From Tracie: How To Raise Money With Teespring

Saturday, July 06, 2013

How To Raise Money With Teespring

*This is a sponsored post. I was not required to say nice things, and all opinions are my own.

I have worked with a lot of non-profits, and part of that work involves raising money. At some point in the fundraising conversation, t-shirts always get a mention. With that comes talk of printers, designers, size options, and a big, scary initial cost. It is impossible to predict what sizes you need before you start selling them, and you are always left with dozens of unsold shirts, and almost no profit. There must be a better way.

When I was a teenager, every event I participated in (choir tour, camp, Disciple Now weekends, drama club, band) came with the requirement that everyone wear a matching shirt. Ideally, the purchase of t-shirts would also help to fund the event.

Even though I circled the M for medium on my sign up form, I would be handed an XL when I showed up on the first day. I wasn't the only one who received a shirt in the wrong size. We would all sing, camp, or practice in ridiculously ill-fitting shirts. It was easier for the organizers to get a break on costs by buying up the surplus puke green, XL shirts the printer was offering at 20% off than to order nice shirts in all the correct sizes. There must be a better way.

Do you want to raise money for your charity? Are you organizing an event, and want everyone to have a matching shirt? Maybe you have a great t-shirt idea, and know you could sell a ton of them if only you did not have to put out $1000 upfront?

Teespring has developed the better way.
Teespring makes it easy to create, and sell, t-shirts. You design the shirt (no more ill-fitting, puke green shirts with bright purple and brown writing), set the price, and choose the time period over which you would like to sell. There is no need to worry about collecting the money or delivering the shirts.

Who can use Teespring?
Charities and individuals who want to support a favorite charity.
This shirt raised over 85 thousand dollars for The One Fund Boston.
Stand Strong Boston Shirt

Individuals or groups who want to raise money for something specific.
This shirt was sold by a couple who were looking to grow their adoption fund.
Love Makes A Family Shirt

This shirt was designed by an 11-year old girl who wanted to raise money for a trip to Hungary to sing in a children's chorus.
Singing Bunny Shirt

Anyone looking to make extra money off of a great t-shirt idea.
Teespring is open to anyone who wants to sell a great shirt. You do not have to be affiliated with a charity or a cause of any kind.


With Teespring, you design and sell shirts with no risk. If you don't meet your sales goal, no one is charged, and no t-shirts are made. If you do meet (or exceed) your sales goal in the allotted time, the t-shirts will be printed and shipped at the end of the campaign, and the profits come to you. All fundraising should be this simple and painless.

Do you have a favorite charity that could benefit from using Teespring?

9 comments:

  1. Pretty cool! I've never been good at any of those fund raising things! We tried over and over again for Josiah's mission trips and it got more difficult every time!

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    1. It is hard to raise money for missions trips. If you tried to go the tshirt route in the future, maybe try making the tshirt general - or have a cool graphic with a missions-oriented Bible verse.

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  2. This could be perfect for Trifecta. Thanks for the tip!

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  3. Interesting and bloody cool...........

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  4. That is absolutely AWESOME!! What a fantastic way to raise awareness for something without frontloading a huge cost!-The Dose Girls

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    1. Not having the huge cost upfront is definitely the best part about Teespring!

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  5. My daughter needs to raise money for cheerleading this year. I have never heard of this, but you can bet we are going to be designing something!!!! Thank you :-)

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