– THE HISTORY OF COOKIE DOUGH –

There is a strong correlation between the history of cookie dough and the history of cookies. The history of cookies dates back hundreds of years, to the 7th century in Persia. The idea of combining flour, butter, and sugar to make a delicious treat has changed over time, and the development of cookie dough into what it is today has a fascinating past.

Europe in the Middle Ages:
During the Crusades, the idea of cookies and cookie dough most likely travelled from the Middle East to Europe. Europe started to enjoy biscuits around the 16th century. They were frequently made with flour, sugar, and butter—ingredients we now identify with cookies.

Colonial America:
European immigrants carried their cookie recipes with them when they came to America. Cookie baking became more popular as ingredients like sugar and butter became more widely available. Before baking a big cake, colonial American housewives would cook little pieces of cake batter to test the oven’s temperature. These little bits would later become cookies.

19th Century:
With the invention of baking powder and other leavening agents, cookie recipes continued to change during this time. Cookies became fluffier and lighter as a result. During this time, cookie cutters gained popularity as well, enabling a variety of shapes and sizes.

20th Century:
During this century, cookie dough and biscuits became widely commercialised. With the introduction of pre-packaged cookie dough to grocery shops, customers may now enjoy homemade-style cookies more easily without having to complete the baking procedure. One reason cookie dough became so popular was its convenience.

From the Late 20th Century to the Present:
Convenience and indulgence have been more important since the late 20th century. Cookie dough ice cream, which contains bits of cookie dough, became a popular flavour. Raw cookie dough gained appeal as a delightful treat on its own.

COOKIE DOUGH IN FUNDRAISING

Because cookie dough is so well liked and so simple to sell, it has become a popular commodity in fundraising campaigns. Although it can be difficult to pinpoint the precise roots of cookie dough fundraisers, it is likely that the idea originated from the popularity of homemade cookies and the ease of use of pre-made dough, without underestimating its relation to family traditions.

In the latter half of the 20th century, cookie dough fundraising gained popularity and swiftly established itself as a mainstay for non-profit, athletic, and school fundraising initiatives. Cookie dough is popular because it is associated with warmth, indulgence, and the satisfaction of creating handmade cookies without having to deal with the laborious task of measuring and combining ingredients.

HOW DOES A GOURMET COOKIE DOUGH FUNDRAISER WORK (9 STEPS)?  

Typically, a cookie dough fundraiser raises money for a particular cause or organization by selling tubs of pre-made cookie dough. The basic steps for organizing a cookie dough fundraiser are as follows:

1. Determine a fundraising target: The group decides how much money it wants to raise by selling cookie dough and sets up a fundraising objective.
2. Select a reputable supplier: Pick a trustworthy vendor who specializes in gourmet cookie dough. Seek vendors who provide an assortment of flavors and premium ingredients.
3. Promote the fundraiser: The organization uses a variety of platforms, including email, flyers, social media, and word-of-mouth to spread the word about the event. They usually give details about the fundraiser, such as the supplier, the kinds of cookie dough that are available, the price per tub and/or pre-portion cookie dough, and the target amount of money to be raised.
4. Promotions and Incentives: To encourage higher sales, some fundraising organizations develop incentives or promotions. This could take the form of rewards for top sellers, exclusive discounts for early bird orders, or discounts for large purchases.
5. Create promotions or incentives to encourage larger sales. This could include discounts for bulk purchases, special deals for early bird orders, or prizes for top sellers.
6. Take orders: The most popular approach entails providing an order taker and a cookie dough brochure to every participant and volunteer. Through your organization or one of its members, anyone interested in helping with the fundraiser can place an order for cookie dough.
7. Collect the funds & profits: The cookie dough is normally paid for at the time of ordering by customers.  Non-profit organizations order from their fundraising company and pay for it with the proceeds from the sale. The amount of money your non-profit organization makes from selling cookie dough is what’s left over after having paid your fundraising company invoice.
8. Distribute the cookie dough: The organization distributes the tubs and pre-portion cookie dough to the people who placed orders after the cookie dough supplier delivers them. This can be fulfilled by either delivering the cookie dough straight to customers or by setting up a specific pickup location.
9. Bake and Enjoy: By following the directions on the tubs, supporters can now savor delectable homemade cookies. This step gives the fundraiser a rewarding and enjoyable touch.

THE 8 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE COOKIE DOUGH FUNDRAISER

1. Easy to organize: Cookie dough fundraisers are generally easy to organize, as the supplier handles most of the logistics and the fundraising organization only needs to promote the fundraiser and take orders.
2. High-profit margins: Cookie dough fundraisers can have high-profit margins, as the supplier typically offers the cookie dough at a discounted rate to the fundraising organization, allowing for a markup.
3. Variety of flavors: Cookie dough fundraisers often offer a variety of flavors, allowing customers to choose their favorites or try something new.
4. Convenient: Cookie dough is a popular food item that is easy to store in a freezer until ready to use, making it a convenient option for busy families.
5. No upfront costs: Cookie dough suppliers typically do not require any upfront costs from the fundraising organization, which can reduce the financial risk of the fundraiser.
6. Appeals to a wide audience: Almost everyone loves cookies, so a cookie dough fundraiser can appeal to a wide audience, including children and adults.
7. Repeat business: Many customers may be repeat buyers of cookie dough, as it can be stored in the freezer and used for multiple occasions or as a quick snack.
8. Family tradition:  A family tradition is to bake cookies. A cookie dough fundraiser might encourage spending quality time with the family.

TUBS VS PRE-PORTION

COOKIE DOUGH FUNDRAISER (TUBS): BENEFITS

Flexibility: By allowing customers to portion the dough themselves, tubs of cookie dough provide them the freedom to create cookies of different sizes.

Customisation: To make the cookies exactly how they want them to, customers can add their own mix-ins, including chocolate chips, almonds or sprinkles.

Quantity: Some manufacturer’s cookie dough tubs hold more cookie dough and thus, a great option for larger groups or individuals who wish to make several batches.

COOKIE DOUGH FUNDRAISER (TUBS): DRAWBACK

Portion Control: If the dough isn’t measured and portioned ahead of time, it could result in variations in cookie sizes and annoyance for certain consumers.

COOKIE DOUGH FUNDRAISER (PRE-PORTION): BENEFITS

Convenience: Individual servings of pre-portioned cookie dough arrive ready to bake, saving consumers time and effort.

Consistency: The use of portioned dough guarantees that every cookie bakes up to a consistent size.

Less Mess: Compared to scooping and portioning from a container, pre-portioned cookie dough may be less messy.

COOKIE DOUGH FUNDRAISER (PRE-PORTION): DRAWBACK

Less Customisation: Because the mix-ins are already included in the pre-portioned dough, customers’ options for personalising the cookies are restricted.

Potentially Higher Cost: Because the convenience element is factored into the pricing, pre-portioned cookie dough can be sometimes be more expensive per unit than cookie dough tubs.

In the end, the decision between pre-portioned cookie dough and fundraiser tubs comes down to your target audience’s tastes, degree of convenience, and preference for consistency or personalisation. To meet the needs of a wider variety of supporters, several fundraisers provide both choices.

COOKIE DOUGH PRICING

Fundraising organizations should expect asking their supporters to pay about $22 for 2.25 oz tubs and $24 for 2.7 pre-portion cookie dough at the time this article is written. This works out to $0.102 per ounce for tubs and $0.1125 for pre-portion cookie dough, which makes the pre-portion dough slightly more expensive per ounce but may be a good option for many supporters who prefer the ease of single servings.

A common customer request is the, now discontinued, $10 cookie dough tubs.  Before the recent price increases for raw materials, a $10 tub of cookie dough was a common choice for many years. Despite its smaller format (2.0 lb), a lot of schools and nonprofits organizations chose this option because they considered the retail price was best suited for their community. This option has, unfortunately, widely been discontinued by the major manufacturers.

BEST COOKIE DOUGH FUNDRAISER FOR SCHOOLS AND NON-PROFITS

What is the bed considered the “best” cookie dough fundraiser for schools may have changed throughout the years. Some people will search for phrases like “Cookie dough near me” online. For many, especially for groups in remote areas, this might not be the best option, depending on your needs. Buying from local vendors has its appeal, even though purchasing from national vendors will often make the process more efficient. Organizing an online cookie dough fundraiser is another option. When compared to the in-person approach, which produces far superior outcomes, this strategy will achieve a level of success that is an add-on channel that is worth considering with any fundraiser. While selecting the best cookie dough for a non-profit or school can be difficult, the following reputable and well-liked brands have a successful history with school fundraisers:

Gogo-Fund.com:

Cookie dough is one of the fundraising options offered by the website Gogo-Fund.com. They have partnerships with a variety of suppliers, so you can select the one that best suits your requirements. Additionally, they provide some of the highest profit margins available and ship products Nationwide, making it a convenient for just about any fundraising group.

At the time of this article:

Neighbors Cookies:

Neighbors LLC is committed to making cookie dough of the highest caliber. They produce high-quality, safe products on trend with customer demand, working tirelessly and consistently.

After acquiring the product line from Pine Valley Foods a few years ago, they now manufacture roughly 30 million pounds of cookie dough at their manufacturing facility in West Monroe, Louisiana.

Otis Spunkmeyer:

In the fundraising sector, Otis Spunkmeyer is a well-known brand that provides a range of cookie dough flavors. They give supporters pre-portioned cookie dough, which makes baking simple.

COMMOM QUESTIONS ABOUT COOKIE DOUGH FUNDRAISER

What is the potential revenue for a cookie dough fundraiser?

The quantity of cookie dough you sell and the markup you put on each tub are just two of the variables that will determine how much money you can make with a cookie dough fundraiser. Cookie dough fundraisers typically yield profits of at least 30–50%.

Usually, a fundraiser volunteer will sell one or two cases. You can calculate the total number of cases you will sell by multiplying your average member sales by the total number of members who will help you.  Finally, determine your possible profit by comparing the profit chart with the estimated number of sold cases.

These are only averages; many organizations will perform far better if their members are driven or if their chairman has experience running the campaign.

What is the typical duration of a cookie dough fundraiser?

Depending on the objectives of the organization, how much time they wish to spend marketing and selling the cookie dough, and how long supporters are willing to wait to receive their cookie dough, cookie dough fundraisers can run anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

How should the cookie dough be delivered to the supporters?

There are several ways to deliver the cookie dough to your supporters: having a pickup location (which is the most common option), or having volunteers deliver it to supporters. Having a strategy in place for the distribution of cookie dough and communication to all supporters is crucial.
For an extra cost, you can also choose to have your organization’s order delivered already packed for each supporter, also referred to as “packed-per-student,” or you can go with a bulk delivery for maximum profit.

7 COOKIE DOUGH FUNDRAISER IDEAS

When organizing your next cookie dough fundraiser, you can use this opportunity to up the ante by baking a few unexpected surprises that will impress any supporter:

1. Fruit Pizza:  Prepare little square cookie dough base, add cream cheese, sugar, and your favorite fruits.  
2. Cheesecake: By using cookie dough as the foundation for your next cheesecake crust, you can combine your love of cheesecakes and cookies!
3. Cookie Tacos: Take a small, round cookie and give it a slight bend. Now it’s the excellent instrument for a small dollop of ice cream.
4. Cranberry Pecan Cookies: These are very easy to make and very tasty! Load your cookies with cranberries, almonds, and vanilla, each adorable little cookie will be loaded with flavor.
5. Cookie Cones: Roll up these extra-special cookie into cones and add your favourite ice cream; watch the excitement build at a kid’s party!
6. Trail Mix Cookie Cup: Use your cookie dough to prepare your cup, add peanut butter, Nutella, and jazz it up with trail mix!
7. Cookie S’mores:  Replace the traditional graham cracker and switch it out with cookies. Delicious!!