Bake sale advice PLEASE!

[PrincessTigerLily]

I had the great idea to do a bake sale for a work fundraiser... but I've never done this before!! Any advice or ideas would be GREATLY welcomed!
Thanks much!

 

[mrp4352]

When we did this a year or two ago, we found that some people would go in for a whole cake to take back to their department (which made more than 2 or 3 in the department being the only ones making it down and each spending $1-2. Also, people will buy the whole items to take home for dessert that night.

You might also take pity on your dieters. If you can get someone to make things that are weight watcher's friendly (list points if you know them), maybe some low-carb snack mix of some kind, etc - then advertise that you'll have diet-friendly items. They'll come out in droves because there's "usually never anything they can eat at these things".

Good luck!

 

[mrp4352]

You might make it mobile! One summer, we went and bought ice cream novelties. Iced 'em down with dry ice in a cooler, put carousel music on a battery-operated boom box and started walking through the cube jungle!

 

[PrincessTigerLily]

Great suggestions, thank you so much!

 

[Juliah]

My DDs and I have done a number of bake sales. Here are a few suggestions:

Make things that look interesting. Iced sugar cookies always sold better than oatmeal cookies because they stood out. Instead of slices of carrot cake, we baked individual servings that each looked like a mini bundt cake (I got a pan from Target that bakes six of these at once). Instead of icing a cupcake with a knife, use a decorating bag with a star tip, then add sprinkles. (This blog has lots of inspirational pics of decorated cupcakes: http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/)

Consider making something that people can snack on at their desk--something that isn't sweet, like chex mix.

We bought a few apples and bananas for dieters to buy.

Package things to look pretty. I used the clear cellophane bags (from Hobby Lobby cookie and cake decorating dept.) instead of ziploc bags and tied them with ribbon. We also arranged things in baskets and on trays.

Price baked goods in increments of 25 cents. It will simplify making change.

Have plenty of change on hand. We never seemed to have enough. Since you are pricing everything in 25 cent increments, you won't need pennies, nickels, or dimes.

Ask people who offer to bake things to bring them in wrapped.

On the day of the sale, have a knife, small paper plates, plastic wrap, and ziploc bags on hand because there will be people who bring things unwrapped. If your office doesn't have silverware, you might bring a box of plastic forks, too.

Hope that gives you some ideas. Good luck!

 

[MazdaUK]

I did this once for Children in Need and raised loads of money for quite a small number of contributors. Agree on the napkins, change etc., but here's some other things I found worked well:

Have some pre-bagged cookeis (eg 3 or 4 in a pretty bag tied with ribbon) - people buy these to take home for their kids, and if the bag is pretty it doesn't matter if the cookie is less dramatic (still tasty, of course, but maybe a bit wobbly!)

Ask more people than you think you need to bake things

Bake some stuff in advance (e.g. cupcakes)and freeze it undecorated, then decorate it in the morning - it will taste fresher and your decorations won't get squished in transit!

If people bring their stuff in containers make sure you know a) if they want it back (if its a beautiful tin they might, if its an old ice-cream container perhaps not!) and b)if they want it back does it have name and contact details stuck somewhere? Any unwanted ones can be used for people buying big quantities, and if you've got contact details you can make sure the tins get back to their owners quick (I speak as one who had a pile of tins behind her desk for a week!)

As well as dieters, try to make a few gluten-free things if you think someone might need them.

Wear an apron! If it has pockets you can use it for notes to save them lying around. (And it keeps mess off your clothes)

Try to get labels for things - I hate coffee so I need to know if something is a carrot cake or coffee cake(they can look similar)

Fix prices in advance and make sure all your helpers know them.

Don't let your helpers all disappear when stocks get low or you'll be left with all the clearing up.

Advertise start and finish times and stick to them - if you do have stuff left you can go round offering them to people nearby - otherwise it can really drag out.

Have fun!