Bake sales have long been the go to sale for fundraising. Whether for a school group, religious organization or club, bake sales can be real money makers. Since all of the items that are sold are donated, all monies received are pure profit! The trick to making money at a bake sale is to make sure that you have a good variety of baked goods and plenty of each. Don’t limit yourself to cookies and cupcakes either, there are many other items that will sell well. When planning your bake sale, make sure that your donations are varied. Give people a choice of what to bake or bring and make sure they know how much of each item to make. Some of the least profitable bake sales showcase only two or three items. You want there to be something for everybody.
So, with variety being the goal, what should you be selling? Well, the first thing to keep in mind is the locale where you will be selling. Many schools do not allow sweets to be consumed on the premises. That lets out most cookies and other baked goods. In that case, you need to concentrate on items such as muffins and breads, pickles and popcorn. If you are having the sale outside and it is hot, you do not want foods that will melt or go bad. If it is cold, you want to keep that in mind as well. Maybe sell hot chocolate or coffee as well as your baked goods! This list is ideas for bake sales that go beyond the basics. When you are looking for your wide variety, try some of these items as well as the classic chocolate chip cookies.
BREADS – Banana Bread, Pumpkin Bread, Zucchini Bread, Fresh white or wheat loafs
BROWNIES – Sandies, Mint Brownies, Turtle Brownies, Nut Brownies
MUFFINS – Cinnamon Pecan Muffins, Blueberry Muffins, Banana Nut Muffins, Bran Muffins
HOMEMADE CANDIES – Chocolate Covered Pretzels, Buckeyes, Peanut Brittle, Truffles
JAR MIXES – Decorate the jars and include directions.
PIES, CUPCAKES, POUND CAKES and COOKIES (of course)
HOMEMADE GRANOLA or TRAIL MIX
FLAVORED POPCORNS or POPCORN SEASONING PACKETS
FLAVORED COFFEES – Packaged and decorated
GIANT PICKLES – Little kids love these for some reason. You can buy really large jars for fairly cheap and make a pretty good profit.
DONUTS or DONUT HOLES – Buy them in bulk and sell individually.
HOT CHOCOLATE with MARSHMALLOWS
HOT TEA
CANS OF SODA or BOTTLED WATER
The options are endless and the opportunity is huge. Choose what types of goods you want to sell at your bake sale, assign people to bring the different items and then sell, sell, sell! With luck, and a good sales person, you will raise a large amount of money for your group.
