Bake sales are a common way for teenagers to make some money for themselves. The process involves selling cakes, cookies and other sweet treats. Teens give back to the community and get a reward themselves. Schools are also not new to this concept with many using bake sales as a way to raise money for new projects. Baruch is no exception with clubs using bake sales as a way to raise money to fund the various events and activities that they would like to do. However, a prevalent issue arises when students initially plan to do a bake sale—how does one do it?
If you are interested in organizing a bake sale, this is the right article for you! This article is meant to explain who to go to and to give advice on management.
Section 1: Setting up a bake sale
The most important part of running a bake sale—or any event at Baruch for that matter—is to get approval from the school to run your event. But how do you get that approval? That’s where Tedi Schaffer, Coordinator of Student Affairs and advisor of the Baruch Events Committee and Assistant Principal Diana Di Rico comes in.
Both Di Rico and Schaffer work closely with each other to manage the school calendar at Baruch.
“I help Schaffer approve bake sales so that there is never more than one going on during a day and that it meets fundraising guidelines,” said Di Rico.
As to what to do to begin scheduling your event, Schaffer said “If any club leader wants to run a bake sale or any fundraiser for that matter, you can actually go to the office and next to the teacher mailboxes, there is a black shelf that has a fundraising form on that shelf and you can take that fundraising form and return it to me.”
After filling out the form and giving it to Schaffer, she will check to make sure that there are no conflicts with your bake sale. Additionally, there are different rules for fundraisers for outside organizations.
“If you want to fundraise for an outside organization it has to be before or after the school day,” said Schaffer.
Section 2: How to manage your bake sale
After you sign your form and your bake sale is approved, what do you do now? You have to run your bake sale, but it’s easier said than done. Luckily Deborah Glick, club event manager and global history teacher has some words of advice.
“Make sure you manage the time, tell the advisors and make sure you’re on the school calendar,” said Glick. Glick said it is also important to check up with your team running the bake sale and establish roles.
Additionally, Di Rico said it is also important to “have an ingredients list posted for kids who have allergies, beyond that just getting people excited for what you have to offer and having things individually wrapped, wearing gloves for food safety.”
It is also crucial to remember that students are not allowed to use peer to peer payment apps such as Cash App or Zelle.
Section 3: Managing Money
After you finish your bake sale you might be wondering, what happens to your money? The school treasurer, Liz Grove, is responsible for that.
Grove manages the club Bank accounts at Baruch, working with club advisors whenever club funds are spent.
When it comes to what you can raise money for, Grove said, “you can only raise money during the school day for school activities. For example, you can’t raise money for an outside activity, you can [only] raise money for your club.”
When it comes to what you can spend your club’s funds on, Grove said, “clubs have gotten club t-shirts or other club items, like maybe a tote-bag.”
Grove also said, “Everything that clubs raise goes back into the club, we don’t take a cut out of that money.”
If you raise more money than expected, you get to keep the money. Club money also lasts for multiple school years, as long as the club still exists.
Section 4: Words of Advice
In addition to the advice already given above, there are specific tips you should look out for.
Club presidents are urged to contact the media team and Grove, who runs the parent newsletter, to generally advertise as much as you can and Di Rico advises fundraisers to have a large variety of foods or other items students can buy from.
“Some of the most successful bake sales are the ones that not just have baked goods, but things that people could have for breakfast or lunch,” she said.
Glick said to “know who’s in charge of running it [the bake sale] which period and who holds on to the money because a lot is happening.”
Grove said, “It’s important to know what you want to accomplish throughout the school year and if it costs money to accomplish it’s important for students to know how much money they need to raise.”
It is important to note that while bake sales are a great way for clubs to earn money, it is also important to note that that is not the only route students can go to fundraise. It is important to diversify fundraising activities in school to keep students engaged and support our school.
