Charity Fund Raising
 If you are a charity (like a Badger
Group) getting extra income may well be a priority. As well as getting
extra income, often the free publicity generated by your fund-raising
efforts can be almost as valuable as the income itself.
As well as the usual donations and merchandise schemes, increasing
numbers of charities are using auction-based web-sites to sell things to
raise money. eBay, for example, have a very well-managed Charity scheme.
To see some people who use the eBay charity scheme, please
click on the following link:
As eBay fees are so low (as little as 15pence!), your charity can sell
things at very low prices and still make a surplus. We've sold things for as little as £1 and still made a surplus! In fact,
we have even sold quite a few things which we got for free!
Of course, as a fund raiser, you have complete freedom as to how you
want to sell things on eBay. You can start with a very low amount, and
hope that as more and more people bid the price goes up and up. Otherwise,
you can set a higher starting price; or even set a secret reserve price,
so you don't sell things too cheaply. You can sell your own things as a
private individual (and give the proceeds to your charity), or your
charity might be able to sell things in their own name.
If you have ANY badger-related item, you can probably sell this on
eBay. Examples include books (new or old), ornaments, plates, antiques,
cuddly toys, cushions, needlework, stamps, cigarette cards, videos, DVDs,
postcards, birthday cards, photographs (prints or slides), prints,
paintings, taxidermy and many more.
Importantly too, with eBay you can avoid some of the bureaucracy of
having public collections or street sales (for example, street collections
permits from the local authority, hawkers licenses for street sales, etc).
It doesn't need to replace your existing sales channels; so you can still
sell the same stuff in shops, or on stalls at car boot sales, fun days,
open days and agricultural shows.
If you produce a Christmas Calendar, or packs or Christmas cards, now
might be the time to think about listing them on eBay!
For a few examples of what was sold on eBay in July 2003, click the
following link:
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