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Candle making as a fundraiser

Ever thought about making candles for fundraisers? Whether you want to support a cause close to your heart or add a revenue stream to your wholesale business, handmade candles are an exciting alternative to traditional fundraising products like chocolate, cookie dough, and wrapping paper.

Fundraising for community causes

Schools, faith groups, and sports teams are some of the many community organizations that hold fundraisers.

If a group you’re involved with wants to raise money and you already enjoy making candles as a hobby, why not bring these two interests together?

You can choose to contribute your time and the supplies or work out an arrangement to have the organization cover the materials. Either way, you’re directly helping, and that’s rewarding! 

Depending on your level of experience, just be sure to practice your candle making skills so the candles are of a consistent quality.

Fundraising as a business model

If you're already selling wholesale candles, adding a fundraising arm to your business is quite straightforward. And it's a low-risk venture because the candles are made to order, and payment is received upfront!

Similar to wholesale, fundraising involves working with a reseller—in this case, groups like schools or nonprofits.

You set the price the fundraising group will pay per candle. Typically this is 30-50% off retail.

The fundraising group collects individual orders at retail prices. They then submit one combined order along with payment. You make the candles based on this order and the fundraising group handles the final distribution.

3 tips for candle fundraisers

However you approach fundraising, getting started is easier with these three strategies:

  • Create a simple product line. Select one container and up to six fragrance options. This allows for variety but isn’t an overwhelming number of choices.
  • Think seasonally. Change up fragrance choices based on the time of year to appeal to buyers and boost sales.
  • Get others involved. If working with an organization, making candles can be a great team-building activity. 
Share your candle fundraising tips and stories

Share your take on running a candle fundraiser with the CandleScience community by leaving a comment below or by tagging us @CandleScience and using the #CandleScientist hashtag on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram

As with your own candles, we recommend following candle making best practices. Please check out these candle making tutorials for more information, tips, and instructions.