How a school seed packet fundraiser works

A school seed packet fundraiser sells packets printed with the school's name and a line from the class, at a fete stall or through the classroom, for a few dollars each. 100 black-print packets with Standard seed cost $224.00 plus $13.95 postage, about $2.38 a packet delivered. If all 100 sell at $5, that brings in $500 and leaves $262.05 after the packets and postage, before any other costs.

Up to 250 packets leave us within 1 to 3 business days of the approved proof and payment, or the school's purchase order, depending on the time of year. It runs in four steps: order, price, sell, plant.

1. Order: how many packets and which design

The minimum is 20 packets of one design. An order can carry up to three designs, each of 20 packets or more, so three class designs need at least 60 packets; each design is priced by its own quantity. In the designer, choose the school fundraiser occasion. It opens the Shirley Poppies design (D-036), with a spray of watercolour poppies above the name of the fete, a thank-you line and the school's name, and three ready-written headlines:

• "Supporting [school]"
• "Every packet helps the garden"
• "Plant it, then tell us"

Change any of them to suit, for example to "Thank you for supporting [school]".

Shirley poppy makes a bright show and is easy for children to sow with a little help. The Shirley Poppies design pictures it, so it comes with that seed only. For Sunflower Sunbird, carrot or lettuce, choose a design that does not picture a plant, such as Little Sprouts (D-006); the designer shows which seeds each design takes. All four seeds are Standard seed, included in the price.

Schools can pay by card, or order on a purchase order and pay 15 days from the invoice date. To pay on invoice, send us a quote request with the purchase order details; production starts when we have the purchase order and the approved proof.

Delivery is on top of the dispatch time. Western Australian and Tasmanian orders take about a week longer, and we do not send Express Post to Western Australia. Add the fete date in the designer and it shows the dispatch window before you pay. We have no rush service, so if the fete is close, email us before you order.

2. Price: what it costs and what it raises

The school sets the selling price. Black print costs less than colour and reads well on a white packet. Each row below is one design with Standard seed and standard postage. The last two columns show what is left if every packet sells at $4 or at $5, after the packets and postage only; any other fundraiser costs come off that. Costs a packet are rounded to the cent.

Postage is one charge for the whole order, the same to every state: $10.95 for 20 to 49 packets, $13.95 for 50 to 100 and $21.95 for 101 to 250. The designer shows the exact total before you pay.

3. Sell: at a stall or through the classroom

The packets arrive boxed, with a packing slip that gives the count. A simple sign is enough at a stall: "Shirley poppy seed packets, $5. Thank you for supporting our school." For a Father's Day stall, one of the ready-written messages is "something to plant with Dad".

For classroom orders, send a note home with the price and the date the packets will be handed out.

4. Plant: how families sow the seed

Every satchel inside is labelled with the variety, its botanical name and a short sowing note. Shirley poppies are sown direct in autumn or spring, where they are to flower: scatter the seed thinly on loose soil, rake it in lightly, water it gently and keep it damp until the seedlings are up. Spring sowings usually flower in about three months; autumn sowings flower the following spring.

The third ready-written headline, "Plant it, then tell us", invites families to send the school a photo of the flowers for the newsletter.

More on seed packets for school fundraisers, and on custom printed seed packets for every occasion.

Design a fundraiser packet online