Fundraising Ideas - 24 Hour Vending Machine Fundraiser

The 24 Hour Money Machine

by Jesse Carter

Selling candy for fundraising profits is a multimillion dollar business. Selling those

M&M’s, snickers, gumballs or lollipops has been popular with nonprofits for decades.

Traditional Candy Sales

Traditional candy fundraisers takes a lot of hard work and effort. To make any money at sizeable levels you will need a large sales force. Plan on securing at least a couple of dozen students or volunteer fundraisers in order to make 25 cents apiece selling 50 cent candies or $1 chocolate bars.

With candy sales, you are limited on the money you can raise. If you plan on raising over $2,000, it is best to try fundraisers that bring in more money per item. After all, you would have to sell 4,000 candy bars at $1 each to raise $2,000. The return on your effort is better served by getting higher priced sales items like candles, scratchcards or gourmet coffees.

Your other drawback with candy bar sales occurs if you don’t have the time or manpower to really conduct what retailers do all the time. Retailers sell products all year long and make a profit all year long.

With the ever popular candy bar fundraiser, you only have a few weeks to conduct your campaign. I've got a great chapter on how to conduct these On-The-Spot Sales in the book Fundraising Your Way (www.FundraisingYourWay.net)

At best, you may be able to conduct two to four candy bar fundraisers at your school or in your community before you wear out your welcome. The customer burn-out factor is very common with candy sales. Plus, new laws in some states are banning non-nutritional junk food or requiring only healthy alternatives.

Then look at the competition. Every other student and small group is doing the same thing…selling individually wrapped candy. That’s pretty stiff competition.

With all of the negatives of selling candy in person, it’s little wonder that many nonprofit groups and schools are looking for alternative ways to raise money. But there’s still the fact that people love candy and will continue to buy it.

So many nonprofit groups can not escape the fact that there’s a ready made market with snacks. What to do? What to do?

Well, what about using vending machines to sell the candy for you?

The Vending Machine Advantage

Using vending machines will save you many hours of hard work and can reduce your sales force down from dozens to one or two individuals. It’s a 24 hour worker.

Advantages include:

Buyers aren’t harassed by sales tactics.

No seasonal fluctuations.

Candy buyers will buy even when they don’t know the candy

bought is for a fundraiser.

Vending machines can offer several types of candy in one location.

Repeat business. The candy can be found in the same spot for

immediate sales.

Depending on the machine used, buying candy or gum can be fun.

High returns. One machine can bring in $100 or more in profits.

That could be 400% to 500% Return On Investment. Try selling

400 candy bars to make the same.

Limit your time and effort. Replace your product when you desire.

One person can tend to a dozen machines with minimal effort.

10.

Minimal investment. Yes there is an initial cost and you will still have

to buy candy too.

How To Get Started

Your first step is for your group to research this topic thoroughly and bring it up for a formal vote before your Fundraising Committee or Executive Committee of your Board Of Directors. This is not something you should enter into with sound determination to continue it for a long time once it's started.

Determine the number of machines you will place throughout your community and assign one individual per dozen machines. These volunteers should be totally trustworthy while handling the all-cash fundraiser.

Next, you will have to create a strategy for refilling the machines and for your volunteers to report when they need to reorder. Have a place to store your candy and determine how the candy will be reordered.

Here’s a few companies with vending machines which will sell you various kinds of machines. Some of these offer Free Start-up Kits.

HannahVending.com 800-397-8363

1.800.VENDING, 800-836-3464

Wacky Fun Factory, 800-750-7969

U Turn Vending, 800-584-8887

Healthy Vending

Sam’s Club is a place that you would not think of to find a vending machine, but their equipment is fairly affordable. At about $520.00, a spiral gumball machine holds 1200 gumballs. A triple vending machine costs about $170.00. A smaller

machine holding 500 1” gumballs or candy sells for about $55.00.

Pick Your Spot

Many of the vending machine sales companies have services that can find guaranteed locations for your machine. These machines are for placement in public and not your school necessarily.

You may also ask every one of your board members to find 5 businesses to place the machines. They could start by placing a vending machine in their own business and then in 4 other locations.

High traffic areas are best to place your machines and especially if accessible for 24 hours (airport, bus station, hotel, etc.). However, don’t discount the less obvious locations that may have a steady flow of people. For example, the patient lobby or waiting area in a doctor’s office would be ideal. Or the waiting area at a tire repair shop.

Where To Get Your Products

Typically, your vending company will offer you some great wholesale prices where you can make a hefty profit. This is because they can buy in volume.

Secondly, consider buying from a name brand candy maker like M & M’s or a wholesale supplier like Midwest Northern (nuts, malted milk balls, etc).

Finally, check out Discount Buying Clubs like Sam’s Club, Costco or B J's Wholesale Club.

How Much Can You Make

Many machines can generate $100 on average. A combination machine with three separate candies can generate $300 when emptied.

What if you replaced the candy every two weeks? At $300 this would amount to

$7,800 generated from one machine. Now take out your wholesale price of candy refills and you will have well over $6,500 from one machine. Replace your candy every week and you generate $13,000 profit.

One gum vending machine holds 1430 pieces that cost about 1.2 cents each. It is then sold for 25 cents. This is a 1000% mark-up!

Some specialty “fun machines” can generate $1,500 weekly. Are you getting the picture yet?

Imagine the great things your group can accomplish with these highly profitable fundraising machines.

Fundraising Ideas - The 24 Hour Money Vending Machine

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