The Good News

Having no risk to start a t-shirt campaign is great because you never actually pay for product - your customers do and we pay you the profits. So if nothing or very little sells, there's no skin off your back.

So What's the Problem?

Stop for a minute and think about what happens if you only sell 12 or 6 or even just one t-shirt. Normally, this means that no shirts will ship whatsoever because the quantity is too small to produce. In such case, the t-shirt company would simply credit the few orders received, notify the campaign organizer and cancel the campaign. We used to do that as well.

This t-shirt campaign didn't reach it's goal

You Must Make The Effort

Have you ever wanted to make something happen for a great cause, but just felt you didn't have the means or connections to make it a success? Ever wondered how other people make it happen? Well, that's normal. Yes, there are always those folks who appear to have success at every turn, but I'll bet even they have had their failures.

I know it sounds cliche, but really failure is not trying. Making an effort is a success. Perhaps the first time you give it a go, you will bear little fruit, but believe me, you have planted seeds and seeds will grow.

The first time you launch a fundraising campaign may be scary because you do not have a huge list of contacts or maybe you are new to an area and nobody knows who you are. Perhaps the cause you are supporting is not very well known so people do not jump in to donate their hard earned dollars. Regardless of why your campaign does not reach it's goal, your are laying the groundwork for awareness.

Build Awareness

If you do not take first steps, you will go nowhere. By making the decision to start a fundraising campaign, you have started on a journey to future success if nothing else. Next you will spread the word about your campaign through email and social networking, like Facebook and Twitter. If your network is small, who cares - you have now got the ball rolling for the future and will make a few new friends. And while it may seem small, you have raised awareness about you and your cause.

How I Was Successful Through Failure

I have had many failures and successes, but I truly view the failures as nothing more than steps towards success. After 30 years in the t-shirt business, the good far outweighs the bad. Yet new challenges arise and I find myself at step one all over again in certain instances.

For instance, I recently moved my family to Rockford, Michigan from Big Rapids, Michigan. While this had no effect on our internet business, it greatly affected our local business. We are faced with making local contacts all over again.

In the fundraising campaign shown above, Rockford For Life - Relay For Life, we wanted to show Rockford residents what we do and hopefully raise a bunch of money for the American Cancer Society. The odds were against us. The t-shirt design, though for a very well known cause, was geared towards Rockford residents with whom we have no connection - yet. We did a little Facebook advertising and even handed out some flyers, but in the end, we only reached 10% of our goal.

And YES, this is a success. For those that did see the campaign, the feedback was positive. We made some new friends and contacts. We sold a few shirts. We will donate a few dollars. For those who did buy a shirt, they will be raising awareness by wearing a unique, cool t-shirt from our campaign. And this will grow in the future!

We Ship Even If Goals Are Not Reached

If you are concerned that your supporters will be disappointed if your goal is not reached, don't be. Most of our competitors do not ship orders if the goal is not met - we do! If you set a goal for selling 100 t-shirts and only sell one, we will print it & ship it.