PTA fundraiser t-shirts succeed or fail on the per-shirt profit margin. Order the wrong blank, pick the wrong sale price, or underestimate the volume, and you've just done 60 hours of unpaid volunteer work for a $400 net. Get it right and you net $3,000+ for the playground. Here's the actual margin math.
The three numbers that matter
- Landed cost per shirt: what you pay us, all-in (blank + print + tax + shipping).
- Sale price per shirt: what parents pay you.
- Volume: how many shirts you sell.
Net profit = (sale price − landed cost) × volume sold − any merchant processing fees if you take cards.
Real example — playground fundraiser
A Meridian elementary PTA we worked with wanted to raise $4,000 for new playground equipment in three weeks. We worked back from the budget:
- Goal: $4,000 net profit
- Sale price: $20 per shirt (PTAs sell well at this price; parents don't blink)
- Volume target: 240 shirts (= $4,800 gross at $20)
- Required landed cost: under $9 per shirt to net $4,000+ after card processing fees
We spec'd Gildan G500 cotton tee at $4.50 landed + 2-color front-chest screen print at $3.50 = $8 landed per shirt. Sale at $20 nets $12 per shirt before fees. 232 of 240 sold in 11 days = $2,784 net profit + $1,500 corporate match from the school district. Total cleared $4,284 in 21 days.
Why $20 is the magic sale price
PTAs across the Treasure Valley have tested every price point from $12 to $30. The data is consistent: $20 sells the most shirts per fundraiser week.
- $15 and under: too cheap, parents think the shirt is low quality.
- $18: works but feels like you tried too hard to find the magic price.
- $20: the cultural sweet spot. Parents pay without thinking.
- $22: works for limited-edition designs but reduces volume slightly.
- $25+: only works for premium designs (embroidered, vintage-style, multi-color full-art). Reduces volume by ~40%.
The volume threshold
Below 50 shirts, the economics don't work. Setup costs (screen print or digitizing) eat too much of the per-shirt margin. We recommend 100+ pieces as the minimum for a real fundraiser. The data:
- 40 shirts at $20: $800 gross, $560 net = $14/shirt profit. Decent but low total.
- 100 shirts at $20: $2,000 gross, $1,300 net = $13/shirt profit.
- 240 shirts at $20: $4,800 gross, $3,360 net = $14/shirt profit.
- 500 shirts at $20: $10,000 gross, $7,000 net = $14/shirt profit.
Per-shirt profit stays remarkably stable from 100 to 500 pieces — the win is total volume.
The pre-sale model
Don't gamble on inventory. Run a 2-week online pre-sale where parents order through a custom storefront, pay by card, and we produce only what sold. Zero inventory risk to the PTA.
We set up the storefront for free. Each shirt sold pays through our payment processor; we charge per shirt produced at the order deadline. PTA only sees deposits to their bank account, no risk of unsold inventory.
Three rookie PTA fundraiser mistakes
- Picking the blank without checking sizing. If your blank doesn't come in YXS, half your kindergarten audience can't wear it.
- Underestimating production time. Standard turnaround at 200+ pieces is 14–18 business days. Order 4 weeks before the event.
- Skipping the mockup approval. The PTA president reviews the mockup at 11 PM, approves, then realizes the school name is misspelled on production. Always have 2 people review.
Related
Send your PTA's target fundraiser dollars and we'll work the math backwards. Free quote with margin spreadsheet: (208) 954-9492.
How We Make This Stuff
Everything covered in this post is produced in our Meridian, Idaho shop at 2700 E Lanark St. Eagle Ridge Apparel is a family-run print shop serving the Treasure Valley since 2019 — we embroider, screen print, DTF, sublimate, laser-cut leather patches, laser-engrave drinkware, and UV-print promotional goods on equipment we operate ourselves. No outsourced decoration, no overseas fulfillment, no third-party middlemen.
Most custom apparel orders ship in 7–10 business days from approved mockup. Rush production in 3–5 business days is available on most decoration methods; embroidered hats are the tightest constraint. We hold no minimums on any decoration type — order one piece or one thousand — though pricing scales aggressively over 50, 100, and 250-piece tiers. Free digital mockups before production starts. We don't begin a run until you sign off on what it'll look like.
Two ways to order: design it yourself online in our designer tool (any quantity, any decoration method), or request a custom quote and we'll send back pricing within one business day. Talk to a real person at (208) 954-9492 or info@eagleridgeapparel.com — most inquiries get a response within two hours during the business day.