Set three dates, and treat the close as a hard stop.

Why dates slip

In a paper sale, the dates on the form read more like guidelines. Then they turn into the push to finally go out and sell. Nobody means to miss them. Families are juggling practices, work and two other fundraisers, and the days just get away from them.

Work backward from your supplier

1. 1.Ask when the order is due. Many suppliers want it about two weeks before delivery. Some want it the Monday before your delivery week.
2. 2.Close two or three days before that. You’ll need time to count and check the money.
3. 3.Open two to three weeks before the close. Long enough to reach everyone, short enough that it still feels urgent.
4. 4.Check the calendar. Steer around tournament weekends, holidays and school breaks.
5. 5.Close on a day and a time. “Sunday at 8 pm” is a deadline. “Sunday” stretches into Monday.

Check the rules before you set dates

Charity sales come with rules. Depending on your state and your group, there may be rules about registering, what you tell buyers at the door, how long your sale can run, and how long you keep records. Your state attorney general’s office is the place to start. Here’s Minnesota’s guide to charity laws.

We’re here to help you plan, but we’re not lawyers. When in doubt, ask yours, or ask your board.

Help families keep track

Put all three dates in your kickoff message. Then remind families at the halfway mark, two days before the close, and the moment it closes. Keep it short and friendly, with the same dates every time.

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A quick example

A volleyball club’s pizza supplier needed the order two weeks before delivery, which was on a Saturday. So the club closed its sale the Thursday before the order was due, at 8 pm, and opened it eighteen days earlier. A tournament weekend fell in the middle, so the halfway reminder went out the Thursday before it instead.

How The Order Buddy handles it

On paper, the only reminder is whatever’s taped to the fridge. With The Order Buddy, the sales window lives on the event, and every family sees how many days are left right on their dashboard, every time they log in.

When the sale closes, families can’t add new orders. You still can, so a late order you agree to take lands with everything else.

After the sale, you can see when orders came in across the sales window, so next year you’ll know whether three weeks was the right length.

What it won’t do is send the reminders for you. Those still land best coming from you.

Want to see it on your own sale? Request a demo, or read straight answers on how it works.

Your checklist

• Supplier’s order deadline in hand
• Close set two or three days before it, on a day and a time
• Open date two to three weeks before the close
• Calendar checked for tournaments and holidays
• Your state’s rules for charity sales checked
• Dates in the kickoff message, with reminders planned