Fundraising for non-profits can be a complicated business, but with promotional products, specifically hats, it becomes much simpler.

The average non-profit spends 19% of its overall marketing budget on promotional products.

In Part I, we discussed different types of charity classifications and events.

Promotional caps serve three distinct purposes. Today, Part II will dive into each of these.

• Act as walking billboards to promote awareness
• Act as gifts to thank volunteers and donors for their contribution
• Act as fundraisers for non-profits to be sold

We’ll take an in-depth look at each purpose so you can better understand how hats fulfill each to promote your organization.

Promote Awareness

Promotional headwear, when worn out in the community, acts as an endorsement to anyone who sees it.

Give them to influential members of the community and anyone who sees them wear it will have a more favorable impression of your brand.

At the very least, people will come to recognize your humanitarian effort even they weren’t aware of your cause or organization prior to seeing the cap.

Whether you’re fighting to eradicate disease or hunger, or raising money for the homeless in your community, awareness is half the battle.

Branded hats are a highly effective, yet inexpensive way to reach these goals.

They can be given as freebies to participants and attendees at your events. Or they can be given to volunteers and donors as a way to say thank you for their services.

Volunteer & Donor Appreciation

Where would you be without the help of volunteer man-hours and monetary donations?

It’s important that people feel as if their contribution is appreciated. Caps are a great way to show gratitude without blowing through those very funds they donated.

When volunteers show up in the morning to help work your event, thank them with a hat. In this scenario, it doubles as a uniform and a gift.

Apparel, including headwear, remains consistently in the top most favorable promotional gifts year after year.

Fundraising for Non-Profits

The final purpose caps server is fundraising for non-profits.

When you purchase headwear at a wholesale price, you can afford to use them as giveaways as we’ve discussed. But you can also mark them up and sell them for a profit, or include the cap’s price into event participation fees.

Are you hosting a 5K or Fun Run this year? Do you plan to give out a swag bag with things like bottled water and a t-shirt? Negotiate with your promo dealer to include a cap in your bags.

You can then include the price of the swag bag into your runners’ entrance fees, so you’re not out any capital. Any additional money left over from the entrance fees, after covering your cap and other freebies, can go towards producing the event or directly into your cause.

What if your event doesn’t require a participation fee?

Have you considered selling products with your non-profit’s logo at the event? Branded caps are especially popular when sold at outdoor events.

This is just one more way to bring additional capital into your organization.

If you missed it last week, don’t forget to check out Part I; we discussed charity classifications and events.

What other industries would you like to see covered on Hatswork? Let us know in the comments below. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram using the hashtag #hatswork.