Sustainable Fundraising Options That Don’t Cost The Planet
When I was in primary school, I loved the thrill of fundraising for school camps and events. Competing with friends over who sold the most cookies and celebrating when you hit financial goals was an absolute rush - an early exposure to earning! But the moments that sucked were when adults didn’t like the flavour of my cookies or denied my request for them to buy a chocolate bar for $3 because they were on a diet. RUDE.
Yet to be honest, if a kid asked me to buy a chocolate bar or one of the classic gimmicky fundraising items kids sell these days, I would say no. I would support them financially, but I wouldn’t accept stuff that I didn’t need (plus I am fussy when it comes to chocolate and prefer the unpackaged stuff!).
That’s why I think Bento Ninja’s fundraising ideas are incredible.
Bento Ninja is a Christchurch based company who supply Aotearoa New Zealand with all their stainless steel needs. I’ve used Bento Ninja products for years and get excited every time I see a community group, school, or sports club using their hassle-free eco fundraising option!
Instead of waltzing around with boxes of plastic-coated chocolates, groups can sell things like stainless steel clothes pegs, peg hangers, lunchboxes, and cutlery.
Unlike plastic products that don’t last very long, Bento Ninja's stainless steel products are indestructible, rust-resistant, and will never get mouldy or break.
Some of the options:
I can personally vouch for the power of a bag of sustainable pegs. Bento Ninja were a sponsor of my tour in 2020 and provided pegs for event attendees to take home (only if they needed them!). Whenever I told the room that they could take a bag of 20 Bento Ninja Stainless Steel Clothes Pegs home with them, the reaction was as though I just gave them a million dollars. They were baffled by the offer and still tag me online when using their pegs!
We’re all familiar with ‘no straw please’ but the next thing to do is carry reusable cutlery with you to say no to the nasty disposable stuff. A spork is two in one! Fundraising supporters will feel empowered to reduce their waste when eating out and enjoy the ease of just one utensil sitting in their bag or jacket pocket wherever they go.
I carry a Bento Ninja lunch box with me most places I venture. They’re well worn, but still hold up and don’t show any signs of breaking. Lunchboxes are a super ‘on brand’ item for school groups to sell, but they’re not limited to children’s lunches - anyone can use them to BYO container to grab their lunch out or take leftovers from home too.
Bento Ninja has helped over 400 groups such as schools, play centres, toy libraries, sports clubs to reach their fundraising goals. I wouldn’t be surprised if their products become the next classic fundraising tool and chocolate is politely phased out (don’t fret, you can still buy your chocolate elsewhere!).
In my opinion, Bento Ninja’s offering is a win win. Fundraising groups make the funds they need to support their projects or class trips, while funders get to replace their broken plastic pegs and lunchboxes!
Success stories:
I asked Noriyo, founder and owner of Bento Ninja, to tell me more about the impact of these fundraising solutions and share examples of successful fundraisers…
Over the last three years, Meg and her daughter (who has medical conditions) have successfully raised approximately $5000 from Bento Ninja's fundraiser to have non-funded treatment.
“On Saturday my 9 year daughter Molly and I returned from a nine day intensive therapy course in Sydney for children with cerebral palsy. There is nothing like it in NZ. Quite simply it was life changing. Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed that a course could offer so much and be so successful for my daughter, and in such a short space of time. By you allowing me to fundraiser towards the cost of the course ($11, 000 NZD and approx $5000 was raised from Bento Ninja's fundraisers) with your wonderful stainless steel clothes pegs, my daughter has been able to reach a level of independence that she has never had before and I am very grateful to you.”
Tauranga Girls College Junior Futsal Team has raised approximately $600 in 3 weeks selling Forever Pegs to go to national tournament.
“We all started fund raising in January with a cutoff date of 20th January. Between 4 of us we sold 100 bags of pegs. Others were still on holidays and may get involved with the next fundraisier. Between us we raised over $600 which is amazing. Delivery was super quick and Bento were so awesome to deal with. Can’t tell you how much we appreciate you!”
If you’re on the lookout for epic fundraising options for your environmentally friendly school, organisation, sports club, or community group, contact Bento Ninja here.
As a rule, I only work with brands I love, use, and can whole heartedly back. This is a sponsored blog (I can't pay my electricity bill with free products), but 100% my own words, photos, and opinion.