Fundraiser Math for Non-Profits: What a Sale Nets
A non-profit selling branded shirts for a fundraiser needs to know three numbers: cost per unit, retail price, and how many units to sell to hit the goal. Here is how to run the math before you commit.
The Three Numbers That Drive Your Decision
Cost per unit is everything that goes into the shirt before it sells: blank garment, DTF transfer, and any platform fees or payment processing costs. Retail price is what supporters pay. Net per unit is the difference. Multiply net per unit by the number of units sold and you have your fundraiser proceeds.
Before you launch, you need to know your cost per unit at the quantity you realistically expect to sell. The quantity changes your cost because volume discounts on transfers kick in at $50, $99, $150, and higher. A 50-unit run costs more per shirt than a 100-unit run.
Real Numbers on a 50-Unit Tee Fundraiser
A standard unisex tee blank runs $4 to $8 depending on brand and weight. A 10-by-10-inch front print at $0.06 per square inch is $6.00 before discounts. On a 50-shirt order, your transfer spend is $300, putting you at the $250 threshold and a 22 percent discount. Your per-shirt decoration cost drops to $4.68.
Add a $6 blank and you are at $10.68 per shirt in hard costs. Price it at $22 and you net $11.32 per shirt before any payment processing fees. On 50 shirts, that is $566 raised. On 100 shirts, your volume discount improves and your net improves with it.
Hoodies Raise More Per Unit
A fleece hoodie blank costs $18 to $24. A 12-by-12-inch chest print costs $8.64 at base rate, or about $6.31 at the 27% discount tier you hit when a 100-unit order crosses $500. Total cost per hoodie: roughly $24 to $30.
Price it at $50 and you net $20 to $26 per unit. On a 60-unit hoodie fundraiser you raise $1,200 to $1,560, roughly double what the same-count tee fundraiser would net. The tradeoff is that hoodies cost supporters more, which can reduce conversion on a pre-order. Know your audience before choosing.
Gang Sheet Setup for a Fundraiser Order
Build a gang sheet for your fundraiser by tiling all copies of your design onto one large transfer sheet. You pay only for the printed square inches, not the dead space around each design. For a 50-shirt order with a single front design, one gang sheet covers the entire run.
If your fundraiser includes multiple designs (for example, a tee and a hoodie with different graphics), build one gang sheet per design and order them together. Combining them in a single order maximizes your total spend in one transaction and ensures you hit the best available discount tier.