How to Add Pizazz To Your Philanthropy Bake Sale, The CL Way of Course!

It is no secret that all sorority girls LOVE their philanthropies, and bake sales make EXCELLENT fundraisers for these great causes!  But, some sisters (and customers) don’t get as excited as they once did for these bake sales as the semester continues.  Last week, you made your back to school resolution to cheer up your upset sisters (http://collegelifestyles.org/2010/07/cheer-up-the-cl-way-of-course/), but add ending the boring bake sales and raising more money for your awesome philanthropies to your list of things to accomplish!!!  Here are some ideas and recipes to make them more fun and successful!

*Buy Sorority Mascot Cookie Cutters!

You would be amazed by the array of different cookie cutters that you can find online!  I was able to find a lot of cutters that are also sorority mascots!

Imagine how much fun your sisters would have making cookies that look like some of your favorite symbols!  This will also be great for public relations on campus, as it can help make customers remember your organization!  These customers may just be girls who are thinking of going through recruitment!  (Oh! I remember you girls! You are the ones with those cute dolphin cookies!)

Find your organization’s mascot or symbol here!  Click on it to find out where to purchase it!  All are very inexpensive!

After you have your cutters, decorate them with sprinkles, frosting, or colored sugar!

*Put a Twist on an Old Recipe!  S’mores Brownies!

Having something different will really turn heads and keep people coming back for more!  S’mores brownies are fun and delicious!  Follow the pictures to see how to make them for your own bake sale!

Gather your regular brownie ingredients:  brownie mix, oil, water, and eggs.

Mix them up, but just don’t over beat!

Grease your pan!

Pour in the batter and bake according to package directions, but subtract 10 minutes from the normal baking time.  For example, my package of brownies stated to bake them for 28 minutes, so I put mine in for 18 minutes.

While the brownies are baking, coarsely chop up 6 graham crackers.

Gather 1 cup of mini marshmallows.  Marshmallows + Graham Crackers = BFF

Pull the brownies out of the oven!

Pour on the marshmallows!

Add on the graham crackers, and put them back into the oven for the remaining 10 minutes!

Take it out of the oven!  Look how yummy they look!  Let them cool completely before you decide to cut into them!

The chewy brownie, sticky marshmallow, and crunchy graham cracker make the best combination!

Yummy!

*Make Dorm Friendly Recipes!

Our kitchens at home during the summer are great!  The fridge is always stocked and there is every piece of equipment that is needed.  But when we are away at school, this isn’t at all the case!  The kitchen in my residence hall at school doesn’t really have that much equipment, and sometimes during the school year, I really don’t have much time to bake!

Here are some ideas for when all you have is a little bit of time, and a microwave!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries!!!

-In a microwave safe bowl, melt a cup of chocolate chips (any kind:  white, dark, milk, semisweet, etc.).  Be sure to do it in small intervals (10 to 15 seconds at a time) to make sure that the chocolate doesn’t burn, and stir up the chips between each interval.

-Once your chocolate is melted, dip and roll your strawberries in the chocolate!  Once they are fully covered, place them on a plate, and put them in your fridge to set!  So easy!!!

-To make it more fun, after you roll the berries in the chocolate, roll them in toasted coconut, crushed nuts, colored sugar, or anything else you can think of!

Rice Krispie Treats!

Not everyone knows this, but you can make rice krispie treats without the use of an oven!

In a microwave safe bowl, microwave ¼ a cup of butter with 3 cups of miniature marshmallows for 2 minutes.  Stir, and then return to the microwave for another minute.  Then, stir in 6 cups of rice krispie cereal until it is all combined.  (It may be easier to use clean hands rather than a spoon!)

Then, grease 13 x 9 inch pan, or if you do not have one, you can buy a cheap, disposable aluminum one.  Press your cereal mixture into the pan and allow it to cool.  Cut into squares and enjoy!

*Pack Your Items Prettily!

It is all about presentation!  No one wants to buy an ugly brownie, no matter how delicious it may be!

Ribbon and cute labels can really dress things up!  For this picture, I simply tied a ribbon around a plastic bag, the type without a zipper.  They sell cellophane bags in craft stores, but they can get expensive, and the other bags can be purchased in the dollar store, yet they get the same look!  Make a label out of construction paper and tie it on!

Cupcake liners are not just for cupcakes!  They make great holders for almost anything:  chocolate covered strawberries, cookies, and small brownies.  They are inexpensive and make it easy for customers eating on the go!

Need a place to hold all of your already packaged products?  Line the inside and the outside of an old shoebox with wrapping paper.  Everything will be instantly cute!

*Make Committees and Competitions!

Baking is more fun when you are doing it with someone else!  For your chapter’s next bake sale, randomly split up sisters into different committees, for example, the cupcake making committee, the brownie making committee, etc.  Working together will make it easier for those “baking-challenged” sisters, and for those sisters who do not have any baking supplies.  This is a great way to build sisterhood too!

Make some competitions that will make people want to go above and beyond and to bake even more!  (Which then means more profit!)  Which committee can make the most?  Choose a fun and inexpensive prize to reward these hard working sisters!

*Advertise!!!

No matter how awesome everything is, no one will come if they don’t know your event is happening!

Make a facebook event, describing where and when your bake sale will be, and describing some of the delicious food that will be there!  Have your sisters invite EVERYONE they know!  The day of the event, ask each sister to make their status about the sale.

Make a banner where a lot of people will see it, for example the cafeteria!

How do you make your philanthropy fundraisers more exciting?

Christine Palaski is a College Lifestyle Intern.  In the fall, she will be a junior at Adelphi University where she is a nursing major and a proud sister of Delta Delta Delta.  She can be found baking something fun and delicious.