Q: I’d like to increase my business with charities and sell more T-shirts for fundraising events. What tips do you have to help me achieve this goal?

Decorators and fundraising organizations go together like eggs and bacon. They’ve worked together for so long that there are some practices that seem absolute. For example, everyone knows the decorator makes the T-shirts, the organization buys the T-shirts, and then the organization spends the next few months desperately trying to sell off their stock to make a profit. Right?

What a lot of decorators (and nonprofits) don’t realize is it doesn’t actually have to be that way. In fact, decorators who take a different approach will be far more successful in courting fundraising clients and helping them meet their goals. The best way to make yourself into an invaluable fundraising partner is to provide an end-to-end program. Here’s how.

1. Make an unexpected proposition.
Almost every nonprofit needs to fundraise to stay afloat. But nonprofits are generally very busy, and they don’t have time to try out new fundraising partners. Imagine approaching an organization with the following proposal: Instead of going the traditional route where they have to order a bunch of stock and try to sell it, you’ll produce only as much as they sell. It’s risk-free. Not only that, but you’ll handle all the orders, payments and shipping. You’ll even help with marketing. In the end, they walk away with a virtually hassle-free check.

Trust me: You’d be hard-pressed to find a nonprofit that won’t instantly say yes to a deal like that.

This might sound like a huge undertaking on your part, but it’s not much different from managing sports team orders or company gear. And it’s even easier when you follow the next few steps.

2. Create a marketing kit for your clients.

Not every fundraising organization is going to have a good handle on marketing. Take some time to put together a small marketing kit that can be used over and over again. This might be a PDF document of sample social media posts, fliers they can print, and links to marketing articles that will be useful as they launch their fundraiser. Encourage them to share news of their fundraiser with local media. You may even want to provide information on how to run a contest or giveaway to generate more attention.

The more successful their fundraiser is, the more successful you’ll be. Don’t leave it to chance.

3. Manage orders with an online store.

Life is so much easier when you’re not trying to track down and log hundreds of paper order forms. For each fundraising client, create a custom online store where their T-shirt is available for sale. Their supporters can make a purchase whenever it’s convenient, and it’s much easier to share and promote the fundraiser over social media. Ask the client to put the store link on their website so supporters can easily find it.

An online store also keeps everything streamlined for you. All of the orders and payments are collected automatically, and when production day comes you’ll have all the details at your fingertips. No chasing invoices, no missing forms – just simple, on-time production. This setup will make working with you the best fundraising experience an organization’s ever had. After the fundraiser’s concluded, try calling back in a few months – they’ll likely be ready to do it all over again.

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