HOW A PRE-ORDER RUNS. One design, an order window with a hard deadline, and your people order and pay inside that window. When it closes, the whole campaign prints as a single run at bulk pricing. The group is never out of pocket, because the money is collected before the press runs.
WHERE THE MARGIN COMES FROM. The group sets the selling price. The shop charges the print price. The difference is the fundraiser, and the group decides how big it is. A bigger run lowers the per-shirt cost, which widens the margin without raising the price on any one family.
WHY A DEADLINE IS NOT OPTIONAL. The whole saving comes from printing once. Every late order is either a second small run at a worse price or a disappointed family. A hard cutoff, said clearly up front, is the single thing that makes the economics work.
SIZES. Collect them in the same form that collects the money. Sizes gathered separately from payment is where reconciliation goes wrong, and it is the most common source of a wrong or missing shirt at handout.
WHAT MAKES A FUNDRAISER SHIRT SELL. People buy a shirt they would wear anyway. A design that names the town, the team or the year gets worn; a design that is mostly a sponsor list does not. If sponsors are part of the deal, put them small on a sleeve or the back rather than making them the front.
MIXED SIZES ARE NORMAL. Youth and adult in one run is routine, and it does not break the pricing. Extended sizes cost a little more because the blanks do.
- Pre-order first: collect orders and money BEFORE the run prints
- The group sets the selling price; the difference is the fundraiser
- A hard deadline is what makes the bulk price possible
- Collect sizes in the SAME form that collects payment
- Youth and adult sizes in one run is routine
Questions people ask about booster club and fundraiser shirts
How does a shirt fundraiser work for a booster club?
One design, an order window with a hard deadline, and everyone orders and pays inside it. The campaign then prints as a single run at bulk pricing. The club never fronts money and never guesses sizes.
Can everybody pay separately?
Yes. That is the normal way a pre-order runs, and it is why nobody has to front the money. Each person orders and pays for their own shirt inside the window.
How much can a booster club make on a shirt fundraiser?
The group sets the selling price and the difference over the print price is the fundraiser, so the margin is the club's decision. A larger run lowers the cost per shirt, which widens the margin without charging any family more.
What happens if someone orders late?
A late order is either a second small run, which prices much worse because setup happens again, or a disappointed family. That is why the deadline needs to be stated clearly at the start and held.
Can we mix youth and adult sizes?
Yes, routinely, in the same run. Extended sizes cost slightly more because the blank garments do, but mixing youth and adult does not complicate the print.
We take booster club and fundraiser shirts work from Alice, Kingsville, premont, Freer and the rest of the Falfurrias area.
New to this? The plain-English guide to ordering walks through what to decide first.
Want numbers before you ask? See the published price chart for custom t-shirts.