11 Best Kettle Corn Fundraiser Ideas

Want to raise money for your school, cultural group, sports club, or non-profit organization? There is no other easy and profitable way than a fundraiser for it!

Fundraising has been one of the prevalent means for earning voluntary donations, used since ages. It helped countless people, groups, and organizations to meet certain essential needs or goals. However, with hundreds of interesting and doable fundraising ideas known, you should choose an idea according to your budget, resource availability, audience reach, and time constraints.

With the holiday mood setting in everywhere, this time of the year is great for fundraisers, especially the savory snack fundraisers. Holidays are the season of joy when families or friends spend time together while relishing good food and drinks. A kettle corn fundraiser is one of the supreme snack fundraising ideas to try! Want to know why? Read this blog. Here, we present the most unique types of kettle corn fundraising ideas, each having a great potential to earn money for your group, club, or organization.

What is a Kettle Corn Fundraiser?

Kettle corn has been one of the common sights at state fairs. Most people enjoy it as there is no bigger treat than getting a full bucket of delicious kettle corn. The sweet and salty taste of corn is everyone’s favorite.

If you are running out of pretty fundraising ideas for your organization or group, the kettle corn fundraising idea is the one for you. It takes anyone back to the nostalgia of visiting the state fair as a kid. Besides, who doesn’t love the healthiest snack of all? Every young and old one loves to have kettle corn not just for its beautiful taste but also for its widespread health benefits. Made of whole grains, it has fiber, nutrients, and other antioxidant substances that are good for health.

For all these reasons, considering a kettle corn fundraiser idea is outstanding, which will help you earn a hefty donation for your purpose. What you need for this fundraiser is to make delectable kettle corn by adding a little amount of sugar along with a pinch of salt to the corn mix during the popping process. It is traditionally made in an iron kettle and is slightly sweeter.

For fundraising, you need to kick off the kettle corn sales in the most appropriate place in your locality. It can be at a park, a community center, and a roadside area. Whichever place you choose, make sure that it attracts a maximum number of people including, kids so that you can sell a lot of kettle corn and collect enough money.

Top 11 Kettle Corn Fundraiser Ideas

Freshly popped and ready-to-eat flavored popcorn make this kettle corn fundraiser to a successful and profitable one. This is one of the hassle-free ways to raise money for schools and different youth organizations, including non-profit ones. There is no huge upfront cost for this fundraiser. You only need different popcorn kernels, adequately-sized kettles, and some basic ingredients like oil, salt, sugar, etc. Besides, each participant only has to pay for the popcorn kernels depending on what they want to sell with the funds they get. All these make it a risk-free and easy money-making fundraiser.

There are many types of kettle corn that you can sell in your fundraiser. If you are looking for some ideas to make your fundraiser more eventful, here we go.

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1. Gourmet Popcorn Fundraiser

Gourmet Popcorn Fundraising Idea

If you want to try out something very simple yet attractive for the audience with your fundraiser, then sell gourmet popcorn. No doubt, everyone enjoys popcorn, and the best thing about this fundraiser is the use of superior quality popcorn kernels. They are assuredly GMO-free, trans-fat-free, and gluten-free. Most local sellers of gourmet popcorn kernels do not use any preservatives to store them for a long time. So, they are genuinely fresh, being made of whole grains.

To host the gourmet kettle corn popcorn fundraiser, you need to buy the kernels available in resealable bags in large quantities. Distribute them among the participants. Many would want to sell flavored popcorn, such as buttery or caramel popcorn. So, make sure to provide them with the additional ingredients to cook the popcorn. You need some enthusiastic young people or children for this fundraiser who will be excited to cook and offer gourmet popcorn.

2. Chocolate Popcorn Fundraiser

Chocolate Popcorn Fundraising

Chocolate-flavored popcorn makes an amazing healthy snack for many, which also satiates their sweet tooth! There are many types of chocolate-flavored popcorn that you can offer in your fundraiser to make it a unique kind of kettle corn fundraiser. This is especially a great idea for fundraising during Christmas or New Year holidays. During those times, everyone, young or old, is in the mood to cheat on their diet and indulge in some sweet savories. So, you can make the maximum profits by hosting a popcorn and chocolates fundraising event for your cause.

You can put up the stalls, each with different types of chocolaty indulgence in the popcorn. For instance, you can use rich buttery caramel corn and drizzle it with milk and chocolaty goodness. This sweet popcorn will surely be every chocolate lover’s favorite.

3. Chicago Mix Kettle Corn Fundraiser

Chicago Mix Kettle Corn Fundraiser

Chicago mix popcorn is one of the traditional American snacks! Organizing a Chicago mix kettle corn fundraiser will hence make everyone nostalgic. They can relate it to their childhood days when they would relish bowls of this classic popcorn with family members or friends during snack time. It is also a healthy type of popcorn that is made using a cheddar and cheese mixture. It is GMO-free and Gluten-free and is loaded with good nutrients.

The perfect Chicago mix popcorn is made with Caramel and Cheddar cheese. It gives the popcorn a sweet and tangy flavor which satiates the sweet cravings for many. If you want to host a kettle corn fundraising event to spread your cause among the adults and aged volunteers, then choose this idea. It would be a big hit as it will grab their attention. They would rush to buy this tangy and slightly sweet popcorn that they used to enjoy so much as kids.

4. Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn Fundraiser

peanut

Can you imagine the taste that you get when chocolate blends with peanut butter? It’s heavenly, right? There is nothing more interesting than spreading this magical blend over freshly popped hot popcorn. Hosting a popcorn and peanuts fundraising will be eventful and successful, helping you spread awareness of your cause while letting people enjoy this lip-smacking snack! The flavorful peanut butter cup popcorn will simply win everyone’s heart. Besides, this popcorn is also GMO-free and gluten-free.

This pop kettle corn fundraiser is perhaps the healthiest version of the kettle corn that also tastes too good. It is a kind of sweet treat that melts with every crunch in the mouth. This is enough to make anyone go wow in your fundraising program.

5. Jalapeno Cheddar Kettle Corn

Jalapeno chedder fundraiser idea

Slightly spicy and salty Jalapeno cheddar cheese will make your popcorn hard to resist, making your fundraising special. Jalapeno cheddar cheese is one of the prevalent Southwest flavors that anyone cannot afford to miss. Choosing this unique recipe for your kettle corn is recommended for your fundraising if you want to spread awareness of your noble cause among the masses.

This classic type of cheese originated in the Southwest by putting Jalapeno peppers on the savory cheddar cheese to make it seasoned and tangy. This handmade cheddar cheese is perfect for sandwiches and burgers but gives an exceptional spiced flavor when sprinkled over popcorn. If you have a fundraising event to host and you want people to enjoy savory snacks while raising money for your cause, this one is for you!

6. Black and White Kettle Corn Fundraiser

Black and White Kettle Corn Fund raising ideas

In the black and white popcorn fundraiser event, you can entice the ones who love chocolate more than anything. It is also known as double-drizzled kettle corn for its extra chocolaty recipe. The sweet and slightly salty kettle corn is drizzled with both dark and white chocolates. The use of two kinds of chocolates ensures double sweetness and deliciousness in your popcorn.

From children to elderly persons, anyone will love this for the splendid sweet indulgence they get with every crunch of popcorn. It’s GMO and gluten-free and good for health too!

This is the highly profitable kettle corn fundraiser schools because kids who don’t love chocolates are rare to find. Besides, the double drizzles of white and dark chocolates on the popcorn are sure to make their taste buds and hearts go crazy! You can also make the volunteers who put up the stalls wear black and white uniforms during the fundraising program. It will relate well to your theme of black-and-white kettle corn fundraising.

7. Honey Chipotle Popcorn Fundraiser

Honey Chiptole popcorn Fundraiser

This recipe of honey chipotle popcorn is a sweet bliss with a major surprise! This is one of the most lucrative kettle corn fundraiser ideas because of the bold and flavorful recipe used in making popcorn. Natural honey is sprinkled over the freshly-popped corn, and it gives a pure mellowy and sweet taste to the kettle corn.

Honey has numerous health benefits too! If you are bothered whether your easy kettle corn fundraiser will be profitable enough, then consider this idea of using honey and chipotle for seasoning the popcorn. Honey is flavorful and healthy, loved by most. So, you do not have to worry about the footfall or turnover of the event. The smoke-dried ripe jalapeno chili pepper (or chipotle) adds a kick to the flavor of honey. That is why people who do not even love sweets will be interested to try this out!

8. Green Chili and Butter Popcorn Fundraiser

Green chilli and butter popcorn fundraiser

If you think sweet and salty kettle corn is boring, but also don’t want chocolate or caramel-flavored popcorn, then choose the green chili and butter popcorn fundraiser. Made with fresh chilies, oil, and a tinge of butter, this kettle corn is healthy and light. It is one of the spiciest treats for adults, which they can enjoy without hampering their health.

In your fundraiser, let the buyers choose the right amount of green chilies to season their popcorn. This will ensure that all of your donors fully enjoy every crunch without feeling too much or too less of the hot flavor. For anyone who likes a little bit or more tinge of spices in snacks, this green chilly and butter-flavored popcorn fundraiser will be exciting. During holidays, it will be easy to sell tickets with this distinctly flavored kettle corn.

9. Movie Butter Popcorn Fundraiser

Movie Butter Popcorn Fundraiser

To pull a huge crowd to your kettle corn fundraiser for schools, or churches this idea is worth trying! It is neither experimental nor too simple as a fundraiser idea. People buying a large or regular bucket of popcorn in queues before entering the movie hall are a regular sight in every theatre. It is not only because popcorn is considered a prime movie-time snack but also because it tastes awesome!

Cooked and topped with butter and oil, the kettle corn is healthy and also a light on the tummy. When seasoned with the right amount of salt, cheese, peri-peri, and other popcorn seasonings, it will give buyers a great movie theater snack feeling while eating it at home. So make sure to stock and sell adequate quantities of this kettle corn in your fundraiser, if you know the craze most people have for this best movie-time snack! Needless to say, this doable fundraising idea will give you maximum assurance of the profits.

10. Cheddar Blast Popcorn Fundraiser

Cheddar blast popcorn

Holding on to its name, this fundraiser lets you sell freshly popped corn topped with all the goodness of pure Cheddar cheese inside and out. Cheddar blast, the name is enough to drag the audience and interested donors to your fundraising event. No one can deny that cheddar is finger-licking good!

It is a good source of calcium, Vitamin K, and other nutrients and is considered a healthy seasoning for kettle corn. When you supply authentic cheddar cheese to the participants of your fundraiser, they can cook mouthwatering gourmet popcorn without requiring any artificial flavors and colors. The golden orange popcorn gets its color naturally and gives the perfect crunch in every bite! This particular fundraiser will be inviting people of almost all age groups and will help you raise the target money for your school or nonprofit organization easily.

11. Cake Batter Popcorn

Cake batter popcorn

Mix the love of creamy cake batter with popcorn seasoning to host a one-of-a-kind kettle corn fundraiser for your noble cause. This unique recipe for seasoning makes the popcorn butterier and only better in taste! Instruct well all the participants on how to drizzle the cake batter in the right amount over the sweet and salty corn. Also, preparing the cake batter is another tricky task! Make sure the participants have some idea of baking and know how to create a perfect cake mix that is appetizing and healthy.

Hosting this specific fundraiser gives you opportunities to sell a variety of popcorn with many flavors of cakes like strawberry, butterscotch, vanilla, walnut, etc. You can also top the popped kettle corn with other confections like candies sprinkle to add fun to the fluffy goodness of the corn. In every way, this butter popcorn will leave your donors craving more!

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Types of Kettle Corn Fundraising

Fundraisers have been helping schools, preschools, teen groups, nonprofit clubs, and organizations for many decades to raise money for a particular cause. This is not only an easy profitable way to collect donations but also instills a sense of responsibility in people along with the joy of giving. So, what type of fundraiser event do you want to try? It depends on your organization and the purpose of raising funds.

According to the fundraising purposes and organizations, kettle corn fundraisers can be classified into the following types:

1. Fundraising for schools

Kettle corn fundraiser for schools is one of the most productive types of fundraisers. It has helped hundreds of schools and preschools to raise money for essential supplies, playing equipment, food, etc., and also financially support the staff. With no other way to save money and create funds for maintaining the facilities of the schools, feasible and cost-effective fundraisers assure them to collect more than enough money to sustain their services.

2. Fundraising for churches

Kettle corn fundraising is also useful for local churches which are peaceful sanctuaries in society and help many with essential services. With no fixed source of income for the church communities, fundraisers became an important way for them to support their services. While it is challenging to host a lucrative fundraiser that needs sufficient investment, the kettle corn fundraiser is quite an easy and cost-effective fundraiser to host for them.

3. Fundraising for sports groups

Sports or athlete groups have a limited number of members and hence, they find it hard to raise money for their tournaments or international competitions. That’s why fundraising is a reliable way to raise the money needed for traveling to the tournaments and buying sports equipment, shoes, and uniform. Kettle corn fundraising can be a truly unique idea if you want to make your sports fundraiser highly profitable. It can attract more audience or donors that any other fundraiser because who doesn’t love popcorn?

4. Fundraising for cultural clubs

Like sports groups, cultural groups or clubs also find it challenging to become self-sufficient and take their group ahead in competitions or national programs. So, they also resort to fundraisers. Any cultural program whether it is a dance competition, art exhibition, or music band show, needs money. While it is difficult to raise the required funds by the few members of your group, fundraising will help to build your cultural group and grow.

5. Fundraising for non-profit organizations

Many non-profit organizations work towards a particular cause. While they earn voluntary donations from the rich strata of society, it is not always enough for them.

Nonprofit organizations have a lot to do! They host awareness campaigns, provide essential supplies or services to the needy, travel to places to provide on-site help, host free health checkups, and so on. A popular idea of fundraising like a kettle corn sale will not just aid them to raise sufficient money but also create public awareness of their cause.

If you want to make your fundraising idea eventful and memorable for everyone, then choose the kettle corn sale fundraiser. But there are challenges to it too! Let’s discuss them.

The Challenges of Having a Kettle Corn Fundraiser

The kettle corn popcorn fundraiser is not easy to host as it seems! Even though it is easy to locally source the basic ingredients, which include high-quality corn, sugar, salt, and oil, there are many more things that you need to worry about.

If you are ready to host a kettle corn sales event for fundraising, here are a few hurdles that you might come across.

1. Arranging the cast iron kettle

To make the kettle corn, you need to cook the corn with other ingredients in a cast iron kettle. For fundraising, one needs a big kettle so that one can cook large quantities at a time. This becomes a challenge to find large-sized or adequately-sized traditional kettles before the event.

2. Finding the right place for the fundraising event

It is also crucial to hold stalls for the kettle corn sale at a proper place so that it is accessible to your target audience. Kettle corn is loved by everyone, including kids, parents, and elderly people. So, you need to find someplace where people of all ages can easily come and participate in your event.

3. Deciding a goal and target money

Of course, your fundraising idea through the kettle corn sale is needed for a serious or noble cause. So you might have decided on the amount of money you need for the cause. This takes us to the next big challenge, which is deciding how much kettle corn each of the participants needs to sell to earn the target money.

4. Getting the participants

The more participants you can gather for your kettle corn crunch fundraiser, the better it is. But, how to get the participants? You need to promote your fundraising event on various online platforms including, social media. Also, invest a little in printing flyers and posters for offline promotions. The key is to make as many people as possible aware of your event so that you get more participants on the day of fundraising.

5. Supervision is required

Like most cooking activities, kettle corn cooking requires one to be careful. Mostly kids are the main participants when it is a fundraising event of schools, daycares, sports, dance, or music clubs. In that case, there should be adult supervision for each participant. It is especially needed for the hot oil used in cooking. Also, the large and heavy iron kettle used in cooking the corn is riskier to handle by the kids. The supervisor needs to take care of that.

How to Get Started with a Kettle Corn Fundraiser?

If you want to host a fundraiser with the kettle corn sale, do not just jump into it. Effectively plan everything and start slow to engage as many volunteers as you want and make your event a big hit!

Here are the tips to get started with your kettle corn fundraiser.

1. Choose participants wisely

The first thing to do to get started is to determine the participants from your group, school, or organization. Also, you need to decide on a coordinator in your group who will help you plan and coordinate with other participants/teams.

If the size of your fundraising event is huge and kids are involved, then you must choose a manager among the parents or teachers to organize and supervise the event.

2. Determine the donations or target money you want

Once you have decided on the coordinators, managers, and participants of your fundraising program, the next step is to decide how much money you need from the kettle corn fundraising. It depends on whom you need it and why.

It is best to set your target for donations beforehand. It’s because you can then decide how much each of your participants is required to earn from their stalls. When you make the participants aware of the exact amount they need to earn they can buy the ingredients accordingly.

3. Hold a meeting or discussion

Hold an initial meeting to kick off the kettle corn sales event. The meeting is essential to decide several things. You need to decide the date and place to organize your fundraising program, how funds will be allocated to participants, how they will use funds, and whether any prizes should be provided to boost competition among the participants. Make sure to choose a date that falls on the weekend or holiday so that it is convenient for the participants and donors to attend.

4. Determine safety guidelines

Also, during the meeting, you should remind the participants about the kettle corn cooking risks and provide them with guidelines for the safe popping of corn. If possible, prepare a hard copy of the safety guidelines and provide it to each participating team.

With all these done, your innovative pop kettle corn fundraiser program is ready to get started!

Steps for a Successful Kettle Corn Fundraiser

When the planning part is done, and participants are ready with their resources, it is time for the execution of your pops kettle corn fundraiser. You should have a proper strategy to organize your kettle corn sale fundraising efficiently and successfully. When you have planned the right strategy, there is less chance of miscommunication and mistakes during the event. The participants and supervisors know exactly what their role is and hence, there will be less chaos or confusion during the fundraising event.

To ensure the success of your kettle corn fundraiser, here are the steps that you need to follow.

1. Set up the place for the fundraiser

You and your staff should get busy setting up the place or venue for the fundraiser. Do the decorations of the stalls according to the type and size of the chosen place. According to the theme of your fundraiser, choose to decorate the backdrop of the place. Kids or participants can also take part in decorating the venue. They can create unique placards, table tops, lights, and curtains for the stalls with their art and craft skills.

2. Market your event

To make your fundraising event successful, market it efficiently! The more people know about it, the better it is. You can have a huge number of donors pouring in at your event, ensuring higher sales of kettle corn and more profits from the event.

The most effective marketing strategy includes several promotional plans and the use of different channels of communication, online and offline. A few ways to market your pop’s kettle corn fundraiser are direct mail invitations, flyers, the creation of an event website, email newsletter, print ads in newspapers or magazines, and social media campaigns.

3. Sell the tickets

As soon as you have started the marketing or promotions of the event, it is time to sell tickets. To sell the tickets to your target audience and ensure a significant number of participants, you need to consider a few things. You should charge a flat price that is affordable to all groups. Also, decide where you will be selling the tickets. Whether you want to sell it online through your event site and social media page or you want to sell it at a counter in your local premises.

4. Make the final arrangements

On the day of the event, check whether all the arrangements are done perfectly. Place the kettles and other ingredients at the stalls and label the stalls according to the name of the participants. You also should set up a registration kiosk or counter for day-of-ticket sales. Prepare prizes, gifts, greeting cards, and refreshments for the participants and volunteers.

5.Enjoy your kettle corn fundraising

On the day of the event, you might be thrilled or nervous but make sure to engage and appreciate your participants. Manage to interact with the donors and attendees personally. If possible, shoot the event on your phone to broadcast it online. Make the most of your event by sharing your excitement with other participants, clicking pictures, and showing your gratefulness to everyone who attended or participated.

Get Set For a Unique Kettle Corn Fundraiser with the Help of Midland Fundraising!

With countless fundraising ideas available, why not choose an idea which will be exceptional and at the same time easy to organize? The kettle corn fundraiser idea is the apt one for you! Kettle corn is quite a traditional healthy snack that is widely prevalent today. To make it, you still need an old-fashioned iron kettle. Also by picking some of the uncommon ingredients for seasoning the kettle corn, you will be able to attract a huge number of audiences to your fundraiser event.

Popcorn is an infectious savory treat loved by all! So when you sell kettle corn in sweet, tangy, salty, buttery, chocolaty, or cheesy flavors, it will make your fundraiser an instant hit.

If you are ready to implement a unique kettle corn fundraising idea, Midland Fundraising will help you. We provide schools, clubs, art/sports/cultural groups, and organizations with all the necessary supplies for popcorn fundraisers. Our specially prepared kettle corn in multitudes of flavors is available at reasonable prices. Not only that, but we also offer a variety of seasoning products and decoration items to help you focus only on organizing the event and selling the tickets.

We also provide professional support in the planning of your fundraising event. You can count on us even if you wish to host an online kettle corn fundraiser. We will supply all the necessities at your doorstep. Without a second thought, team up with Midland Fundraising to host a successful kettle corn fundraising event and collect sufficient funds for your noble cause.