to find a product that makes sense for your organization, your audience, and your fundraiser. Plus, product fundraising gets more complicated when you choose to do it yourself instead of working with a third party. Don’t worry - we have you covered! In this blog, we’ll go through 19 common products sold for fundraising and let you know how to get started.
Even if you feel like you’ve tried every fundraising trick in the book, finding the right things to sell for fundraising may make all the difference.
Product fundraising refers to selling products to raise money for your cause. Usually, things to sell for fundraisers are bought in bulk, donated, or provided as part of a fundraising package with a company.
What this means is your supporters get to both support your awesome cause and buy some cool products – at the same time!
In this article, we’re going through 19 things you can sell on your own or at fundraising events to boost the money you’re bringing in.
First, let’s talk about how selling products for fundraising helps nonprofits.
Selling products helps boost your fundraising because the promise of receiving a fun item adds an extra incentive for donors to support you. Psychologically, someone is more likely to give if they’re receiving a tangible item in return. This increases revenue and gives nonprofits another fundraising tool.
Product fundraising is also an excellent addition to fundraising events as it can significantly increase overall funds raised for the event. You can sell products both at your event and when you sell tickets leading up to the big day.
Donorbox Events makes selling tickets for your event easy with customizable event pages. Choose as many ticket tiers as you’d like to encourage guests to purchase tickets at higher levels. Plus, create promo codes to allow certain buyers to check out with discounted or free tickets. You can include the products you’re selling within ticket tiers, too!
Pro tip: When you include product fundraising with your ticket sales, you can easily let your supporters know the fair market value and tax-deductible amount for each ticket and/or product. For example, if you include a t-shirt with a tier, you can add the t-shirt cost to the fair-market value for the ticket. Here’s what it looks like –
This form also collects t-shirt size information to make ordering and handing out t-shirts at this event a breeze.
Donorbox Events distributes receipts and tickets automatically so that your attendees have everything they need for your event, right in their email inbox.
Get Started With Donorbox Events
Let’s look at some fantastic products to sell in-person, online, or at your next event. We’ve broken this list down to items that are ideal for churches, kid-friendly, best for seasonal events, or perfect for all nonprofits – but most any can be adjusted to work for all types of organizations!
Have everyone in your church submit family recipes to be compiled into a cookbook. This is great for church fundraising because it’s all about your community. Plus, your church members will get a kick out of seeing what their fellow congregants submitted!
Collect recipes online with programs like Google Docs. Someone will need to organize your cookbook into sections, create a table of contents, and design a cover. You can use tools like Adobe InDesign or Canva for Nonprofits to design the perfect cookbook.
Your budget will depend on local printing costs and any software expenses for designing your book. Collecting recipes, however, is free!
Companies like Bricks R Us have fundraising programs where you can sell engraved bricks for things like capital campaigns. Donors receive automatic recognition when they purchase products like this because their engraved brick will go somewhere around your church.
Decide how many bricks you can reasonably sell and if you have a place to put them, like a walkway or a wall. Then choose a distributor, collect pricing, and decide how much each brick should cost.
You can purchase an engraved brick for a fixed price and sell it for anywhere from $50-1,000.
Selling concessions, including food and drink, during an event is a great way to earn money for your church.
Columbus Torah Academy sold pre-ordered pizzas for $18 each before their Mega Purim Carnival. They also sold pizza by the slice and other foods during the event itself, which boosted their income!
Decide what kind of concessions make sense to sell during your event. To allow for preorders before your event, set up a Donorbox campaign or event page to start collecting donations.
You can also use tools like the Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app to collect payment for food and drinks during your event. Simply download the app to your tablet, connect a card reader, and start collecting more in-person payments!
Your budget will depend on the type of food you plan on selling, but the cost is relatively low to get started. You can also ask volunteers to bake and cook for your event or ask local restaurants if they’d be willing to donate food to be sold.
Candles are a great option to attract all kinds of church supporters. You can choose different scents throughout the year to make your candles work for all seasons. Hospice House chose spring and summer scents for their candle fundraiser and sold each 12oz candle for $20. 
Unless you’re handy at DIY, you’ll want to find a company that sells bulk candles or does candle fundraising like JustFundraising.com. Also, you’ll need to decide if you want to customize the label for each candle.
This type of fundraiser can get costly if you aren’t careful with your ordering. If you’re buying in bulk, consider how many candles you think you’ll be able to sell and for what price to determine your order. You could also consider asking church members to order and pay for their candles in advance, allowing you to place a single – and accurate – candle order.
Cookie dough is a fun and easy food to sell because it can be frozen and used later, so your supporters can purchase more at one time.
Companies like ABC Fundraising make it easy to get started with a cookie dough brochure and web store for your fundraiser. This fundraiser is great for kids raising money for school teams and projects.
You’ll pay wholesale price for any cookie dough you sell, and you’ll keep the profit. There’s usually no upfront cost since you’ll collect orders and payments before purchasing the product.
The perk of selling candy is it is immediate! Candy is an inexpensive and attractive way for your supporters to give – and enjoy a treat.
Typically, it’s easier to sell candy in the moment, so purchasing in bulk might result in more sales. But you can also work with a company and collect orders ahead of time. Find a company that does candy fundraising, like See’s Candies. Choose to either take orders or buy candy in bulk.
For See’s Candies bulk buying, you can get a 50% profit on most items by buying them at half price.
Selling cute stuffed animals is a great way to raise money, especially for nonprofits that help animals. These are also great to sell for fundraising during your kid-friendly events!
Buy branded stuffed animals in bulk and sell them to your supporters using services like Plush in a Rush. This is another product that benefits from being sold in person, so we recommend buying in bulk over collecting orders.
Buying in bulk prices vary from $15 – $36 for a set of 12 plush animals at Plush in a Rush. Shop around to find pricing that works for you! If you’re a school or other organization with a recognizable brand, you might consider spending a little extra to get the stuffed animals embroidered with your logo.
Frozen food is a great product to sell because your supporters don’t have to worry about eating it right away, meaning they can buy more!
You can sell soft pretzels, pizzas, and more with a company like Big Fundraising Ideas. Simply order or download a brochure and start selling!
You have no upfront costs because you only pay when you place your order. Big Fundraising Ideas boasts a 40% profit.
Springtime fundraising is ideal for selling flowers and flower bulbs. Many of your donors are looking to purchase flowers during this season anyway, so why not encourage them to support your nonprofit at the same time?
But you don’t have to limit it to spring – consider selling mums in the fall or poinsettias in the winter.
Flower Power Fundraising offers a brochure and free personal web store to order flowers ahead of time, but you can also purchase flowers in bulk for your event from local suppliers. A beautiful bouquet is a more compelling purchase at an event than in a brochure, and you can use centerpieces or plants to decorate for your event before selling them to attendees.
You can collect payments for your flowers using cards, smartphones, and smartwatches with tools like the Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app. This will help you sell more without depending on cash!
The cost will depend on if you purchase your flowers in bulk ahead of time. You can also sell pre-ordered bouquets using Donorbox Events so you know exactly how many flowers to buy.
Selling greeting cards is a great fundraiser for seasonal events, especially during the holiday season. Featuring local artists makes these cards an even more attractive item for purchase, too.
Commision local artists to create designs you can reprint on cards. It’s best if the designs are relevant to your nonprofit in some way.
The cost depends on artist commissions and local printing costs. You can use companies like VistaPrint to print custom cards in bulk.
Selling things like Christmas trees, ornaments, wreaths, and garlands can be a lucrative and festive way to fundraise at winter events!
Companies like Evergreen Industries create beautiful wreaths for fundraisers. You can have donors order wreaths at your event for later delivery. You can also work with local suppliers and take pre-orders.
The cost of selling holiday decorations depends on how you proceed with selling. Remember to price your items so you cover your expenses and still turn a profit.
Wrapping paper is both practical and fun! This is a great item for holiday events because people are in the middle of gift wrapping – and the season of generosity.
There are plenty of wrapping paper fundraising companies out there, like Charleston Wrap. You can also create your custom wrapping paper to sell. Or, simply buy wrapping paper in bulk. The best part is that wrapping paper doesn’t expire, so you can sell any leftover rolls next year!
If you buy wrapping paper in bulk, you’ll have some upfront costs. If you take orders, you won’t have to pay out of pocket.
Best for outdoor summer fundraising events, selling dog treats is a fun way to include everyone’s furry friends! This is great for charities that help dogs, too.
This type of fundraiser is best when partnering with a local dog treat bakery. You can also buy dog treats from the grocery store and package them in cute new ways to sell to your event attendees.
If you purchase treats from the store, you’ll need to come up with a budget to determine how many you can buy and how much you should sell each item for. Working with a local bakery means you might be able to arrange a discounted wholesale price for the treats, or even ask for a donation of treats in exchange for marketing at your event.
Selling a branded product that most people use every day, like a mug, is a great fundraiser. Beneath the Wood Sanctuary sold their Pigoneer mugs online for £12.50, which included local postage.
This popular fundraising option requires first an attractive, branded mug. You can design your own or work with a company like 4Imprint to create one. You’ll likely buy your mugs in bulk to sell individually.
Wholesale mugs range anywhere from $1.50 to $4.00 or more apiece on 4Imprint. Shop around to find the best price for your organization.
T-shirts are attractive to buyers because they get to wear your cause on their sleeve! They’re great products to sell for milestones with your organization like Northeast Wilderness Trust (NEWT) did for their 20th anniversary.
At $50 a t-shirt, NEWT brought in some significant funds to support their mission. They customized their Donorbox form to collect t-shirt sizes with each order.
Companies like Bonfire make t-shirt fundraising easy where you can simply upload your design and they’ll handle printing and shipping for you. Alternatively, you can print your t-shirts and manage selling them yourself through your giving form or at an event.
Buying custom t-shirts in bulk is an investment if you don’t already have orders for those t-shirts. However, going with a company like Bonfire takes the risk out of your hands since you don’t have to place a bulk order.
When looking for things to sell for fundraising, keep in mind that smaller items are attractive to donors because they take up less room and are less of a commitment. Plus, they can be fun souvenirs to remind them of an event, or they can serve as conversation starters with friends and family.
Happy Compromise Farm + Sanctuary did something interesting with their magnet fundraiser. To receive a magnet, one had to donate at least $6.50. They left a custom donation option open on their form so someone could give even more, while still receiving a magnet with the minimum donation.
First, you need a design, which you can commission from a local artist or use tools like Canva to create. Then, use Sticker Mule or a similar company and simply upload your artwork and place your order.
You save money when you buy higher quantities of magnets or decals in bulk. For example, a 2”x2” magnet on Sticker Mule costs $65 for 50.
Restaurant gift cards are great because your donors get to treat themselves to a nice local meal – and help your organization in the process!
Working with your community partners, find restaurants that are willing to donate discounted (or even free!) gift cards you can sell to benefit your nonprofit. This is a great way for local restaurants to get more exposure in the community, too.
Gift cards may be either free or inexpensive, depending on what you’re able to work out with your restaurant partners.
Similar to gift cards, coupon books are attractive for donors because they’re supporting your organization all while getting deals on local products and services.
Contact local businesses to see what they’re willing to offer to help support your nonprofit. This is a good way to build relationships with businesses in your community, which can result in corporate-nonprofit partnerships down the road!
It’s typically free to collect the coupons! You’ll just need to work with a local printer to design and print the books.
It might seem odd, but trash bag fundraisers are popular. People must have trash bags, so if they can buy something they need all while supporting your nonprofit, they’ll jump at the opportunity!
While this fundraiser may work for all nonprofits, it could be a great option for environmental nonprofits as you promote cleaning up our planet.
Companies like Frontier Bag make fundraising with trash bags easy. You’ll have a catalog you can use to gather sales and place your order from there. Your supporters can choose fun designs and different sizes, too!
With Frontier Bag, you get to set your selling price and profit margin. No upfront costs – only pay once you place your final order.
Product fundraising is a big win for both you and your supporters. You get to increase your revenue while supporters get a fun new product – and a positive association with your organization. The best things to sell for fundraising will simply be what makes the most sense for your organization – which products fit your event, budget, and needs.
Whether you sell these products during your event or through an online fundraiser, be sure to have an easy and secure way for your supporters to pay. Donorbox offers multiple tools to help you with your product fundraising. Customize an online donation form to collect orders and donor information. Use Donorbox Events to streamline your event ticketing process and add product sales to your ticket sales. And collect payments during your event and on-site using the Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app.
For more fundraising ideas, check out the rest of our Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our newsletter for a curated list of blogs delivered to your inbox every month.
Lindsey spent years wearing many hats in the nonprofit world. Whether she was helping arts nonprofits with their messaging and content, planning a fundraising gala, writing an NEA grant proposal, or running a membership program with over 400 members, she learned how to navigate – and appreciate! – the fast-paced world of fundraising. Now, she loves sharing those hard-earned lessons with the Donorbox community.
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Lindsey Baker Bower