Don’t ever question whether or not Candy Fundraisers Can Raise Lots of Money. They can, they do and they will continue to be a great fundraising product.

We just came across an article in the Statesmen Journal. A group of people really had a passion for their library. In fact they needed to raise around $800,000 to build a new library. Now that’s a lot of money and few people would consider candy fundraising as an option.

But here is a snippet of their story from the newspaper:

“Many might have doubted it could be done. But many Bunco games, flower sales and candy fundraisers later, members of the Friends of the Jefferson Public Library have raised $100,000 in a little more than a year to build the town a new $800,000 library. And this dedicated group of volunteers is committed to raising the total amount due without subjecting the town’s residents to tax increases.

“So how did a dozen committed volunteers raise so much money in a small community for a library with an annual operating budget of $76,250? “Begging,” said Karen Barr, Friends of the Library vice president. “Literally, we beg,” grant writer Linda Baker added, smiling but absolutely earnest in her resolve.”

There are lots of lessons for us all in this story. The most obvious is that people who believe in a cause can raise lots of money. In fact they can raise more money than many of can imagine. And they can do it the old fashioned way. They can do it with product fundraising.

The real story is that a group of people identified a need they believed in. They formulated a game plan on how to satisfy their need. They were committed to their goal and they had pride in their effort.

Does that describe your fundraising group? Do you have that passion? That focus? That determination? If not then maybe that explains why many groups produce lackluster fundraising results.