HOW TO GUIDE

Organising your Plant and Bake Sale

Step 1 – Items to sell

1.1 Recruit some helpers

You may not need any help, but if you do, then start recruiting as soon as possible to find your bakers and/or gardeners.

Put the word out to your friends and family

Shout about your sale from the rooftops, get your friends and family to spread the word, and you’re sure to recruit a dedicated team of helpers in no time at all.

Ask a local group or business

If you need more items to sell, you could consider approaching a local business for a donation, such as a bakery or a garden centre. In return for a local business supporting your event, you could add their logo to your posters/flyers or display their logo or leaflets at your event to thank them. Here is an Example Request Letter.

You could also consider if there is a local group or forum whose members might be able to help out.

Ask your helpers for information about donated items

Ask people if they can label anything they donate and provide the key information:

• Baked goods – Names and key ingredients of baked goods
• Plants – Names and any helpful tips or instructions on where the plants will do best in the garden, e.g. in full sun or part shade.

1.2 Selling plants

Home-produced plants don’t cost you a penny and can turn a nice profit.

Get the date in the diary.

It is extra important to contact your gardeners as soon as possible, as they might want to sow extra seeds, take cuttings and start collecting small flowerpots.

What type of plants to sell?

It’s your sale, and there are no rules about what plants to sell.

• Flowers sell very well, especially if they are in flower. ‘Annuals’ only last the season, so they need to be purchased each year. Look up ‘annual flowers’ online. If people have cuttings, then Salvia and flowering Hebe are easy, long-lasting and hardy.
• Veggies and herbs. Don’t stop there; consider vegetables and herbs too. If you have an allotment, perhaps fellow allotment holders will donate some of their vegetable plants. You could put a note up somewhere others will see it.
• Sowing seeds. If you are sowing plants from seed, then check the seed packet for information on where and when to sow, as well as how to care for your seedlings. The packet will also display when the seedlings are ready for planting outdoors.

1.3 Selling baked goods

What type of baked goods to sell?

When it comes to choosing what to sell, you should consider everyone’s favourite sweet treats, such as cupcakes and cornflake cakes, right through to larger items such as pies, quiches and pasties.

Other popular items include chocolate chip cookies, brownies and flapjacks. If you are new to baking, then start with easy recipes.

Dietary requirements. If you can, try to include vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. You could make people that normally miss out on treats very happy! Make sure you take extra care during preparation and clearly label the ingredients used.

Health and Safety

It is essential to follow the ‘good food hygiene advice’ from the Food Standards Agency:

• always wash your hands before preparing food
• make sure that surfaces, bowls, utensils, and any other equipment is clean
• don’t use raw eggs in anything that won’t be thoroughly cooked, such as icing or mousse
• keep cheesecakes and any cakes or desserts containing cream in the fridge
• store cakes in a clean, sealable container, away from raw foods, especially raw meat

Display the Food Allergy Notice so that it is clearly visible to all customers.

Step 2 – Announce your sale

Spread the word about your event to make sure you have enough customers on the day:

• Ask friends to spread the word and create a buzz about your event.
• Distribute leaflets and posters – even just putting a few flyers through your neighbours’ doors and a poster up in your window can make a difference. Download poster (for flyers print the posters two to a page) and social media templates:
  • Plant and Bake Sale – Template Poster
  • Plant Sale – Template Poster
  • Bake Sale – Template Poster
  • Plant and Bake Sale Template – Social media
  • Plant Sale Template – Social media
  • Bake Sale Template – Social media
• Tell local groups or forums about your event.
• Social media is a fantastic way to let people know about your event.
  • Set up an event on Facebook and invite people to attend it. You can also list your event on Facebook Marketplace and Nextdoor.
  • Post updates on your progress, along with photos/videos to social media platforms.
• Add it as a public event on the Care for Veterans website by letting us know (if you haven’t already).
• Near to or on the day, a large sign or hand-written board is a good idea as people passing on foot or in cars will see it.

Step 3 – Organise the day

Making a list of what you need to do to make your event as success is a great idea. Below are a few suggestions:

3.1 Helpers on the day

Depending on the size of your event, helpers on the day are very useful.

Share the information

Your helpers should be briefed with the basic information on what is for sale, such as the type of plants and baked goods available. It is usually much easier if you are not the only person with knowledge.

Recruit enough people

People love to chat about plants, so it’s good to have enough people to chat whilst others take the money and help customers get plants to their cars. Some people are born to sell, while others would be behind the scenes. Find out the length of time that people are happy to help, and if you have plenty of helpers and jobs, ask them what they would enjoy doing the most.

Breaks and refreshments. Factor in some cover for breaks and refreshments to keep the energy up, as well as somewhere to sit down.

Set up and pack down. Although not quite as fun as the selling, it is always worth asking for a hand. Allow some extra time to make your sale look great and see if you know anyone with a flair for a window display that could lend a hand.

3.2 Covid regulations

To curb the spread of Coronavirus, consider how to ensure your event complies with latest Government regulations for your area. This probably means thinking about signage and a queuing system. More support on this will be available closer to the time.

3.3 Prices and labels

How much to charge?

As the profits are going to charity, you don’t have to be super cheap, but people often buy more if they are getting a bargain. Think about pricing items at amounts that make giving change easy.

It’s probably better to sell most of the items than having lots left over at the end, so price to sell. If something isn’t selling, then think about dropping the price, especially if you are getting towards the end of your event.

Labels

Easy to read. Pricing the items at your sale needn’t be tricky providing you keep things simple. Make sure that all items have a clear price on easy-to-read labels. If you label items in advance, your day will be simple and stress free.

Lots of items? Try a colour-code system. When you’ve got lots of items to price, then you could use a colour-code system. Use adhesive colour dots. Make a few colour-price keys to post around the sale area, and all that’s left to do is stick a dot on each item.

Ask for a donation

You could even just ask your customers to donate what they think each item is worth. People tend to be extra generous when food is involved.

3.4 How to pay for items

A cash float

Have a small float by exchanging some £10 and £20 notes for small change. Get a cashbox to put it in. Get more change than you think. If you expect people the first five customers to want change from a £20 note, then you won’t have to go in search for extra change.

No cash? Some people may not have brought enough cash, especially with recent events we have moved to card payments. Here are a couple of options:

Make a direct donation. The Care for Veterans website is able to accept secure payments via the Charities Aid Foundation website with a minimum donation of £5. Just make a note of the amount and we will add it to your total. Here is the link to the secure payment page (https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/16239). You can also download our QR code poster.

Set up a JustGiving page. Go to JustGiving to set up a page for your event, then share the link with your customers by adding it to our blank poster.

Use your own PayPal account. If you have a PayPal account, you can quickly and easily make payments using an email address. You can also set up a ‘Paypal.me’ link for free. Find out more on the PayPal website.

3.5 Your stall

What do you need to set up your stall?

Consider what you will do in different types of weather? How will you keep cakes dry from a rain shower or stop things blowing away if it gets windy?

• Tables and chairs. Fold up furniture, such as trestle tables are easy to put up and take down.
• Bits and bobs. Scissors, sticky tape, blutac, string – all the usual suspects.
• Rain or shine. Think about rain cover or shade.

Signage

• Let people know they are helping disabled veterans. Use our resources, such as labels, bunting, balloons and signage.
• Other signs. Good signage can help reduce a lot of questions. Ensure you have printed enough copies of the signs you need and have allocated time to put it up.

Baked goods

• Presentation is everything! Use tablecloths, but not in overpowering patterns. Your baked goods should be your best decorations! Divide the baked goods according to type (cookies, cakes) and/or serving size (whole cakes, individual cookies). If you have several tables, separate them into just pies, cakes, or even one just for chocolate goods.
• Treats to go. Have some takeaway bags for those who want to save their treats for later.
• Cater for individuals and groups. Sell items individually and pre-slice cakes for maximum profit. Also think about selling cookies by the dozen and entire cakes for large groups.

Plants

• Easy to transport. Plants for sale must be well potted, clean or bagged if lifted from the nursery bed (rhododendrons). Make sure you have a good supply of boxes or bags for the plants.
• Clearly labelled. If you want a plant to sell, then clearly indicate its name and price. If you can add a picture of the plant matured, even better. The more information, the better. If you have several tables, it makes sense to group similar plants together.
• Thirsty work. Have a water supply to hand as plants will start to droop by the afternoon (as will volunteers if not fuelled by tea!).
• Difficult questions. Printing out some extra info or keeping a reference guide to hand is a good idea in case of any difficult questions.

Send a reminder

A quick text or social media post just before and during your event can help increase the number of customers on the day.

Don’t be afraid to tell people you need help spreading the word and ask them to share your post and tell their friends/family.

Ask for pics

Encourage your helpers and customers to take photos/videos and share their experience on social media and tag us – find our social media links at the top of this page.

Step 4 – Making your donation

Every penny raised at your event helps make a big difference to our brave ex-Service personnel, so however much you sell or make, have fun too!

Here are the ways you can make your donation:

• Pay online. Please visit https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/16239 or scan this QR Code to make a payment online using a debit or credit card.
• By phone. Please call our fundraising team on 01903 218444 to make a payment over the phone using a debit or credit card.
• By cheque. Made payable to “Care for Veterans” at Care for Veterans, Gifford House, Boundary Road, Worthing, BN11 4LJ

Can you Gift Aid it?

If someone makes a donation (rather than makes a purchase) and they are a UK taxpayer, then we can claim Gift Aid on that donation. This means the charity can claim 25p on every £1 donated from the Government at no extra cost to the person donating. A Gift Aid form is available to download – Gift Aid form.