Cookie Dough Fundraiser Instructions
Intro
Thank you for choosing Fundrazor!
By opting for our fundraiser or any, we know you are vested in creating the best playing environment possible for the youth in your community.
It’s a privilege to partner with you in this endeavor, and it will be our only priority to see you succeed.
We have compiled these instructions for you to help make your fundraiser as smooth as possible.
Before you start handing out brochures, here are the key items we recommend for success.
- Create a fundraising goal
- Communicate expectations for each player
- Creating incentives (my favorite is the first one in section 4)
- Instruct parents to post on Facebook (section 6, step 5)
- Save money by planning next years fundraiser.
Customer support when you need.
We’re here for you! If you contact us, we’ll pick up, plus we respond quickly to texts or emails if you have any questions or need help. We’re not your typical 9-5 fundraising company because, let’s face it, volunteering isn’t either!
Page Contents
1. Create a Goal
How much money does your league need or want to raise?
Start by identifying the top three things your league really needs. Add up the costs of these items to create your fundraising goal, then boost that number by 20%.
For example, if your total comes to $10,000, simply add 20%, and your goal becomes $12,000.
If you’re unsure about setting a goal, don’t worry! We can help you determine a suitable amount based on your enrollment—just reach out and ask!
Here’s some historical data to guide you: on average, each person sells about 11 items, and around 45% of your league’s players or parents usually participate.
For instance, if you have 200 players, you can assume that 50% (or 100 people) will take part and each sells around 10 items. This could lead to raising a profit of about $10,000. So, your goal might be set at $10,000 (keep in mind, this profit estimate is based on straightforward calculations and may not be precise, but it gives you a solid ballpark).
2. Estimated timeline for your fundraiser
As a general guideline, from start to finish, plan for about 6 weeks.
Here’s a recommended and estimated timeline for your fundraiser:
1. Selling campaign for parents/players taking orders: 2-3 weeks
2. Collecting money and orders from parents/players: 1 week
3. Shipment of your cookie dough order: 3 weeks from invoice payment.
Selling campaign
We suggest that parents and players take orders by preselling for about 2 weeks, but no longer than 3 weeks. There’s a common belief that longer selling periods, like 30 days or more, will lead to more sales, but actually, the opposite tends to happen.
TIP: Keeping your selling period brief is key to maximizing excitement and participation!
TIP: Start and end your selling campaign on payday periods such as the 1st, 15th or 30th.
Collecting money and orders
Make sure to inform all parents and players of the deadline for turning in money and orders when you hand out the cookie dough brochures/order forms. It can also help to post reminders on social media and send emails or texts during the selling campaign but more about that in a bit.
Once orders and money are collected, give yourself about a week to gather everything from the parents—unless the parents are always punctual.
TIP: We often recommend starting your fundraiser right after registrations are complete and aiming to finish the selling period before the opening day, if possible.
Shipment of orders
Once an order is processed, your cookie dough will arrive at your location within 3-4 weeks. Just a friendly reminder: we’ll start processing your order as soon as we receive your invoice payment
3. Set expectations for your fundraiser
Leagues that excel at fundraising clearly communicate their expectations to parents and players from the start.
It’s just as effective to set expectations at the team or grade level, not just league-wide.
This conversation should begin during signups and definitely happen before the fundraiser kicks off.
For example: “Our goal is to raise $20,000 with 400 baseball players. That’s just 5 boxes per player.”
Being transparent about goals helps everyone understand what’s expected and why it matters. Explaining how the fundraiser benefits both players and parents builds buy-in. In fact, leagues that establish clear expectations during signups often triple their fundraising profits compared to those that don’t.
Consider adding a statement like this to your signup form (paper or online):
“By signing your child up to play baseball, you agree to support our league’s fundraiser by selling the required amount set by the league. We truly appreciate your cooperation and support!”
Finally, break down the overall goal into team-level targets so each group knows exactly what they’re working toward.
4. Create incentives for your fundraiser
This is the fun part and an exciting way to boost profits!
It’s not mandatory that you do so but we promise it will pay off.
Depending on your fundraiser plan, you’ll receive incentives from Fundrazor, but throwing in a few extras can really create a lively atmosphere.
Plus, the ones we love most are completely free!
Free incentive suggestions
- Homecoming contest: Top selling football player = homecoming “king”. (my personal favorite)
- Top selling parent/family gets a FREE night of babysitting for 3-4 hours.
- Top selling team’s coach gets to put a pie in the face of the lowest performing coach’s face.
- League president will shave his head during opening day when league reaches goal.
- Losing coach has to wear a costume while coaching a game.
- Top selling team gets their pick of fields to practice or play.
- Top seller gets to throw the first pitch on opening day.
- Top selling team or family doesn’t have to do concession stand duty or field cleanup
- Top selling team gets first pick of practice fields and times.
Minimal cost incentive suggestions
- Free registration for next season for the top seller.
- Gift voucher for the concession stand for top seller.
- Top selling team gets a free session at batting cages.
- Top selling family gets a parking space closest to entrance with their name.
- Top selling team mom gets a “spa day”.
Not so minimal cost incentive suggestions
- Tickets to pro sports team game.
- FREE helmet for top seller. (football)
- Game truck when the league reaches its goal.
- 2-night condo stay
- Limo rides and pizza party for each seller with 25 items sold.
BONUS TIP: Hour of Power
Want to maximize your fundraising potential?
Here’s the deal!
Set a specific time and place for a 60-minute power-packed fundraising session.
Trust us; this focused time can really amp up your efforts and guarantee that you reach your goals.
Here’s how the “Hour of Power” works:
- Pick a date and time for parents and players to reach out to as many people as they can for one hour, asking for support for your fundraiser.
- Print out a contact list, and have parents and players jot down the names and phone numbers of as many people as possible. Each person should aim for around 25 contacts to bring to the meeting.
- During the Hour of Power, parents and players will reach out to everyone on their list and also post on social media. A potential script could be: “Hey Grandma! My league is having a fundraiser and I need to sell 10 items. Would you like to buy a Chocolate Chip or White Macadamia Nut cookie? If so, I can pick up the payment later this week. Thanks, Grandma! Love you!”
- Make this event happening—play tunes and order in pizza! The cost for the pizza is worth it, as it often leads to great returns.
- Consider giving a prize to the person who collects the most cookie dough commitments.
- Have fun with it!
5. Distributing Cookie Dough Brochures
Here are some helpful suggestions for distributing the cookie dough brochures and order takers. We strongly recommend selecting a method that allows everyone to be present to receive theirs. This way, no one will misses out on helping the league!
When you’re sharing the brochures, make sure to clearly communicate the deadline for submitting orders and payments. Also, let everyone know who to hand them to and where to go. This will help everything run smoothly!
Additionally, this is a great opportunity to highlight the incentives. Emphasizing these can really boost the participation in your fundraiser.
Mandatory parent and player meeting (best option)
The ideal moment to hand out cookie dough brochures is during a mandatory meeting where everyone—players, parents, coaches, and board members—is gathered.
This is a fantastic chance to discuss your fundraising goals and explain how the profits will benefit our league.
Let’s face it: many parents don’t realize how much it truly costs to run a season. They often think that registration fees cover everything, but that’s not the case. It’s our job to inform them and help them understand that these fees don’t fully meet the financial needs of the league.
During your meeting, take the time to share your fundraising goals and expectations. By doing so, you’ll foster a sense of ownership and involvement in the upcoming season..
Coaches meeting
During the coaches’ meeting, take a moment to hand out brochures to everyone. It might be best to do this at the end of the meeting, so it’s fresh in their minds when they leave. Be clear about the fundraiser goals and expectations for all players and teams involved.
Make sure every coach knows how the fundraiser will benefit their team. It’s important to have everyone on the same page!
Also, keep in mind that if a coach forgets to distribute the brochures or decides not to participate, that could mean missing out on about 20 players. So, sending reminders to coaches is just as important as reminding parents and players.
Team mom meeting
If you have team moms, use this opportunity to distribute cookie dough brochures. The team mom concept is straightforward: team moms get things done! If your league doesn’t have a team mom in place, it’s worth considering. We’ve noticed that many successful customers in their fundraising and other league activities utilize the team mom idea. Having a team mom reduces the burden on coaches, allowing them to focus more on coaching. You can kick things off by distributing brochures for each team during a meeting with the team moms.
At practices
Feel free to hand out cookie dough brochures during practice! Make sure each team understands how important this fundraiser is and what’s expected from the players and the team overall.
6. Instructions for the selling campaign
Following these instructions will simplify your life and provide the best possible results.
Step 1
When parents/players receive their cookie dough brochure/order taker, they should immediately enter their child or player’s name (as the seller) and contact number on the respective fields of the order taker (back page of cookie dough brochure). It’s also a good idea to include the team or coach’s name.
Step 2
Instruct parents/players of the date and time to turn in money and orders in. Also instruct to whom and where. If being returned to coach, have a date and time for coaches to turn in money and orders.
Step 3
Collect payment for each cookie dough order sold. Please advise that the parents/players will be responsible for delivering the items sold, so it’s important to jot down the buyer’s name and phone number on the order taker of the cookie dough brochure
Step 4
If someone chooses to pay by check, please ensure it’s made payable to the organization.
TIP: Have the parent write the name of the buyer in the memo section of the check
Step 5 (hands down, the best sales tool)
Encourage parents/players to utilize social media to help boost their sales!
Individual goals and expectations are often reached with just one post.
You may post this on the league’s facebook page or group for parents to copy:
Hello Facebook Friends.
My son is participating in the preseason fundraiser for his Youth Football League.
He’s out there learning so much about teamwork and discipline, and this fundraiser is a huge part of what makes it all possible.
The money we raise goes directly back into the league to help buy new equipment.
Their goal is to raise $20,000 with this fundraiser
We are selling from Vivi’s Pantry Treats. This brochure has boxes of premade cookie dough pieces, bags of popcorn and the amazing softbaked cookies plus some mixes.
Our person goal is to sell 10 items by next Friday. I will message when your order arrives which will be about 4-5 weeks from this week.
Please comment what flavor and how many you would like. I will private message you how to pay and when you can expect your cookie dough to arrive.
Every single order helps us get one step closer to our goal and is so appreciated.
Thank you for supporting our young athletes!
#Cookiedoughfundraiser
#fundrazornet
# (your league name)
Step 6
While collecting orders, it’s important to only accept order forms that are easy to read. If there are more than three or four mistakes, kindly ask the parent to redo the order. This helps avoid any mix-ups during data entry, which can lead to more time being spent fixing mistakes. If having coach collect orders, instruct them as well about this.
Also, if you’ve got some top sellers racking up more sales than your order taker can handle, make sure they’re entering those sales on a fresh order taker. Using anything else can mess things up and lead to mistakes, and that’s not what you need.
Step 7
Make sure the amount of money submitted matches the number of items sold. If orders are turned in to the coach first, it’s helpful for them to double-check the totals and the amounts collected.
Step 8
Once all orders and money are gathered, please total everything up and deposit it into the league account promptly. That’s alot of money to be just sitting around.
Step 9
After counting the orders and totaling the money, please contact Fundrazor to learn the next steps.
Options are:
- Data entry via online dashboard (we will provide instructions
- Sending order takers to Fundrazor via UPS for data entry ($.25 per item)
Step 10
If you counted so much money that you can’t see straight, pat yourself on the back for a fundraiser well done.
7. Supercharge your fundraiser
8. Paying for your cookie dough
Your order will be “OK’d to process by the warehouse when payment is received. After that, your order will arrive in 3-4 weeks. Just let us know how you’d like to make your payment!
(black out dates do not apply)
ACH (recommened)
Use your organization’s checking account to pay your invoice. Payments take 5 days to clear, then we process your order. This method saves time for volunteers as no checks have to be written and no trips to the mailbox.
Card payments
When you pay with card, your order is processed instantly but keep in mind there is a 2.9% fee added. We use Square for payment processing which is both safe, secure and widely recognizable.
Mail in payments
As a last resort, we do accept mail-in payments. In this case, we only accept a cashier’s check or money order. Be advised that we process your order until payment arrives.
We recommend sending your payment via UPS, FedEx, or USPS Priority Mail as they provide trackable information. We do not recommend ever using snail mail or the regular USPS mailing service.
9. Shipping Policies and Fees
Your cookie dough order is going to be pretty heavy—several hundred pounds, up to several thousand pound—so we’ll need to arrange delivery by a semi-truck. We gotta make sure there’s enough space for it to maneuver and park.
The best option is to set up a delivery spot ahead of time, ideally at a commercial location with a trailer-height loading dock (48 to 52 inches). If that’s not possible, locations with double doors, like school cafeterias, gymnasiums, or church activity centers, work too.
As a last resort, you may use a residential address, but we totally advise against shipping to your home, especially if your order is over 500 items. This stuff takes up more space than you think.
One more thing, don’t forget our cookie dough is safe at room temperature for up to 2 weeks after you receive it. More on this in a bit.
Shipping fees
We would like to remind you that our shipping fees to you are pennies on the dollar compared to what the carriers bill us. Depending on the size of the order and its destination, costs can vary from several hundred to thousands of dollars. To make your fundraiser the most profitable for you, we have significantly discounted these fees based on your overall sales.
Additional shipping fees (if applicable)
- $75 liftgate fee (When delivered to an address where trailer height dock is not available).
- $175 residential delivery fee (Deliveries to residential addresses will be $100 for delivery and $75 for mandatory liftgate service. Addresses are deemed residential by Google maps.)
- $100 redelivery fee (for changes in delivery date or address after the order has shipped).
- $25 per pallet fee (if driver uses pallet jack to move from trailer or dock to inside your facility)
Deliveries to outdoor facilities can face issues during inclement weather, so an address to an enclosed facility is recommended to avoid redelivery fees.
Black out dates for shipping
No orders will be shipped from June 1st to September 1st or when temperatures exceed 90°F in Dallas or your area. Orders should be placed at least 3 weeks before June 1st. Please allow 1-2 extra weeks for delivery from November 15th to December 30th. We discourage shipping during a week when a holiday falls on Monday, as this shortens the delivery week and can lead to mistakes by the shipper due to fewer days available to fulfill responsibilities.
10. Delivery of cookie dough order
Your cookie dough order will be shipped through a third-party carrier. This means we don’t have full control over the delivery schedule, so we can only give you an estimated delivery date. Keep in mind that this may change if there’s a sudden increase in shipping volumes.
The shipping company will be the one determining the delivery schedule based on their operational plan, routing, and capacity.
Deliveries are typically made Monday through Friday, with a preference for Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays. We like to do it this way to avoid leaving orders sitting unattended on the dock over the weekend, since our carriers don’t operate during that time.
Communicating with shipper
When your order ships, we’ll send you the tracking information. The tracking details may not appear as “live” until the order is picked up or logged into the system at midnight. It’s a smart move to contact the shipper as soon as possible, and you can easily do that with the information or link we provide.
Here’s a little tip: if the shipper needs to call you to arrange a delivery appointment, that could delay your delivery by a day or so. If you give them a call first, it can help ensure your delivery arrives right on time!
Receiving of your order
On delivery day, it is imperative that you or someone be accessible for the delivery of your order. Shippers will not simply drop and go, as a signature is required for delivery.
Upon arrival it is aIt is also important to have enough volunteers readliy available esepcially for orders over 1000 items.
Inspect order
Upon unloading your order, it is imperative to promptly inspect all items for any potential damages that may have occurred during shipping. This inspection must be completed before the driver departs. In the event of any signs of damage (e.g., tears, leaning pallets), it is advised to capture as many photos as possible and obtain acknowledgment of the issue from the delivery driver before endorsing the delivery receipt. Any damages should be reported to Fundrazor within 48 hours to qualify for a 100% replacement.
11. Distributing cookie dough
Don’t forget to bring all the seller’s cookie dough brochures and order takers with you for distribution of cookie dough. You’ll need to return these to the parents or players when they come to pick up their orders. This is essential for making sure all orders get delivered to the right buyers.
For a smooth and hassle-free distribution experience, it’s best to have the coach or team mom pick up the entire team’s order. Having parents pick up their orders individually can make the process take much longer but this is totally up to you.
If the team mom or coach is picking up the orders, please have each parent check their order to confirm it’s accurate before leaving with the team leader. If anything is damaged or missing, make sure to note that right away. Also, don’t forget to pass the cookie dough brochures and order takers to the team leader for the group!
Fulfillment
We scan each order for accuracy and maintain documentation for every transaction during the packaging process. In our experience, most issues occur when:
Sellers enter information on the brochure incorrectly
The wrong product is handed out at delivery
Someone picks up a carton that did not belong to them
Missing Items – Brochure Sales
If you believe a student-packed order is short or contains the wrong item, please provide:
Seller’s name
What item is “missing” or “incorrect”
- What items were received
- A clear image of the complete order taker in question
We will research where the error occurred (data entry, IT export, packing error, etc.) and take corrective action to prevent it from happening again.
If the mistake was on our end, we will correct it and ship the replacement at no charge.
Missing Items – Online Sales
For online orders, a “missing item” is based on what appears in the 1cookie dashboard, not what was handwritten on the paper order form.
If a data entry error was made by the league, group, or representative, we are happy to ship replacement items; however, the cost of the item(s) and any shipping charges will be invoiced and are not eligible to be waived.
Submitting Replacement Orders
You have 14 days from the date the shipment is received to submit correction/replacement requests.
Requests submitted after 14 days are not eligible to have product or shipping fees waived. These orders will be invoiced in full, including shipping, regardless of any documentation provided.
A minimum shipping charge of $45 will be assessed on replacement orders that are not the fault of Fundrazor or warehouse fulfilling orders. The replacement orders will be sent to one address only.
All replacement requests must be entered into the 1cookie portal. Every replacement order is invoiced.
If the documentation and description provided meet the criteria (error on our end and submitted within 14 days), applicable product and shipping fees will be credited.
If more information is required, we will not hold up the replacement order. It will be shipped and invoiced, and a credit will be issued if appropriate once the review is complete.
12. Cookie Dough Temps and Storage
Don’t forget that our cookie dough is safe when thawed for up to 2 weeks in temps of 72 degrees or below. This is a feature that eliminates unnecessary stress on an already busy delivery day.
If a parent or team forgets to pick their order, simply take it home and leave it in your living room until they can pick it up. It’s that easy to store.
13. Please tell us how we did
We genuinely value your feedback as it’s the key to enhancing our services and products. No need to hold back – we take everything in stride, and we want you to feel comfortable sharing your thoughts with us.
We also appreciate hearing the positives! As a family-owned small business, your recommendations and reviews mean the world to us and play a crucial role in our continued growth.
If you enjoyed our products and services, we’d love for you to share your experience!
If the hardest part of leaving a review or recommendation is finding the right words to say, then allow us to suggest some things that help.
Google
https://g.page/r/CRaAvuc6W4wHEAE/review
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FundrazorNet/reviews
Copy and paste
We were thrilled with the fantastic results our league achieved using Fundrazor! On top of that, the community absolutely adored the cookie dough! It was a hit all around!
