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Mother's Day Flower Sales

Once a year Mothers Day comes

around. It is proper and honorable to

give thanks to our mothers for all that

they have done for us.

Ministries and nonprofit groups have a

unique opportunity to bring some good

will, raise some funds and also boost

their image among the community.

Providing flowers for the honoring of mothers on Mothers Day is a welcome service that people are happy to pay. Why not your organization provides this unique service.

Preparation

You must start at least 2 months before Mothers Day. Decide who you will approach, how it will be offered and how many volunteers you will need.

Start out recruiting someone to Chair the event. Give them the responsibility to recruit a volunteer for each 100 flowers you expect to sell.

There is some preparation involved for each carnation flower. You will need some ribbon, florist's tape, lapel pin, and some "baby's breath" or similar accent flower to complete a corsage. You will also need a small container to place each completed carnation for later distribution. Some organizations resell these carnations for $3 to $5.

Church Flower Sale

If you plan to simply hand out a carnation

stem, then $2 to $3 may be appropriate as

there is not as much preparation as there

is with a corsage type arrangement.

Some church youth groups have

conducted successful fundraisers with this

technique. There are not as many volunteers

required completing this type of flower sale.

A list of recipients is made and the flowers are placed in one or more large vases and placed at the front of the sanctuary. At the end of a service, volunteers take the flowers to the lobby and distribute these as the congregants leave. An alternative is to have a table in the front lobby and distribute the stems as mothers go in to the service.

At $2 each you can expect to earn $1.10 for each flower sold for carnation stems. You will earn much more with a corsage type flower. Use white carnations for mothers that have passed away and red to honor mothers still alive.

Have a program printed that will list the names of those mothers who are being honored and by whom.

REAL STORY

One particular church had youth sell their family and church neighbors flowers for their mothers.

The flowers sold for $2. Announcements were made during the services prior to Mother's Day and flyers were passed out to all Sunday School Classes.

On Mother's Day, mothers were handed their flowers as they left the sanctuary. The youth raised about $1,000 with very little effort.

Community Nonprofit Groups And The Flower Sale

Community Nonprofits can really capitalize on the publicity that this will create for them. It will also bring in new donors into your organization if you conduct a flawless campaign.

Get word through your newsletter or monthly meetings that you will be providing carnations for Mother's Day. Create an order form where potential contributors can order from you. Place these signup forms in places of business, church or synagogue bulletins, and in your newsletter.

Include on the signup form the following:

A place to put contact information including name, address, e-Mail address, and phone number.

Who you are honoring.

The price for each flower.

The color of the flower indicating red for living mothers and white for deceased mothers.

Pick up or delivery instructions

An area where someone can simply indicate they wish to give a donation in addition or instead of buying a carnation.

The cut-off deadline to insure proper distribution of orders.

Contact wholesale florists that can provide these flowers at lower prices and in bulk.