How to Plan Pancake Breakfast Fundraisers
A pancake breakfast fundraiser is a wonderful way to raise money for schools, churches, and other community groups. The concept is simple: find some chefs and volunteers to sell tickets, gather your community together, and raise money by serving a pancake breakfast. Waffles, fruit, and breakfast meats work, too. To raise money, charge an admission fee, and provide other fundraising opportunities during the event.
Start the Breakfast Fundraiser Online
Create a fundraising website for your pancake breakfast where you explain the fundraiser’s cause, who will benefit from the money raised, and how people can help. You can sell tickets, post the breakfast menu, serving times, and the event location. You can also post photos, promote sponsors, and allow people to make online donations if they cannot attend the event. Encourage people to share your website link with family and friends via our easy social media tools.
Steps to Host a Successful Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser
You’ll want to follow several steps to plan, promote, and manage your pancake breakfast fundraiser. Be sure to be organized so your event runs smoothly. We’ve broken the pancake breakfast down to its most simple ingredients to make it all come together. You must consider the event location, ticket sales, menu, and volunteers.
Find the Breakfast Venue
To host a pancake breakfast, you’ll need to find a place to hold the event. Look for a large open area, such as a school cafeteria, which would be perfect for a school fundraiser. It certainly helps if the location also has kitchen facilities, but this is not 100% necessary. Plenty of electric skillets and portable frying pans can be used to make pancakes as long as you have power outlets. You can also rent large tubs and fill them with water to soak and wash dirty dishes. This will allow you to host the event outside if you want.
If it is a church fundraiser, there is often a gathering place for church attendees following Sunday services. This would be an excellent opportunity for a pancake breakfast fundraiser, as you already have a number of people gathered in one place.
Sell Tickets in Advance
The best way to securely sell pancake breakfast tickets and get money upfront to cover your breakfast costs is by selling tickets online. We can help with easy, free websites for fundraising events. This way, you won’t have to handle so much cash at the event, and you’ll have a better idea of how many people to expect.
Another opportunity to consider is adding more ways to raise funds by hosting a silent auction or fundraising raffle. These fundraisers can easily be incorporated into your online presence and are also entertaining for breakfast guests.
Purchase Breakfast Food and Supplies
Once you know how many people to expect at your breakfast, you’ll need to purchase a lot of pancake mix, butter, syrup, and berries. You’ll also need orange juice, tea, and coffee. Consider offering other items to make the breakfast more gourmet. Don’t forget the basics, such as cookware, kitchen utensils, plates, napkins, and glassware. The necessities for any meal!
You may be able to get some food items donated. If berries are in season, partner with local farmers who donate baskets of fresh berries. Reach out to a local coffee shop to see if they are interested in donating coffee for your fundraiser and becoming a sponsor of the event. The lower your out-of-pocket costs, the more money you raise.
Recruit Great Volunteers
You will likely need a lot of volunteers to make this type of event a success. Be sure to have enough staff, so things run smoothly. You need people to set up the breakfast area, make the pancakes, serve the food, stock the tables, welcome guests, collect money, run entertainment and raffles, and clean up. You can also recruit volunteers to help promote the pancake fundraiser by handing out flyers the morning of the event if you aren’t already sold out. Encourage volunteers, sponsors, and members of your organization to help spread the word.
Your pancake breakfast fundraiser is a representation of your organization. The more prepared you are, the more likely your fundraiser will be a success.
Additional Ways to Raise Money at the Pancake Breakfast
A breakfast fundraiser provides an excellent opportunity to raise additional funds. Since you’ve gathered numerous community members in one area, it’s a perfect time to host a silent auction. Of course, this takes a little planning as well. Your organization would need to solicit in-kind donations prior to the event to auction off for your cause. Auction items can include gift certificates, sports memorabilia, theater tickets, and travel packages. Display items during your event and on an auction website where supporters place bids.
If you don’t have time to organize a full auction, fundraising raffles can also be fun and lucrative. Here, you sell raffle tickets for a chance to win and then randomly select winners during the event. You can also create fun contests and games to keep the kids engaged and enjoying themselves.
We’ve provided even more detailed guidelines on how to hold a breakfast fundraiser here.
