Congratulations, you’ve just been put in charge of managing your booster club’s concession stand! Uh oh, now what?
When it comes to booster club fundraising, concession stands remain one of the most effective ways to raise money. The margins on concessions are generally good, and with good concessions management and execution, your club can raise the money necessary to fund your athletic or music program’s annual needs.
If you recently took over the concession stand, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. The key is to get organized and work to maximize efficiency rather than just getting by. Here are a few tips to make your concession stand successful:
Look at the Data
If your concession stand keeps any receipts or records from previous seasons, you can learn a lot from the data. Learning from previous years can help you gain efficiency and learn what works and what doesn’t. Scan the data for key metrics such as:
Answering these questions can help you streamline your operation and prevent waste.
Make a Plan
Smart planning is critical to the success of your concession stand. You’ll need to ensure you have a plan for the basics like staffing, ordering food, and cleaning. Your operation can benefit from a calendar planning out the next few games or even the whole season. You need to know exactly what dates throughout the season you will be opening the concession stand. You need to know exactly what times concessions will need to be staffed. Keep in mind that you need someone to open the stand ahead of time to prep the food and position the cash machine and other hardware. You’ll also need time to close the stand after the event, dual-verifying the money received, stowing food items, and safekeeping valuables.
You can use booster club software such as BoosterHub to keep inventory, manage volunteers, communicate with your volunteers, maintain a calendar, and send reminders. Effective organization helps volunteers know what is expected and will ensure that you are meeting the needs of your patrons.
Be Flexible
Once you have a detailed plan in place, there will always be unexpected things that pop up. Expect the unexpected! You may experience an inventory issue with a vendor; you may be impacted by weather; or you may have volunteers not show up for their scheduled shift. For these reasons, include in your planning buffers for the “common” unexpected events. Have one extra swing volunteer who can fill in for a missing volunteer. Have plenty of prepackaged food stored on hand, in case the day-of prepared food is unable to be attained or unable to be cooked due to any number of equipment failures. Have weather plan alternatives ready to be implemented. And if all else fails, keep a positive attitude, and keep your goal in sight: cheer on the team!
Running a concession stand often takes improvisation skills, and sometimes your plans simply fall apart. Luckily, most supporters know that you are volunteering and doing the best that you can, so they’ll understand when things don’t go as planned.
In addition, not all concession stands are successful enough to meet your fundraising goals. If your concession stand is struggling, consider other booster club fundraising ideas to make up the difference. An online peer-to-peer fundraiser is an excellent addition to your menu of fundraising opportunities throughout the year. This type of fundraiser takes very little assistance from your volunteers. It can be run completely online, just using the contacts of your team’s members and the power of sharing the fundraiser with social media connections.
Add to Your Offerings
One of the great parts about concession stands is you have total control over what you offer. If you get requests for a particular item, consider adding it to your menu. During the cold months, consider adding seasonal foods such as hot chocolate, coffee, nachos and other hot foods. In hot months consider adding ice creams, snow cones, more varieties of sports drinks, etc. New products, especially fad items, can often incentivize new patrons to visit your stand. Some successful concession stands make a specialty product that attracts patrons for this unique offering. For example, one high school we know sells a catfish dinner in their concession stand!
If you accept cash, price your items to the next higher dollar amount so you do not have to make change with coins. This slows down your operation and adds frustration. You should also consider adding credit card payments to your operation if you’ve been running on cash. Many patrons don’t carry cash, so offering electronic payment can boost your sales significantly. Younger patrons may not even carry a credit card! This is why having a payment system, such as with BoosterHub, allows the concession stand to accept ApplyPay and GooglePay, and allows your club to serve the latest technologically-savvy customers!
Running a concession stand isn’t always easy, but it is a great way to raise funds quickly and meet your goals. It is also a great opportunity to promote the club and share your other booster club fundraiser ideas!
