This ‘Snow Cones’ idea was submitted by Kate from Guardian Angels Ashmore as a part of our ‘Volunteer Stories’ Series. We are committed to saving school and club volunteers from having to “reinvent the wheel” all of the time and this series aims to do that by sharing real life stories from other volunteers. If you have an idea to share (good or bad, small or huge), we would be most grateful if you would submit it here.
Organisation: Guardian Angels Ashmore
Submitted by: Kate
Summary
A few years ago we spent $500 to purchase a snow cone machine. We pull this out at swimming carnivals, athletics carnivals, discos and fete days. The first event we had paid for the machine straight up and made us over $1,000. Our latest event on the weekend was a parish event and we took $2,000. Our outlay was 20 10kg bags of ice (about $60) and 4 flavours of cordial (10 litres of each cost $45) and 600 cups and straws (less than $50) – so $1850 profit!
The top 3 things about this idea or event
- Kids love snow cones!!
- Less sugar than a popper or soft drink.
- High profit margin – we sell a snow cone for $3 and it costs us about 15c to make one.
The one thing you would have done differently
Don’t wear a white t-shirt or white shoes (rainbow shirt at the end of the day!)
Additional Comments
It is quite labour intensive so you will need quite a few volunteers. You will also need freezer space to store the ice.
Guardian Angels Ashmore | Fact File
Number of students/members: 800
Age range of students/members: Prep – 6
Number of active committee members: 12
What other fundraising activities do you do throughout the year?
- Mother’s/Father’s Day stall
- Disco
- All year round coffee shop
- Fete every 2nd year
- Our P&F serves alcohol at many school and parish events.
What are the previous purchases you have made with your fundraising proceeds?
- ‘Big Ass fans’ for our hall
- shade sails for swimming pool.