Whether you’re a charity, a non-profit, a solo social worker, or just someone who wants to do good in society, you will need funds to do your job. You can only do so much with your own money and as such will require donations from the community to keep things rolling. One way to do that is through a fundraiser. There are multiple ways to hold a fundraiser, with bigger organizations holding formal events while smaller nonprofits may hold donation drives or yard sales.
Yard sales are excellent donation events where you can only raise funds, but also get some nice items sold that may become of use to someone. It’s a great community event which can be done with minimal expenditure and all you need is some yard space. Here is how you can hold one.
Location, Location, Location
The first and foremost step of holding a yard sale is to decide where to set it up. Most likely it will be your own yard or you’ll have to ask someone for permission to use theirs. There are certain things to note here. The location should be big enough so the items for sale and display can all fit there. It should be easily accessible. There should be enough room for some promotional material too so people know that a yard sale is on going.
Make sure that you get permission for everything you need. Even if it is your own property, check with the HOA to ensure everything is approved.
Collect The Items For Sale
Ask around your social circle if people have items they no longer need and can donate for the cause. Contact your friends, family, and even your coworkers to see if they can donate some items they don’t use anymore. Give them ample time to find these items and then gather them. It’ll be easier to set a location for drop off but you can visit their locations and pick these items up yourself.
Ensure that these items are in good condition. They need to be good enough that people want to buy them. This is a donation drive, a yard sale, not a garbage collection so talk to people about it when they are donating these items for sale.
Set Up Banners And Posters
Once you have the items for sale, it is time to advertise the sale. For this, create banners to put up on location, on the day of the sale. Put up posters to advertise the upcoming sale, to tell people about the fundraiser, the cause, and who will receive the funds at the end. This is crucial because this is how buyers and donors will know about the sale so they can attend, purchase, and donate.
Usually, you’d hire a designer to make them, but with PosterMyWall’s garage sale templates, you can make them yourself. You do not need any special skills or training to do so. There is an easy to use interface and all the templates are professionally designed, so you’ll get the very best. The best part is, that it takes only a few minutes to modify a design, download, and then send them off for printing.
Set The Price
With the marketing collateral ready, it is time to set the price for the different items on sale. First, you should decide what your overall donation goal is. Do you have a set amount you need to collect or is it open to how much you are able to raise? The answer to this question will help you with setting the prices.
Collecting a decent amount for donations is good, but you don’t want to set the price too high so no one buys the items on sale. You also don’t want them to be cheap out that you barely collect a donatable amount. So, aim for that sweet spot.
Conclusion
After that, set up the items on the chosen date, set up the decorations, and let the buyers come in and purchase the items. Once you have collected the amount, you can give it to the chosen cause and that will be it. The article above gave you the gist of how to set up a yard sale fundraiser. Of course there are other ways too, but this is the generalized version that works for most purposes. Following the steps given, you can set up and hold a successful yard sale fundraiser.
