| Yard
Sale
You know what they say...one person's trash is another person's treasure.
Yard sales (tag sales) are a great way to make money by selling items
that are already in your house. You can also ask friends, neighbors,
co-workers, etc. to donate stuff (old furniture, appliances, kitchenware,
clothes, coats, toys, books, etc.). Chances are they will be happy to
rid themselves of a few items that are just causing clutter. You can
also coordinate a multi-family yard sale, with multiple families on
the same street holding yard sales on the same day - either benefiting
the same charity or different charities of their choice.
Advertise the yard
sale in your local newspaper and using flyers posted in your neighborhood,
as a yard sale to benefit "x". Make sure you have signs at
the sale itself reminding people about the cause. You may even want
to have information about the cause available to your customers so they
know more about your charity. If you are raising money in somebody's
memory or honor, you may want to include a photo or photo collage of
that person to add a more personal touch.
Don't be afraid to price items generously - people tend to try to bargain
prices down. Hopefully, since they know the proceeds are going to charity,
they will not try to bargain too much, but even inexpensive items will
help profit your charity.
It is also a good
idea to pre-print "thank you" receipts to give to customers
after they make their purchase, thanking them for helping your cause
and directing them to where they could find more information (web site,
phone numbers, etc.).
You can also sell
baked goods at your yard sale as another way to bring in money for your
cause. Put a donation jar out for people who would like to help your
cause but are not going to purchase anything. Make it a festive atmosphere
with balloons and music (CDs or radio).
This is a win/win
event - you get rid of your clutter and raise money for your favorite
cause.
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