Toonie Sale
| First Name | Kathy |
| Last Name | McFarlane |
| k.mcfarlane937@outlook.com | |
| Club Name | Bolton Kin Club |
| District # | 8 |
| Number of Members | 26-40 |
| Community Size | Medium-sized community (20,000-100,000) |
| Community Type | Urban |
| Project Name | Toonie Sale |
| Type of Project (check all that apply) | Toy or Coat Drive, Hamper Program, Adopt-a-Family |
| If other, please describe | Clothing Collection & Sale |
| Was this project a fundraiser? | Yes |
| Description of project | We have a clothing donation bin located in the parking lot of the largest grocery store in town. There are large signs which indicate that the clothes are being donated to our Kin club to support the community. We bring the clothes back to our clubhouse where the saleable clothes are sorted by gender (mens, womens, children, infant) and placed into large Ikea bags. The clothes that are not worthy for sale are sold for poundage, raising approximately $15,000 per year. About 6 times a year, we will display all the clothes collected in one of the buildings on the town fair grounds centrally located and sell everything for $2 each. Our sales run from 10-1 on a Saturday morning and each sale will net approximately $5,000. Our community looks forward to each sale and we typically have a line up before the doors open. |
| Service Hours | 100+ |
| Did you leverage this project as a way to recruit new members? | Yes |
| If you answered yes to the question above, please explain: | We utilize a large number of volunteers to sort, display and clean up the clothes for each sale. Our volunteers are treated to a few appreciation nights throughout the year so they have the opportunity to see what our club is all about and the good work we do in the community. We also take the opportunity to place club signage and contact info during the sale. |
| How was this project promoted in your community? | word of mouth newspaper ads newspaper articles current sales will advertise the upcoming sale date |
| What were some challenges you faced with this project, and how could your project be improved? | It takes a large number of volunteers to sort the clothes and we are fortunate enough to have a clubhouse with storage for the Ikea bags; it would be a challenge for clubs who don't have the storage we have. |
| What was the approximate budget for this project? | Less than $1,000 |
| If the project was a fundraiser, what were the sources of revenue for this project? | clothes sales |
| If this was a fundraiser, how much money was raised (minus expenses)? | $1,000-$5000 |
| What were the expenses for this project? | rental of the hall newspaper advertising clothing racks initially |
| Is there anything else you would like to share that would assist another club in duplicating this project in their community? | Be prepared to put in a large number of hours but once the sales are established, it's been worth the efforts. |