How to Run a Poinsettia and Wreath Fundraiser

A poinsettia fundraiser is a holiday sale where your group takes orders for poinsettias, buys them in bulk from a local grower, and keeps the difference as profit. Many groups add fresh wreaths, garland, or small trees to the same sale. Churches, schools, scout troops, and booster clubs run them every year because people already plan to buy holiday greenery. They might as well buy it from you.

The hard part isn’t selling. It’s keeping track. Who ordered three red and one white? Who paid? Who wants their plant on the altar? This guide walks through how to set up the sale, price it, schedule it, and hand off every order without a clipboard full of cross-outs.

How a Holiday Plant Fundraiser Works

Most plant sales run on preorders. You collect orders and payment first, then buy only what people asked for. That way you never get stuck with forty extra plants on December 20.

Here’s the basic flow:

1. Call a local nursery or greenhouse and ask about their fundraiser program.
2. Choose your products, sizes, and colors.
3. Set your prices and your order deadline.
4. Open orders online and share the link.
5. Close orders and send your final count to the grower.
6. Schedule volunteers for unloading and pickup.
7. Hand off plants on pickup day and sell any extras.

Ask the grower about order minimums, delivery fees, and how late you can change your count. Those three answers shape everything else.

Pick Your Products and Set Prices

Keep your menu short. Two or three sizes of poinsettias and one wreath size is plenty for a first year. Every extra option is one more thing to sort on pickup day.

For pricing, start with what the grower charges you. Many groups aim to roughly double their cost. Then check what local stores charge for the same size. If your price is close to the store price, people will happily pay it to support your group.

Poinsettia Fundraiser Timeline

Growers start poinsettias months ahead, so they need your count early. Work backward from your pickup date. Most groups pick up in early to mid December.

Church Altar Poinsettias in Memory or Honor

Many churches decorate for Christmas with poinsettias that members buy in memory or in honor of someone. The names usually go in the bulletin. It’s a lovely tradition and a real logistics job. Every order needs the right name, spelled right, by the print deadline.

A few things make it easier:

• Ask for the dedication with the order. Collect “In memory of” or “In honor of,” plus the name, in the same step as payment. No follow-up emails.
• Set the deadline by your bulletin, not your grower. If the bulletin goes to print a week before Christmas Eve, close dedications a few days before that.
• Ask what happens after the service. Some members want to take their plant home. Others leave it for the church or for homebound members. Add that choice to the order.
• Export the list once. Hand the office one clean list of names, sorted the way the bulletin prints them.

Make Pickup Day Easy

Pickup day is where most plant sales get messy. A truck shows up, two hundred plants come off it, and fifty families arrive at once. A little planning keeps it calm.

Give buyers a pickup window, not just a day. Two or three hours on a Saturday morning, or right after services on Sunday, works for most groups. Sort plants by last name or by order number before the doors open. And keep plants inside. Poinsettias don’t like cold, and leaves can drop below about 50 degrees. Have bags or sleeves ready for the walk to the car.

Spread the Word

Your best buyers are people who already know your group. Start there, then ask them to share.

• Church bulletin and announcements. Run it two or three weeks in a row. Mention the dedication option by name.
• School newsletters and class emails. Parents often buy for teachers, grandparents, and neighbors.
• A QR code at the welcome table. Put a sample plant next to it so people can see what they’re buying.
• Group chats and social posts. A photo of last year’s sale does more than a paragraph.
• A reminder before the deadline. Most orders come in during the last few days.

Tell people what the money pays for. “Funds our youth mission trip” sells more plants than “Support our fundraiser.”

Frequently Asked Questions

How much money can a poinsettia fundraiser make?
Your profit depends on your markup and how many plants you sell. Many groups price plants at about twice what the grower charges, so each sale earns roughly the cost of the plant. Adding wreaths or garland raises the average order. Selling a few extras on pickup day adds more.

When should you start planning a poinsettia fundraiser?
Start about eight weeks before your pickup date. Growers need your final count two to three weeks before delivery, so give buyers three to four weeks to order. For an early December pickup, most groups reach out to a grower in October and open orders in early November.

How do you take poinsettia orders online?
Set up an online store with each plant, size, and color listed. Buyers pick what they want, pay, and choose pickup in one step. With SignUpGenius Online Stores, you can limit quantities, close orders on a set date, and export a pickup list when the sale ends.

How do churches collect altar poinsettia dedications?
Add a question to the order form asking for the dedication name and whether it’s in memory or in honor of someone. Set the order deadline a few days before the bulletin prints. When orders close, export the names and send one clean list to the church office.