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How to Host a Productive Bake Sale Fundraiser

Bake Sale FAQs

How Does a Bake Sale Fundraiser Work?

If you’re new to hosting bake sale fundraisers, you might be looking for a step-by-step guide to help lead the process. Follow these steps to get started: 

  1. Set a fundraising goal for your event. Having a specific fundraising goal in mind will help you determine how much to price your baked goods and how many items you should aim to sell. 
  2. Invite supporters to contribute homemade baked goods. Reach out to your volunteers, donors, community members, and other supporters to ask if they would like to contribute one or more baked goods to help support your fundraiser. 
  3. Recruit volunteers to help at your sale. You’ll also need a few volunteers to help at the sale itself, putting up decorations, setting up tables, manning cash registers, and performing other setup and clean-up tasks. Reach out to your most dedicated supporters to gather volunteers for these activities. You might even offer an incentive in the form of free baked goods! 
  4. Set up your bake sale. Put some thought and time into setting up the event space to make it look nice and homey. Use tablecloths, wall decor, and matching plates, cups, and napkins to give the event a sense of cohesion and professionalism. 
  5. Tally your fundraising totals and thank all participants. After your event concludes, count up your funds and determine whether you reached your goal. Thank all participants, from the attendees who bought baked goods to the volunteers who helped run the event, with heartfelt post-event emails and social media posts. 

What Organizations Can Host a Bake Sale Fundraiser?

Bake sales can work for basically any type of fundraising organization, including: 

  • Schools
  • Nonprofits
  • Businesses
  • Clubs and community organizations
  • Sports teams/programs

As long as your organization has a wide base of community support and an ideal location to host your bake sale, you should be able to find success with this fundraising idea!

 

How Should You Price Your Bake Sale Items? 

One of the most common questions fundraisers ask when planning a bake sale is “how much should each item cost?” This is an important decision to make, as you want to ensure you’ll make enough money to meet your fundraising goals while still making the bake sale items reasonably priced.

Use this list of best practices to help make your pricing decisions:

  • A good rule of thumb is to price items based on size. For instance, you might offer cookies for $1 and large slices of pie for $3. You might sell slices of banana bread for $1 each and the full loaf for $8. 
  • You’ll want to avoid pricing anything under $1, as that might make it more difficult to reach your fundraising goals. In addition, it’s helpful to offer all items for a full dollar amount, such as $1 or $3, rather than $1.50 or $3.75. This makes it easier for customers, allowing them to pull out their singles rather than rifle around their purses and pockets for change. 
  • Consider offering a variety of items in a bundle or package deal. For instance, you might offer a deal of five cookies for $4, or an assortment of cupcakes, cookies, and brownies for $25 a bundle. 

 

5 Best Practices to Make Your Bake Sale Fundraiser a Success

A bake sale might seem like a simple enough event to host, but there are a few strategies you can use to make this fundraising initiative shine and ensure you meet your goals. Leverage the following best practices to better engage with attendees and host a successful event: 

  1. Give your bake sale a theme. A fun theme can help capture supporters’ attention and get their creative muscles working. One avenue you might choose is to give bakers a specific type of treat to make, such as cookies, cakes, cupcakes, cheesecakes, or brownies. Another way to put a unique spin on your event is to give it a timely theme, such as summertime, Christmas, or Valentine’s day. 
  2. Host your event in an ideal location. Ensure you host your bake sale in a large, central community location, such as a school gym, community center, or park. You might choose to pair your event with a different gathering at that location, such as a fall festival or summer farmers market. 
  3. Promote your bake sale well in advance. Give bakers enough time to plan their confections and prospective attendees a chance to put your event on their calendar. Spread the word about your bake sale with a wide variety of marketing tactics, including flyers, direct mail notices, social media posts, email news blasts, and website announcements. 
  4. Offer additional refreshments. You don’t have to draw the line at baked goods. Your bake sale can also feature other refreshments such as coffee, tea, lemonade, hot chocolate, and even glasses of milk (perfect for cookie-themed events!). You can earn some extra funding while providing tasty drinks for attendees. 
  5. Create a recipe book for sale. Ask participants if they’re willing to share their secrets by having their recipes shared in a cookbook. Compile multiple recipes and create a well-designed book branded to your organization. Offer the book for sale at the bake sale so attendees can make their favorite treats at home. 
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