This post was originally on my previous blog December 2012.

With the Stampin’ Up! annual Sale-A-Bration (SAB) promotion coming up soon, I thought it was a good time to share my ideas for making your SAB party a fundraiser!

A couple of years ago, I really didn’t want all the hostess gifts that I earned with each workshop. (Hard to believe, I know, but I’d been stamping and collecting for over 10 years.)  I decided instead to share the hostess gifts with my guests in exchange for them helping me raise money for a charity.

Over the next couple of years my demonstrator, Amy, and I developed a plan that worked well for us.

Each guest who placed an order of $50 or more AND made a $10 donation to my chosen charity would receive one of the hostess gifts from the workshop.  I found that all my guests were quite willing to make a $10 donation and it seemed reasonable for a chance at a hostess gift that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to get without hosting a large SU party.  Several friends consistently gave much more than I asked.

I made a Hostess Gift Preference Form so that each person could let me know their preference for the various types of hostess gifts (see below).  I required that each person send me their preference form a couple of days before the workshop so that I could have the hostess gifts mostly planned out ahead of time.  I spread them out and then try to honor as many first choices as possible, then second choices.  Usually I can give most guests their first choices.

I also encouraged my guests to send their orders ahead of time even if they were attending so that I could have the hostess gifts partly planned out ahead of time.  Anyone ordering but not attending was asked to email their order and Hostess Gift Preference Form two days ahead so that we could make final hostess gift choices at the party.

I don’t include an option for Level 3 hostess gifts in order to maximize the number of gifts available for my guests.

I ask each guest to write a check for their donation separate from their order payment so that they can receive the tax write-off for it, and to simplify order processing.

We found that those who received the free merchandise needed to choose an item not exceeding the amount they were given.  If it exceeded, it really complicated the processing of the order for the demonstrator.  (I don’t recall the issue exactly, but it involved requiring the hostess to pay any amount over the free merchandise credit.  While that doesn’t seem so complicated, for some reason the way the orders are submitted, it was.)

My hostess gift preference form says that free merchandise “will be at least $5; hopefully $10 or more.”  The “at least $5” is included primarily as a disclaimer.  I think it was always $10 or more, but if you don’t get a lot of orders, then you’re covered.

It’s up to the hostess how to award the hostess gifts to her guests.  As I mentioned above, I disregarded how much my guest spent since they all fulfilled my base requirement of $50 order and $10 donation. But as long as you state it ahead of time, you could use the order amount as a factor if you wanted.  You could also auction off the gifts (payments going to the charity).  Originally, I drew the forms from a bowl as in a raffle, but I found that I could satisfy most of the first and second choices much better by just comparing and planning them out.