It is 100% free to lead a pulsera sale and there is no requirement to sell a certain amount of bracelets--we'll send everything you need once you have your plan put together, and anything you don't sell can simply be sent back to us at the end of your sale with a pre-paid UPS label.
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Please make sure to read the entire guide before signing up for your pulsera sale. For those that have led pulsera sales before, feel free to use the quick-links below to jump to a specific section. We also have a video about getting involved that you can use as a supplement to the guide.
1.) Receive Permission For Your Pulsera Sale
Getting approval is the first and most important step! Wherever you plan to sell pulseras, make sure you have permission. There is a wealth of information on our website and Guidestar that explains our history, mission, finances, and programs -- these details should help you with approval, and you can call or email us if you’re having any problems.
Since 2009 we’ve worked with over 3,800 school communities to host over 7,500 pulsera sales in all 50 states and in addition to schools, pulsera sales have been held everywhere from coffee shops to street fairs to NFL football games.
2.) A Clear Plan: Dates, Locations, Volunteers
One of the best things about The Pulsera Project is using your creativity to come up with a plan specifically tailored to your school. Most pulsera sales take place during lunch periods for at least several days in a row. Many schools will also set up in their main lobby before or after school, and others organize a way to sell pulseras classroom-to-classroom.
Special events can also be a great addition to your pulsera sale plan, but we’ve found that regularly selling in one location will give you the highest chance of a great turnout. Most important of all is getting a great team together— the more people involved, the better!
Pulsera sales can get super busy, so make sure you have a detailed plan for staffing the tables, collecting money, and safeguarding the funds you’ve raised. Most schools benefit from using a sign-up sheet to keep track of volunteers and their 1-2 hour time slots.
Different student-led teams taking ownership of different parts of the sale also leads to success -- from marketing to sales, accounting, and more. We also recommend bringing other clubs or student organizations into the mix and using their talents to really boost your pulsera sale.
Some teachers let students ‘check out’ pulseras with a goal to sell a certain amount to friends and family. If you decide to do this, make sure there is a clear deadline for returning the pulseras & money.
We also have a Perfect Pulsera Sale guide that gives even more information on planning a great sale – we guarantee that the more time you spend planning your sale, the more fun & successful it will be!
3.) Sign Up For Your Sale
Once you have your pulsera sale plan put together, you can reserve a two-week time slot using the form at the end of this guide. The earlier you sign up, the better!
We need at least two weeks notice before your pulsera sale begins. We’ll confirm that your sale is 100% ready to go within 48 hours – if you don’t hear back from us, please e-mail us.
4.) Promote Your Pulsera Sale
One of the most important elements of a successful pulsera sale is making sure people know when and where it’s happening, and why they should support it. We have tons of great resources to promote your sale – printable posters, videos for morning announcements, Canva templates, and much more.
A pre-sale with your class or club the week before your sale starts is a great way to kick off your sale. This can build anticipation as other students begin to notice the pulseras and ask when they'll be able to get their own. We also highly recommend showing our “Color the World” or “What is the Pulsera Project?” videos to as many people in your school as possible. We also have a shorter one-minute version that is great for morning announcements.
We have seen some amazing marketing ideas carried out in the past, from anonymous "pulsera-gram" Valentines gifts, to cryptic poster campaigns, to hilarious morning announcement promos, school-wide assemblies, and many more. This is a great time to be creative!
5.) Receive Your Pulsera Box
Your pulsera box will arrive about a week before your sale officially begins, and will contain a large trifold display, several hundred pulseras, some hand-woven purses, and informational & display materials that will help with your pulsera sale.
Spanish curriculum materials are available online for teachers or Spanish groups who are interested in them -- those can be accessed on this page.
Make sure you have a secure location to store the pulseras and box. It is super important to keep the box that you receive. That’s how you’ll return everything when the sale ends.
6.) Sell Pulseras
All pulseras sell for $5. Handwoven purses, or "bolsitas," sell for $15. The money raised employs over 200 artisans with fair trade jobs, supports communities throughout Central America, and funds amazing projects that leave a positive & lasting social impact on the lives of countless Nicaraguans and Guatemalans.
Pulseras cannot be sold for less than $5. Pulsera sales generate a lot of cash, so it’s important to have a system in place to safeguard the money you raise. Equally important is that the pulseras we’ll be sending represent hundreds of hours of work by talented artists, so please help us in explaining this to anyone participating in the sale.
We can also accept cashless payments including Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, Cashapp, and Paypal. You're welcome to use our cashless system or your own school system, or just collect cash – whatever works best for you!More details about accepting cashless payments can be found here.
If at any point during your sale you’d like more pulseras or bolsitas, just let us know – we can usually get you additional pulseras within 48 hours.
We encourage you to share photos of your pulsera sale with us on Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram using #pulseraproject.
7.) After Your Pulsera Sale
The display, materials, and remaining pulseras should be returned to us in the box they arrived in – the one you saved. Usually we ask that you do this within a week after the end of your sale. We just ask that if you need more time or expect a delay in returning materials that you send us a quick email to let us know.
Just stick the pre-paid mailing label to the box and take it to the closest UPS location. The school's front office might also be able to take care of this for you, as UPS comes to many schools on a daily basis.
The proceeds you’ve raised should be sent later—no funds should be sent in the box.
8.) Sale Proceeds
The pulsera proceeds can be sent in the form of a school check, cashier’s check, personal check, or money order. Please do not send cash or coins. Your school may need an invoice or other documentation from us to issue a check. If so, just let us know and we’ll gladly send that to you. Our nonprofit W9 form can be downloaded below.
All proceeds can be mailed to:
The Pulsera Project
449 Fleming Rd.
Suite C
Charleston SC, 29412
By leading a pulsera sale you agree to sell all pulseras for $5 and to return 100% of the sale proceeds as soon as practical after your sale, unless we had a different written agreement through e-mail. In the event of a discrepancy between the number of pulseras returned and the money raised, The Pulsera Project will never ask students or teachers to make up the difference with personal funds.
9.) What Happens to the Money You Raise?
Our list of programs in Central America is pretty long and constantly changing, but a good summary of our work can be found on the programs & partners page. The Pulsera Project mainly funds sustainable projects that allow the people we work with to take control of their own lives and futures without building any dependence on "hand-outs."
In addition to sustaining fair-trade jobs for over 200 artists in Guatemala and Nicaragua, money from your sale will support college scholarships, secondary education programs, workers' rights initiatives, loans to worker-owned cooperatives, housing programs, environmental programs, social enterprises, and more. We encourage you to look into the Pulsera Project through independent sources like Guidestar and the IRS for additional information.
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10.) Once Per School Year
Finally, to make sure that as many groups as possible have the opportunity to participate in the Pulsera Project, we ask that schools limit themselves to one pulsera sale per school year. This allows as many schools to participate in the project as possible, and helps improve the quality of any future pulsera sales you lead. Thanks for your understanding!
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