Organizing a Bake Sale

Visit greatamericanbakesale.org for a Bake Sale Checklist (or look in your Participant's Kit), and keep these helpful tips in mind:

Assemble a team. Ask friends, family members, and local bakeries to work with you. Assign each person a task -- soliciting and organizing donations, publicity, setup, selling, cleanup.

Find a venue. Choose a site where there's plenty of foot traffic, advises food journalist Jane Mengenhauser. "Piggyback on another event," she says. Call and ask to be included at school functions like PTA meetings and sports competitions or at churches, farmers' markets, libraries, or offices.

Launch media publicity. Download the Media Alert Template and the Radio PSA (for a public service announcement transcript) from the Resource Center on greatamericanbakesale.org. Fill them out and send to television stations and newspapers.

Finish getting the word out. Post fliers at the sale location and on neighborhood bulletin boards. You should even put your announcement on appropriate local blogs and social networking sites, says, Stacy Roth, coordinator of the Great American Bake Sale.

Arrive an hour ahead. Collect donated baked goods from volunteers. Price items and organize them according to type -- breakfast treats, cakes, cookies, pies, etc. -- and serving size.

Set up a beverage table. Coffee, tea, cocoa, milk, or warm apple cider pair perfectly with a slice of pie, a gooey brownie, or a stack of cookies.