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Charity bake sale

Top 10 Tips for a brilliant bake sale!

In 2015, £185 million was raised in the UK through bake sales alone, so even the smallest event can make a big difference. At the Children’s Burns Trust we love seeing the creative ways families, friends, businesses and hospital teams raise money for us through the oh so delicious medium of cake. Together with sports-based challenges, cake-sales are one of the most popular types of fundraising activities people generously carry out in support of our work, so we’ve rounded up some ideas to help others do the same.

Our Top 10 Tips for a brilliant bake sale

  1. Variety: when asking people to bake for your event it’s always a good idea to think about the different cakes you want to sell and ensure there’s a variety of different ones on sale to suit everyone’s taste buds! You could even put a selection of different baking ideas into a hat and get the bakers to pull out the one they’ll make. 
  1. Throw in a bit of healthy competition: some people can get seriously competitive when it comes to their baking. So why not think about asking your customers to rate each cake out of 10 and see who comes out on topper (you see what we did there!).
  1. Dietary requirements: it’s a good idea to think about the different dietary requirements your customers may have; dairy free, gluten free, nut allergies to name a few. Make sure these customers are catered for so everyone can enjoy the bake sale. 
  1. Timing and location: this is everything! Ensuring that your bake sale takes place at a good time (when everyone’s tummies are rumbling) and in the right location to maximise footfall is key. If your bake sale is taking place in an office, the afternoon is a good time to capture those post-lunch sugar cravings. If you have a reception area this may be a good place to hold the sale to generate as much interest as possible. 
  1. Presentation, Presentation, Presentation! We may sound a bit like Mary Berry but nobody likes a soggy bottom! Make sure you know how you would like your table to look once all the cakes are ready; a table cloth and some fresh flowers could really make a difference. You may want to consider giving your bakers some presentation ideas of how they can display their baked goods, for example a tiered cake stand or a nice tin. 
  1. Promotion: making sure everyone knows about your bake sale is really important. It’s a good idea to put up posters in advance of the sale so everyone knows the date, location and perhaps an idea of what might be on sale. This also ensures your customers will have some pennies in their pocket on the day. Also promote your bake sale across social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Tag @CBTOfficial in the post so we can share what you’re up to.
  1. Beyond baking: as an added extra you could also serve refreshments alongside your delicious baked goods, and of course not forgetting to keep hot drinks out of reach of children.
  1. Take photos and share on social media: don’t forget to take lots of photos of your cakes and share on social media. You might even get some last-minute donations, especially if you set up a JustGiving page (or even send people to the CBT JustGiving page) to help collect the money.
  1. Pricing: now this is a tricky one, you don’t want to be too expensive as it will put people off, but this is a charity event so you want to raise as much as possible. £1 – £3.50 depending on the type of cake is always a good place to start. Also, don’t forget you may need a float to start off the sale, as not all your customers will come with the exact money.
  2. Give yourself a pat on the back! Organising a successful bake-sale is no mean feat so make sure you enjoy the positive comments and feedback from everyone involved. Remember to send us feedback and photos and we will be sure to include details of your event on our website, across social media and in our fundraising newsletter that goes out to our supporters.

Want to support The Children’s Burns Trust?

We receive no government funding and are only able to continue the work we do through our own fundraising.  As a small charity, the backing we receive from corporate supporters and donors makes an enormous difference to our work.

If baking’s not your thing, our Fundraising Pack is the place to start. It contains lots of ideas and helpful tips to make your fundraising activity effective, but most of all fun! If you would like us to send you a printed version, please get in touch.

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