Archive for August, 2009

What’s cool, stylish, cheap, and an excellent fund-raising idea? Why silicone wristbands of course! Since May of 2004 when the Lance Armstrong foundation first used these clever little bracelets to raise both awareness and funds, they have been a popular staple in fundraising efforts.

If you are one of the few people left on the planet that haven’t seen these little silicone wristbands check out the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s store for a look at these in-demand bracelets. With such a positive public image, it is a good idea to capitalize on these bands for your own fundraising efforts. Church groups, athletic teams, and various non-profit foundations all use these wristbands as part of a successful fundraising campaign.

If you conduct an internet search for these little gadgets you will soon discover a plethora of companies vying for your business with many options you may not have considered. Knowing what options your group wants to utilize can make the difference between easy ordering transactions and successful fundraising or indecision and frustration for your fundraising efforts. Here are some important considerations before deciding which wristbands your fundraiser will order.

Price
Decide ahead of time what price you will charge donors as well as what price you want to pay for your wristbands. If you are looking to offer your product at $1.00 each, it is not a good idea to place an order that costs your organization $1.25 to make. Once you have a price point then other decisions become somewhat easier to make.

Slogan or Theme
Every fundraiser must have a slogan or theme under which they raise funds. Childhood cancer? Clean water in Bangladesh? Band competition? Cheerleading camp? Each of these needs a straightforward or catchy phrase to be printed on the wristbands. A simple “Central High School Rams” is sufficient to catch both the eye and support of your targeted consumer.

Color
A major consideration for your theme has to be color. What color are you going to use to represent your cause? Wristbands not only come in the usual rainbow of colors but there are also 2 color bands, 3 color bands, patterns of color bands, swirled colors, glow in the dark bands and even wristbands with color-filled embossed letters. The variety seems to grow each year as the popularity of silicone wristbands grows.

Style
There are several ways to approach the printing of your slogan onto the wristbands. The first is to choose the “font” you want your slogan printed in. Font refers to the style of lettering your words will be printed in. There are two major catagories of fonts available. Serif fonts have a small line used to finish off the main stroke of a letter, sort of a fancy little mark. A popular example of this is Times New Roman. Or, you can choose a sans-serif font which does not have the fancy little extra strokes added onto individual letters. A popular example of this is Helvetica. Once you decide if you want serifs or no serifs in your lettering, picking the specific font becomes much easier. Now you must decide upon embossing. The typical silicone wristband has “de-bossed” letters on them. De-bossed wristbands have the letters sunken into the wristband. These are what the Livestrong bracelets use. Or you may use embossed (raised) letters for your wording. Either of these styles can have a letter fill color that contrasts to the wristband color or no fill color at all. Some companies offer both standard logos or customized logos for their customers. There are typically added charges for logos and even higher charges for custom logos. This can still be an affordable option and something to consider if it fits your organization’s needs.

Wristband Sizing
Some companies offer both children and adult sized wristbands. This is nothing more than a personal choice. Ordering both adult and child sizes is far from necessary and most wristbands are ordered in the standard one size fits all format. However, your target audience may be full of children making this option much more attractive.

You are now ready to order your silicone fundraising bracelets! As you can see, there are many decisions to consider before making your order. Talking with other members of your organization and arriving upon a consensus about the look of your wristbands should save time, money and preserve happiness in your group. Just know, whatever ideas your group may have for the look and style of your wristbands, you are sure to be able to find a provider able to meet your expectations and lead to a successful fundraiser.