The short answer: a donation drive almost always sends more money to your program for less work. Product fundraisers — popcorn, cookie dough, discount cards, spirit wear — can post an impressive gross, but a large share goes to the product and the vendor, so your take-home is a fraction of the total. They also cap your reach at who you can sell to in person and add real logistics. A donation drive keeps nearly everything raised and travels through personal networks by text. Based on GroupFund’s analysis of $60M+ raised across 8,000+ school and youth fundraisers.

Two ways to fundraise

Almost every school fundraiser is one of two models:

• Product sales — your group sells something (popcorn, cookie dough, candles, discount cards, spirit wear) and keeps the margin after the vendor takes their cut.
• Donation drives — your group asks supporters to give directly, usually by sharing a link with family and friends. There’s nothing to buy or deliver; the full gift goes to the cause minus only standard processing.

They sound similar at the cash register. They look very different by the time the money reaches your program.

Where the money actually goes

The number that matters isn’t your gross — it’s your take-home: what’s left for uniforms, the trip, the equipment. And that’s where product sales quietly lose.

	Selling products	Donation drive
What you keep	A fraction — vendor and product take a large cut	Nearly all of it (minus standard processing)
Reach	Whoever you can sell to in person	Anyone, anywhere — it travels by text
Effort	Order forms, inventory, distribution, collection	Share a link; supporters give in one tap
Left to do after	Hand out product, chase payments	Nothing

When a product drive reports a big number, remember that a chunk of it never reaches your program — it pays for the product and the company behind it. A donation drive starts and ends with your supporters and your cause.

Why donation drives reach further

A product sale is limited by physics: someone has to carry the catalog around, and you can only sell to people you (or your athletes) can reach face to face. That’s a small, local circle. A donation drive isn’t bound that way. Because it’s a link shared by text, it rides through each participant’s entire network — the grandparent three states away, the aunt who never misses a game, the family friend who moved last year. Fundraisers spread through personal networks, and a shareable link reaches all of them; a box of popcorn reaches only the neighbors. (It’s also why the channel you ask through matters so much.)

Effort and logistics

This is the hidden cost of product fundraisers. Someone has to place the bulk order, track who sold what, store the inventory, distribute it, and chase down unpaid forms. That’s weeks of volunteer time — and every hour of friction is an hour participation quietly drops, because busy people abandon complicated tasks. A donation drive removes all of it. Participants share a link; supporters tap to give. There’s no product to receive, no cash to collect by hand, nothing to hand back out. The effort goes into asking — the part that actually raises money.

When a product drive still makes sense

To be fair, product sales aren’t worthless. They can build community, they give younger kids a tangible thing to sell, and a beloved annual sale (the band’s citrus drive, the team’s calendar) can be part of a program’s identity. If your group genuinely enjoys it and the tradition matters, keep it. Just go in clear-eyed: treat it as a community event with a fundraising bonus, not as your main engine — and don’t be surprised when the take-home lands far below the gross.

The bottom line

If the goal is to put the most money toward your program with the least work, a donation drive wins on all three axes that matter: take-home, reach, and effort. Sell products for the tradition; run a donation drive for the result. (Not sure which theme to pick? Start with what actually works.) GroupFund is a text-first donation platform — built and guided by former coaches, with no product to push and no up-front cost. Request a free demo.

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FAQ

Do donation fundraisers raise more than selling products?

For take-home, almost always. Product fundraisers lose a large share to the product and vendor and cap your reach at who you can sell to in person, while a donation drive keeps nearly everything and travels through personal networks.

How much of a product fundraiser goes to the cause?

Only the margin left after the vendor’s cut — your take-home is a fraction of the gross. A donation drive, by contrast, sends the full gift to the cause minus only standard processing.

Are product fundraisers ever worth it?

Sometimes — for tradition, community, or giving young kids something tangible to sell. Just treat them as a community event with a fundraising bonus, not your primary engine.

What’s the easiest type of fundraiser to run?

A donation drive. There’s no inventory, distribution, or collection — participants share a link and supporters give in one tap. Source: GroupFund’s analysis of $60M+ raised across 8,000+ school and youth fundraisers.