Chocolate carry boxes (Cadbury, Whittaker's and others)

Members take a box of bars to sell to family, friends and workmates and return the cash.

Typically raises

$1,500

$300–5,000 per campaignest.

About $100 per organiser hour

Is it right for us?

Money: $500–2,000
Work: A few evenings
Helpers: 3–6 people
Lead time: 2–3 weeks
Red tape: None

Everyone’s done it: the box of chocolate bars is a fundraising icon

People: 1 coordinator plus each selling family
Organiser time: 10-20 hours incl. chasing returns (estimate)
Lead time: 1-2 weeks for delivery; Chocfun aims to deliver within 5 working days
Up-front cost: $500. You buy stock: e.g. a carton of six Cadbury Fun Boxes is $351 (Interworld); 12 Whittaker's packs at $66.60 each is about $800
Risk: Medium-high: unsold or eaten stock and unreturned money. House of Fundraising accepts unopened shippers back within 30 days; Chocfun accepts returned carry boxes within 40 days (return freight paid by customer).

Suits: Primary or intermediate school, High school, Scouts or Guides, Cadets (ATC, Sea Cadets), Sports club or team, Team going to a tournament or tour

Less usual for: Kindy or early learning, One person (athlete, performer, student)

When: Autumn (Mar–May), Winter (Jun–Aug), Spring (Sep–Nov), Christmas, Easter

How big a job: A few evenings, 3–6 people

How it works

The money, as an example sum

Sell at $60 a box, keep about $23 of each, so 87 boxes = $2,001, or about $1,501 after about $500 of costs. That’s about the typical result.

Using the figures on this page. Your prices and costs will differ.

Where the money figure comes from

Stated profits: Cadbury Fun Box 45 bars, $31.50 profit per box (Interworld Fundraising); Whittaker's slab pack of 36, $41.40 profit per pack, minimum 12 packs (House of Fundraising, 2026 pricing); Whittaker's 30-bar box, $34.80-$36.00 profit (Chocfun/Lollies Online). Totals are estimates (e.g. 48 Cadbury boxes = $1,512).

Last checked October 2026. Ran this? Tell us what you raised and we’ll use real results to improve the figures.

Step by step

Compare supplier profit, minimums and return policy.
Set a sign-out register: one box per family until paid.
Issue boxes with a return date.
Collect money before issuing a second box.
Return unopened stock within the window.
Reconcile per family.

Getting the word out

Even a well-run plan fails if nobody hears about it. There are two asks, and the first one goes out first.

Ask for help: Members to pass the order form to family, friends and workmates.
Ask people to buy: People to order before the cut-off.
When to start: Ask for helpers first, as soon as the date is set. Start the public ask about 1–2 weeks out, and book newsletter and paper notices before that: small newsletters close early.

Where to put it

Asking people yourselfMost yeses come from someone asking directly. Give every member a short message they can send to family and workmates.
Email lists and group chatsYour members’ email list and the class, team or church group chats. Short, with one date or one link.
School, club and church newslettersYour own newsletter is free and read by the families most likely to say yes. Check when it closes.
Local Facebook pages and community groupsPost in your town’s community page and local groups (check their rules), and share from your group’s own page.

The full guide to getting the word out: every channel from flyers to the evening news, with lead times and costs.

What you’ll need

Place: Not neededNone needed
Landowner’s permission: Not needed
Council permit: Not needed
Food rules: Not neededNo food sold
Alcohol: Not neededNo alcohol sold
Gambling rules: Not neededNot gambling

Pre-packaged by a registered manufacturer, so no food rules for the group. Use a sign-out register and return unopened stock within the supplier's window.

What you can get donated

None typical.

Tips

Gold-coin prices ($2) make selling easy (Interworld; earlier House of Fundraising brochure).
Te Atatu Intermediate let students fundraise toward their own camp fees at $23 profit per $60 box.

Watch out for

Families eating stock and not paying.
Melting in summer cars.