A well planned book sale fund raiser can net $500 to $3,000 and up for your non-profit organization, but good preparation improves sales and ensures successful results.
Volunteers needed for your fund raiser
Co-ordinator (s) They oversee the finances: budget, spending, floats, and tally. They start the process by arranging the location, finding a date without conflicting events, and locating drop-off space. They delegate, ensure job completion and inevitably fill in for multiple jobs. Later, they write the essential thank-you letters. Good communication and leadership skills for working with volunteers are required.
The Publicity Person has a key job. No customers = no sales.
The Volunteer Organizer finds volunteers for any pre-sale jobs, for all of the shifts—about 3 hours each—on the sale day(s), and for clean-up.
The Book Sorters hold a crucial job. Sloppily sorted books will frustrate customers and result in lost sales.
Two to four Sales People are scheduled for each shift on sale fund raising day(s).
The Book Collectors pick up donated books. Not all seniors who’d like to donate books can carry them to their vehicles. Large numbers of sturdy cardboard boxes are needed for carrying, storing and displaying the books.
The Set-up and Clean-Up people stamp the beginning and end of the sale. Along with other volunteers, a few healthy teens could add their muscle too.
Of course the same volunteers will be involved in more than one category. The adage that 20% of the people do 80% of the work holds true for fund raising book sales.
Collecting Books for Your Book Sale
The best place to collect books needing new homes is from your group and their friends. Thrift stores usually have a “turnover” day where stock is either taken to recycling or sent to another branch. Check with the store manager for this clearance date, or for a version of "2 per bag day," and be ready.
In fact, ask everybody you talk to if they’d like to donate any books. Ask you at your municipal or school library, or at local publishers who may have overstocks. Second hand book stores may have unwanted stock
Ask people not to donate encyclopaedias or dated technology books, nor pornography, blatant racist material, other than historical recounts, or dated magazines like “People.” Decide if you will accept the more difficult to recycle VHS, CD’s, DVD’s, and cassettes.
A collection location is ideally at the place of sale, shopping mall management may permit the two month use of an empty space. If sorting elsewhere is your only option definitely find a couple of dollies. Consider the implications of stairways, accessibility for dolly transport, and bad weather.
Publicity for Fundraising Book
Create posters--mention literacy, it's a hot topic-- for library, school, businesses, and family and senior center bulletin boards. Create public service announcements for local radio and TV. Use community event postings in the local papers. Of course, use all on-line social networking and have good spread on your own web site.
Contact like minded groups like rotary, cadets or schools. Contact book clubs and writers’ groups, these are definite customers.Publicity should begin no later than three weeks before the event, though public awareness will begin if you advertise for book collection.
Sorting and Setting Up the Books
Four to six volunteers are needed for efficient sorting. Bring box cutters, blank paper, felt pens, cello tape, and duct tape.
Be prepared for recycling books that are too dated, or too old and dilapidated. Before sorting, write category notes to place around the room on tables or the floor (easiest) in approximate alphabetical order.
Common Categories or groupings:
Arts and Crafts, Autobiographies (may include biographies, memoirs), Cookbooks, Children and Young Adults, Foreign Languages. Health& Healing (could be with Self Help), Home and Garden, Humour, Poetry and Short Stories, Mysteries or Thrillers, Novels, Non-Fiction, Religion and Alternate, Reference, Romance, Sociological & Political,(also Psychology, History) Science, Technology & Geography, Self-Help, Westerns.
Romance, Harlequin and Western pocket books are the largest categories and biggest sellers. Sort the best selling authors separately —Danielle Steel, Janet Daley, Louis L’amour and Zane Gray and others. Then, if possible, sort the boxes into A-L and M-Z., with mini signs. Sales increase when customers can quickly find their preferred authors.
To make category signs, cut core board (use a box cutter or a rotary cutter) into approximately 12” x 12” (30 x 30 cm) pieces. Attach a typed label and price to each piece. Write a label on the back so that volunteers can see the category.
Book Sale Display and Set-up Options
Customers can browse more easily if your boxes are cut down to size, if the book titles are readable from one direction and if the books are packed loosely, so rather than overfill the table top, re-stock as needed from boxes below the table.
Gardening, Craft, and Cook Books and reference books can stand up in boxes cut low in the front and high in the back. For simplicity, separate the non-fiction from fiction. Lay coffee table books flat for sales appeal.Books for children sell better if there's a low table for display.
Pricing Your Books
What will your market bear? Paperback prices vary from $.25 - $.75 with discounts for multiple purchases. For example: $.50 soft cover, or 3/ $1. Hard covers may sell for $.75 or 3/$2, price the exceptions of extra large soft or hard covers with bright stickers. Coffee table books are usually worth over $40, consider a $5 price tag. Customers will pay that price.
Use discretion when pricing first edition books, or complete sets of any author or genre. Seek a balance between maximum fund raising benefit and selling as many books as possible; leftovers have no value to you. Offer a $1/per bag near the end of the sale.
Preparedness and Wrap-up
Place category signs in the back of the boxes, and have a sign identifying your non-profit group and fund raising purpose: ABC School for trip to the moon. You’ll need a cash box and a container of recycled plastic bags.
At the end of the sale, many volunteers with a few dollies haul away the books. Fund raising books sales are work intensive but there’s also increased public awareness of your organization, possibly new members, a positive public event, and further camaraderie within your group. Finally, the co-ordinator completes the tally and records the success. Congratulations.
Karen Bissenden - Karen Bissenden survived post secondary education with her curiosity and creativity intact and has written with varying degrees of ...
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