Another Cool Online Fundraiser

This is another online fundraising idea that has no upfront costs. Sign up as a Seller at Cafe Press and they’ll give you a free web store that showcases your custom-designed merchandise.

Rather than offering your customers and/or supporters a single product that they may or may not like, why not give them a choice of lots of items to choose from.

What can you offer?

Merchandise you design including clothing (t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, etc.), posters, mugs, bumper stickers and more
Books printed on-demand
Audio and Data CDs

Steps to get your free shop:

Sign up as a seller, or “shopkeeper” here
Upload your artwork or logo
Pick the products you want to sellSet the price for your merchandise
Promote. Promote. Promote. Tell everyone you know about your online shop (give them your unique web address that Cafe Press supplies)
Rake in the money

What are the benefits and what do they provide for you?

Give you a FREE online shop to promote your products so you don’t have to worry about anything technical.
Produce each item when ordered using their unique print-on-demand technology so you don’t have to order a bunch of products in advance.
Handle all payment transactions including major credit cards so you don’t have to deal with the hassles of handling and depositing checks and cash.
Ship your products worldwide, which takes the product storage and delivery burden off of you and your supporters.
Manage all returns/exchanges so you don’t have to.
Offer customer service via toll-free phone and email – so they remove the fundraising management hassles.
Send your fundraising group a monthly check for your earnings on sales!

What you can do to promote your shop:

Email all your friends, family co-workers about your new shop; make sure to include your shop URL
Place a link to your shop on your school, group, church, charity or personal website
Categorize your shop and list it in the Cafe Press marketplace
Utilize the Cafe Press newsletter system to stay in touch with your customers
Enter keywords and product descriptions so prospective customers can search and find your products
Buy your own keyword ads on Google, MSN, Overture
Buy some of your own products and put them on your bod; it’s great advertising. Wear your own unique items and people will ask where you got your cool gear
Have a contest for the best design to represent your group and have everyone vote on the best designs. The people who participate in the contest and voting will be the first to buy.

Can you really make money?

According to their website, some shopkeepers earn over $100,000 a year. Plus thousands of members earn a steady stream of income.

How it works:

Each product has a Base Price that includes all fees associated with selling. You simply set your retail price above the Base Price. When you sell an item, they keep the base price and they send you the markup.

For example: