Stress-Free Bake Sales

By Michele Blandino

Schools and bake sales are one of the all-time classic combinations. Whether it is to finance some new uniforms for the soccer team or to contribute toward the school’s growing technology budget, bake sales are a popular way to raise some quick cash.

Anyone who has been involved with a bake sale knows that they don’t require very much planning, they need little in the way of overhead, and that they are a fund raising event that nearly everyone can participate in. Based on these three reasons alone, it is easy to see why bake sales are so enormously popular in the school environment.

Despite the relative ease with which you can stage a successful bake sale, there are still steps you can take to make your sale exceed your expectations and goals. Here are some things to consider:

• The Time Factor: Your inventory should reflect the time of day the sale is being held. For instance, a bake sale that is held in the morning hours should feature breakfast foods such as muffins, coffee cakes and buns. Sales that are conducted in the afternoon or evening hours tend to do better when items such as cookies, cakes, pies and brownies are the main attraction.
• Volume Discounts: Encourage your buyers to pick up more than one item by offering a discount when they buy more than one thing. The discount doesn’t have to be large; offering even a 25-cent reduction on multiple purchases will allow your customers to feel that they are getting a bargain.
• Convenience: Offer a convenient way for your customers to carry their purchases home. Having a supply of shirt boxes, or inexpensive plastic containers on hand will allow your customers to easily bring their purchases home and may even encourage additional sales.
• Add Your Own Flair: Short on time? There’s no rule that says that you have to bake from scratch. Today’s pre-made cookie dough if often hard to distinguish from the real deal. If you’re feeling guilty about taking the easy way out, you can “dress up” your cookies by adding candies, sprinkles or other edible items. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, you can go one step further by dipping a portion of each cookie into melted chocolate.
• Remember Your Smallest Customers: Be sure to have a selection that children can buy and eat on the spot. Items such as cookies and brownies priced at 25 cents each are the perfect thing for small children’s appetites.

Taking the time to thoroughly plan a bake sale can give a tremendous boost to your organization’s bottom line. In fact, it may surprise you to learn that a well-planned bake sale can easily net several hundred dollars.