Written by: Divya Palasamudram
What first started out as a wholesome gift to a friend became a way for Vrutika Soneji to raise a total of $822 for Note in The Pocket! Note in the Pocket (NITP) is an organization that provides quality clothing for homeless and impoverished children in Wake County. So, how did this project first begin? Vrutika made a mug cake as a gift to wish her friend luck on their AP exam, her friend suggested that selling mug cakes could make a great business! Since both Sonali Ratnasinghe and Vrutika were on the teen board of NITP, Sonali helped Vrutika get involved in General Services. From there, Vrutika decided to start her Mug Cakes fundraiser to raise money for Note. The date that marked Vrutika’s first mug cake order was 11/18/2020, and her last order was on 1/4/2021.
Vrutika initially set her fundraiser goal at $100, which she was quickly able to surpass. She made 150 mug cakes to fulfill a total of 40 orders. Vrutika was able to sell $600 worth of mug cakes, the rest of the fundraiser money came from donations.
Promotion
Vrutika found that word of mouth is a great way to promote! She and Sonali told all their friends about the mug cakes which resulted in many orders. Vrutika also reached out to her school’s Key Club who ended up offering one hour to members who purchased 2 mug cakes. With this creative approach, many orders were able to come in. Vrutika’s skill with promotion allowed her to get the most sales by far among General Services projects. She has raised the most money for a student-led project so far!
How were these mug cakes made?
If you are interested in the recipe, click here to watch the video Vrutika created walking through the mug cakes recipe! As for her schedule during the fundraiser, In order for Vrutika to keep up with her orders she would create 36 mug cakes one weekend and deliver the mug cakes the next weekend. In order to get a reasonable amount of profits while also keeping the mug cakes affordable, Vrutika priced each mug cake at $4, it took about $1.33 to make each mug cake.
Conclusion
Vrutika was able to use her strength for baking in order to do tremendous good for her community. Through General Services, Vrutika ran a successful fundraiser, and so can you! If this has inspired you to start a fundraiser of your own, that is awesome! The General Services board is always here to assist you with starting your own service project.