T-shirt fundraisers are a great way to provide something tangible and fun for generous donors, while bringing in some money for your school, sports teams, nonprofit, church, charity, or community group.
However, running a successful T-shirt fundraiser involves much more than choosing a design and deciding on a shirt; there are also questions about pricing, promotion, production, and distribution.
A little planning can help keep those details manageable and make it easier for everyone involved, so let’s break down how to run a fundraiser, covering everything from logistics to apparel selection.
Start with a Fundraising Goal
Having a specific fundraising goal can make it easier to plan the rest of the campaign. If you know how much you want to raise, you can use that number to estimate how many shirts you need to sell and at how much of a profit. Additionally, having this goal in place can also make it easier to communicate the purpose of the fundraiser to supporters.
Some factors to consider include:
- How much you’d like to raise
- How many supporters you expect to reach
- How much each shirt will cost
- How much you think supporters will be comfortable paying
- Whether there will be other fundraising expenses, like promotional materials or event costs
The good news is that the number of shirts you need to sell might depend more on your relationship with your donors than how many there are: A smaller organization with a highly engaged audience may be able to reach its goal with a relatively modest number of sales.
Many people are also comfortable paying a little more for a fundraising shirt when they know their purchase is helping a cause they care about. It can be helpful to explain where the proceeds are going so buyers understand the purpose behind the price.
Choose a Shirt That Fits Your Audience
People are more likely to purchase a shirt when they can see themselves wearing it beyond the specific fundraiser or event. For example, parents may want a comfortable tee to wear to their child’s games. Members of a nonprofit may wear theirs to volunteer events or community gatherings. A school might choose something students can wear throughout the year.
For a straightforward fundraiser, a classic cotton tee like the Gildan 5000 can be a practical and budget-friendly option. For organizations looking for a more premium feel, the Comfort Colors 1717 is a popular choice with its heavyweight, garment-dyed construction.
Keep in mind that your choice of shirt will also affect the cost of the fundraiser. Basic cotton tees tend to be among the most budget-friendly options, while ring-spun, heavyweight, and garment-dyed shirts can offer a softer or more substantial feel at a higher price. Also, you don’t usually need to offer several different shirts; one or two styles in a few popular colors can give supporters some choice while keeping the ordering process easier to manage.
Create a Design People Will Want to Wear
The design can help turn a fundraising shirt into something supporters feel connected to.
Start with the elements that identify your organization, like its name, logo, or a meaningful phrase. From there, the design can be tailored to the specific fundraiser. A school might incorporate its colors and mascot, while a charity could create artwork around the cause it’s supporting.
Some ideas include:
- Featuring the organization, school, or team name
- Including the year or name of a special event
- Adding a meaningful slogan or phrase
- Using an illustration or simple graphic
- Incorporating a mascot or recognizable symbol
- Creating a design specifically around the fundraising cause
If the fundraiser is connected to a particular event, keeping the design relevant to that event can also make the shirt a nice keepsake for participants. However, the design doesn’t have to explain everything about the fundraiser. Sometimes, a simple graphic, memorable phrase, or recognizable logo can make a shirt more appealing as everyday clothing.
Plan the Timeline Around Your Event
It can help to start with the date when supporters need to have their shirts in hand and work backward from there so that organizers have enough time to sort and distribute them before the event.
The full timeline may include:
- Designing and finalizing the artwork
- Preparing promotional materials
- Opening the fundraiser
- Promoting the fundraiser
- Allowing time for production and shipping
- Sorting and distributing the shirts
Allowing some extra time can make things easier if there are last-minute changes or delays, and a little flexibility can be especially useful when you’re coordinating orders from a group of people — someone may need to change a size, turn in an order late, or ask a question just before the deadline.
At BlueCotton, our standard delivery time is 10 business days, with additional rush options available if you need the shirts sooner.
Take Advantage of Fundraising Storefronts
One of the more time-consuming parts of a T-shirt fundraiser can be managing orders, payments, and logistics. A BlueCotton fundraising campaign can help simplify some of these tasks.
Once you’ve created your design and selected your garment, our customer service team can help set up an online campaign. At this point, you can provide information like your desired launch date, the date you need the shirts, the garment styles, colors, and sizes you’d like to offer, an estimate of how many items you expect to sell, and whether the shirts should be shipped individually to supporters or sent together to the organizer for distribution. We’ll then set up a custom storefront and provide you with a dedicated campaign link to share with your supporters. Buyers can use that link to place their orders individually, selecting their preferred shirt, size, and other available options.
This means you don’t have to collect individual orders and payments yourself. Instead, supporters can purchase their shirts directly through the campaign while you focus on promoting the fundraiser and reaching your fundraising goal.
You can read more about how this process works in our help center.
Give People a Reason to Buy
When promoting the fundraiser, make it easy for supporters to understand what their purchase will help accomplish. Even a short explanation of the fundraising goal can give people more incentive to place an order.
For example, you could explain that proceeds will go toward new equipment for a school or sports team, travel expenses for a student group, a community program, a charity or nonprofit initiative, an upcoming event, or a specific project or cause.
Photos or mockups of the shirt can also help people picture what they’re buying. If possible, having members of the organization wear sample shirts can give potential buyers a better idea of the fit and design.
Promote the Fundraiser Throughout the Campaign
Once the shirts and design are ready, supporters still need to hear about the fundraiser. The best places to promote it will depend on your organization and audience.
Possible channels include:
- Email newsletters
- Social media
- School or organization websites
- Parent or member groups
- Community bulletin boards
- Meetings and events
Keep in mind that a single announcement may not be enough to reach everyone. A few reminders throughout the ordering period can help keep the fundraiser visible, particularly as the deadline approaches.
If the fundraiser has a specific sales goal, sharing progress updates can give supporters another reason to participate. For example, letting people know that the group is halfway toward its goal can encourage additional orders before the deadline.
Make the Shirts Part of the Community
One of the advantages of a T-shirt fundraiser is that the product can continue to promote the organization after the fundraiser itself is over.
A school or sports team might encourage everyone to wear the shirts on a particular game day. A nonprofit could have supporters wear them during a charity walk or volunteer event. A community organization might turn the shirts into an annual tradition. Photos of members wearing the shirts can also help create visibility for the organization and future fundraisers.
When supporters see friends, family members, teammates, or colleagues wearing the same design, the shirt becomes a visible part of the community around the cause. This can also make the shirts feel more meaningful than ordinary merchandise, particularly when they’re connected to a specific event, campaign, or shared experience.
Plan for Shirt Distribution
If you forgo a custom fundraising site with us, distribution will be your final logistical step.
Choosing a specific pickup location and time can make the process easier for anyone who wants a shirt. Sorting the shirts by name, size, or order before distribution begins can also save time for volunteers. For larger fundraisers, a simple distribution list can help volunteers keep track of which orders have been collected.
If the budget allows, ordering a small number of extra shirts can also be useful. Extras can provide some flexibility if a shirt is damaged, someone needs a different size, or there is interest in purchasing another shirt after the main ordering period has ended.
Launching a Successful T-Shirt Fundraiser
A successful fundraiser tends to have a clear goal, an appealing product, straightforward ordering, and plenty of communication with supporters.
A little planning around the fundraising target, shirt costs, pricing, promotion, and distribution can make the process much easier to manage. With those pieces in place, your organization can focus on promoting the fundraiser, reaching its goal, and giving supporters a product they’re happy to wear.