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No More Homeless Pets Forum
April 4, 2005 Getting Stuff Donated |
In-kind donations can really help you expand your work. But how do you get businesses to donate stuff? Claire Ives of Best Friends Animal Society has been arranging donations for years, everything from pet beds to medications. Claire will give her top tips and answer your questions on how to get things donated.
Introduction from Claire Ives:
We all know that fundraising is necessary; it takes money to run any animal rescue group. But are you aware that you can ask for products as well as money? Many companies and individuals are happy to give, but you have to ask! I've asked for (and received) everything from cat beds to pet food to office supplies to doggie hair dryers.So, where do you start? How do you know whom to ask? What should you ask for? This week, drawing on my years of experience in asking for donations in-kind, I can give you some advice on who to ask, how to ask, and what to ask for. I can also talk about keeping records of your donations.
Questions
How to get a specific item donated
Safe vaccines on the cheap
Finding a food free-for-all!
Cameras, computers, and other contributions
How long do we wait before following up?
We need everything, where do we start?
Stocking a garage sale or gift shop
Prizes for fundraising events
Capitalizing on caring corporations
The very best method to get donations?
How do we keep track of everything?
How to get a specific item donated
Question from Ann:
The majority of our dog rescues come to us heartworm positive and must go through a difficult heartworm treatment for weeks and sometimes months. They have to be kept quiet and contained. We have "airline type" crates, but would love to be able to provide wire crates to our foster families. Our fosters, who have to spend so much time in a crate, could see out and still be a part of things while kept quiet and safe in a wire crate.We would very much like to get 15-20 of these extra large crates donated. The cost is not insignificant: they are about $120 retail. Do you have any suggestions?
On a less expensive note, we would also like to get donations in kind for doggie first aid kits to give to our foster families. I've seen these for about $25-35 retail. We will soon be having a foster training meeting and it would be wonderful to supply our foster families with these.
Thank you for any help you can provide!
Response from Claire:
Sometimes if your timing is right one can get wire cages donated. Those that have slightly bent parts but that still work perfectly well. One company I'm familiar with is KW Cages: 800-447-2243. I haven't had any luck with them myself because they've never let me actually talk to anyone. They want a letter on your letterhead.This makes a nice little Internet project for you. I would Google wire dog cages. There should be a list of companies that sell them. Try to find the manufacturers or large distributors. Make a list of their phone numbers, hopefully, toll free numbers. Call them all up. Find out who at each company handles donations, or if not donations, cost, wholesale or distributor prices. Call that contact person up. Get them on the phone.
Explain your needs and offer to send an "official letter" on your letterhead. Prepare the letters. Include a booklet or some written material on your rescue as well if you have that. Send out the letters. After about 10 days when you think they all have their letters, call them back again. Ask them if they got the letter. This is very important. Some will not have gotten a letter for whatever reason. If you think they're a good bet, send them another one! As I say to them, "If you didn't get my letter, you can't read it!" This is a lot of work, but it must be done.
Perhaps no one has any slightly damaged cages right now that they can donate, but they say to check back in a month, two months, six months etc. Be sure to do that if you still need cages. Use a calendar or date book or whatever. Follow up is essential with this work!
As for the doggie first aid kits... if you know where to get them retail, I would go look at one. Products have the source company written on the product. Sometimes there's even an 800 number. If not, you can look them up on the Internet. Then call them to see if they will donate or sell at a reduced price.
Some companies will sell to you directly. Some, unfortunately, only deal through distributors and stores.
If you are good at online research I would go looking for those kits there. The Internet is a great source for all kinds of unexpected deals.
Also, in Utah, we have those Family Dollar Stores, Big Lot stores and National Product Sales stores in Salt Lake City, which are liquidators. All these sell stuff really cheap... cheaper than Wal-Mart, Sam's Club or Costco and the like. Could you put together your own kits from stuff you find very reasonably in such dollar or liquidator stores? I'm assuming that Houston has stores like that. If you don't know, ask! Look in the Yellow Pages, etc. One of our Bunny House staff haunts our Family Dollar store in town to get a particular type of tray that the Bunnies need for one or two dollars each. Could you adapt a human first aid kit for the doggies? There's got to be a place to find those at reasonable prices.
As I said before, I go out to find whatever I can as a donation. But if you are looking for very specific things, then you may have to find them cheap. As always, never pay retail for anything!!
Safe vaccines on the cheap
Question from Donna:
Our biggest challenge has been discounted vaccines. We have tried everything and always get the same canned answer! Thanks for all you do!Response from Claire:
One has to be very careful when dealing with vaccines. You do have to get vaccines from reputable manufacturers or veterinary supply houses. That is because, if they have not been properly refrigerated and handled, they are useless. And of course, they have to be within expiration dates.I occasionally have come across vaccines from liquidators or whatever. They just have to be thrown away because we have no idea how they have been handled.
The Pet Savers Foundation sponsors a Co-op buying program where rescues can buy vaccines and other medications (wire crates, too!), http://petsavers.org/co_op/co_op.html. I've never done that, but that's a tip from an expert.
You say that you always get the same answer. Are you always asking the same source? Look for others.
Some of the big animal pharmaceutical companies do sell directly to the public through their sales reps. Fort Dodge is one such. They have sales on vaccines from time to time, for example. To find everyone, again, the Internet! The big veterinary supply houses also have sales from time to time... Provet, MWI, etc. etc. These differ from region to region.
If you need a lot of vaccines, you can call around. From time to time companies have vaccines that are short dated. You have to use them soon, before they expire. They will be sold at a discounted price. It's good to get to know sales reps and companies that you are looking to for vaccines from time to time. They will begin to call you when they have vaccines on sale or short dated products.
Your local veterinarian or veterinary technician should be able to give suggestions for all of this. They have to supply their clinics after all.
One way of getting a reasonable price on vaccines, or medications, etc. is of course, to find a cooperative veterinarian to help your rescue. Finding a veterinarian that will work with your group is absolutely crucial. The veterinarian can find you the best prices on vaccines and other medications, etc. that you might need. He or she will then pass the price on to you. If you deal directly with retail outlets for vaccines then, of course, you cannot get a better price.
I've heard it said that finding the right veterinarian is the most important thing that a rescue has to do. Vet bills can make or break an organization.
By the way, Best Friends cannot endorse any product or company. My suggestions are just that, not endorsements of any kind.
Finding a food free-for-all!
Question from Heidi:
What a great topic, I was wondering if you would share some secrets about getting dog and cat food donated. I run a 48-acre animal sanctuary in the South, and right now we are still buying all of our food. At this time we are feeding 270 dogs and about 100 cats, with the cat population growing fast right now because we have just opened a three building cat facility this month. We are spending about $3500 a month on food. Can you advise us on how to approach the food companies with success?We are now buying one particular brand and we are pleased with our food, because our animals are healthy and they have beautiful coats. The food company that we are buying from now will not deal directly with us even though we are buying about 1600 pounds a week. They also will not even help with a reduction of the cost. I have not changed dog food companies, because I feel that if we are going to have to pay for the food, this brand is the best value financially as well as for the health of the animals. However you can help us in this matter would be appreciated.
Response from Claire:
Food is perhaps the easiest product to get donated. That's because it is perishable and often dated. Some of it gets short dated and can then be given out to rescues.Donated food comes in small quantities, like broken bags from your local Wal-Mart, PETCO, PETsMART and even Target, or from the smaller companies that you might contact. Semi truckloads are available from the large companies, which have overstocks at certain times during the year. Of course, in this case, you must have the storage for large amounts of food. Some donors will pay the shipping. If they don't a semi load of food may cost up to $2,000 to ship if you are far away from the donor.
The method for the Wal-Mart, etc. is just to take your official letter and printed materials and go visit the local store managers. For pet food manufacturing companies large and small, call up, find the right person to talk with, and send your official letter and printed materials through the mail to them. I say the mail because you can e-mail your letter, but not your printed materials, such as brochures.
The big companies will expect you to be able to unload a semi load. If you don't have a loading dock and fork lifts, this will have to be done by hand. So good coordination is needed to make sure folks are there to unload when the truck arrives.
Now, for the rescue in the South with 270 dogs and 100 cats, you may want to try your hand at getting food donated. There are lots of smaller manufacturers that can give you smallish amounts that you can find on the Internet.
In the meantime, in my opinion you should switch the company that doesn't sell to you directly. Again, in my opinion, they must not care that much about animals if they won't do anything for you. So they don't deserve your business. You might try Ralph at Healthy Pet Foods in Pennsylvania (1-800-821-4640). One of their brand names is "Lick Your Chops," you might have heard of it. He is willing to deal directly with rescues. It's a very high quality food, so hopefully you will be able to afford his discounted prices. They have dry and canned food. Again, I'm not endorsing only this company. I simply mention them because they happen to give a discount to non-profits.
Comment from Machelle:
I would just like to offer to avian rescues, we donate up to three packages of our foods for raffles once per year per 501(c)(3) organization (www.BirD-elicious.com).Comments from Michele and Joyce:
According to Hill's Pet Nutrition Company that I spoke with today, the FDA passed a law last year and is now cracking down on no free donations of cat or dog food – no longer allowed. It was discovered that the food was being fed to other animals that should not be eating it, i.e. cows, deer, etc. Cat & dog food are made from ingredients that cause "cud chewing" animals to come down with diseases, such as mad cow.
Hills Science Diet has a shelter food partnership program where if you sign a contract with them you can buy food from them for $.25 per pound. You have to feed exclusively Hills and have to help them promote their brand, but it might be something to do. Good luck!
Comment from Louise:
One good way we have found to get food and some other pet related items donated is to contact a local reclamation center. A reclamation center is a sorting and billing facility that receives returns from various stores, etc. Items are returned for various reasons, one reason is just because the item has been discontinued or perhaps the package has been ripped or is dirty. We have literally gotten pickup trucks filled monthly with food, litter and other usable items just for the asking. Two such centers that might be able to help are Carolina Logistics or Processors Unlimited. Check the Internet or phone books, or ask your local retailers where they return their unsaleable products.Cameras, computers, and other contributions
Question from Cassandra:
I'm so excited about this week's topic!I am a foster home for a small foster-based rescue, and I also run their www.petfinder.com website. The owner/manager of the rescue doesn't like to ask for donations at all, so she doesn't! But the rescue is desperately in need of some technology. We do not have a digital camera, or a computer. I am willing to put the time and effort into asking for these items, but I'd like to know the best way to do this.
As these are more expensive items, I'm wondering what approach I should take for asking for donations of them. And should I be asking small or large companies?
Thank you! And Thank you so much for doing this week's topic, I'm really looking forward to it!
Response from Claire:
Your comments and questions are very interesting. You say that the director of the rescue doesn't like to ask for donations, but that you are very willing to do it. Good for you!! We should never ever be reluctant to ask anybody and everybody for anything. After all, there is nothing that is too good for the animals, right? They deserve whatever they need. After all, they are not like people. They are the voiceless ones who cannot ask for themselves. So unlike many, many charities that help people, we are the voice for the voiceless. That is a wonderful thing.It would be great if your rescue had a newsletter that goes out every so often to your mailing list. I don't know if you have one. But if you don't, it's a good idea. It's good to have a mailing list and a newsletter. In that newsletter, it's great to have a "Wish List". That way everyone who supports the rescue knows what you need. On that list would be, digital camera and computer, and...!
It is difficult sometimes to get donated exactly what would be the best item on say, a digital camera. My job here at Best Friends is to get whatever I can donated but then, if I can't do that, to buy whatever it is as cheaply as possible. I mostly work with products in the pet industry, products that will go directly for the animals here at the sanctuary. So I had to ask some friends for ideas about digital cameras. One said that folks are regularly upgrading their digital cameras. Ask everyone you know, supporters, relatives, friends, if somebody has one that they wouldn't mind giving you.
Another suggested contacting Freegeek, http://www.freegeek.org, and see what they could have for you. They are based in Portland, Oregon. You could also go to a big camera store in your town and speak to the store manager and see if they might give you as a donation a display model in the store or a close out model perhaps. If they can't donate one, perhaps they would sell you one at a very good price.
Hopefully you have an official letterhead from your rescue that you can bring with you. Hopefully also your rescue is registered with the federal government as a 501(c)(3) corporation. If so, folks would be able to write off donations as a tax deduction with the IRS. This is very important for all organizations looking for product donations large and small. The donor gives you a value for the product, in this case a camera, and then you can give or send the donor a blank tax receipt, which they keep for the IRS. Very important! You keep a list of the values of the product donations, because that is just like money donations to your organization. That list should be reported when the organization reports its money donations.
If you would like to research digitals, you can look at http://www.photo.net/equipment/digital. If you have any money to spend at all, good sites to buy cameras at very good prices are www.bhphotovideo.com and www.adoramacamera.com.
As for computers, any large corporation in your area could be upgrading their computers. Ask if you can have one as a donation. They might need a letter on your letterhead. If you know a big corporation with thousands of employees, that would be good. Call up first and ask who exactly handles donations for them. Never just send in a letter without knowing exactly to whom it should be addressed. If you are near Chicago, or in the Midwest, try Beltone (www.beltone.com), which gives away oldish equipment all the time. Try national electronic supplier chains such as Best Buys or Circuit City to see if they have returned computers they might donate from their price reduction shelves. Talk to the store manager. Bring your letter!
Good luck, I hope that helps.
How long do we wait before following up?
Question from Cassandra:
Okay, so we send out the letter to get the donation and then what? How long should we wait for a response? And what then? If we don't receive a response, should we be phoning and speaking with the person, sending another letter, or....? And if we only want one digital camera for example, should we only send out a letter to one company? Then how long do we wait before we send a letter to a different company?Response from Claire:
On the digital camera: as they say, time is money. You only want one digital camera. I really recommend you try to get one from a friend, relative, supporter etc. who is upgrading. It's just not worth spending a lot of time sending out lots of letters if all you want is just one digital camera.Hans Mendenhall, our tech support guy here, did recommend going to big stores like Circuit City, asking the manager for a deal and seeing if you can buy one really cheap off return shelves. That would work. A friend of mine bought a display model of a DVD player from our local Costco from the manager of that department. Ok, she didn't get an instruction manual, but she saved a lot!
Also, the thing about getting things donated is that the more durable an item is, the more difficult it is to get it donated from a company. Food is easy. A digital camera, not so easy! Do you know any wealthy supporter who would just buy you one if you can find a good deal? I'd go that route. Do you have a birthday coming up and a rich uncle?
As I've said before if you're trying to get, say, food donated, you call up, find the right person to talk to, and then see if they want a letter. Send out a letter. After about ten days call back and see if they got it. Most of the time they do get the letters. Then ask them if they can donate at this time. If they are interested at all you'll be able to tell. They might say they have something now, or you should call back and check from time to time. If they say that, do call back and check from time to time.
If you are after something that you need a lot of, well, I would send out a lot of letters and contact a lot of people and see what you can turn up. You'll kind of get a feeling for those that are quite serious about helping.
By the way, there are a lot of intangibles in this work. Not everyone is good or feels comfortable on the phone. Calling up people you don't know is an art form. Some people are good at it and some people can't do it at all. This is a kind of sales work. Some people can do this and some can't. And even some of those that are good at in-person sales are not as good on the phone. Hopefully there is someone in your organization that feels fine doing telephone work.
In sales, when you call up someone you don't even know, it's called a "cold call." This is not the easiest thing to do unless you like doing it, which I really do!
When you are trying to get something donated you have to go and look for that nice person, or very best that animal lover who really wants to help you. If you reach a nice, friendly, outgoing person then you can tell, and you can tell if that person is really responding to your request. Your offer to send a letter is a formality so that everyone understands exactly what's going on. Also the nice person may need to show it to her/his boss to make everything clear to everyone.
Basically it's the contact you establish between you and that person that is so important. You can't be too pushy; people don't like it. You can't be too shy; people won't take you seriously. With a good contact you want to establish a long-term relationship.
I have been speaking to one really lovely lady at one of my companies for years. She donates when we need a particular product. I have never met her, but I consider her to be a friend. We have talked about her company, her kids, her husband, and other employees at the company, my work, my health, my dogs, and on and on. She told me recently that she might be able to visit soon. I will be so thrilled to finally meet her after all these years!!!
I have been talking to a guy in California for years too. He's very nice and helpful and has come to really have a long-term relationship with Best Friends. He participates in our activities in Los Angeles, and advertises in Best Friends Magazine. You get to know lots of very nice people very well if you do this kind of work long enough. But, you have to like it and you have to think it's fun.
You will also develop your own way of doing things that suits you after a while, and that gets results.
Comment from Kathy:
Also, I know if groups are looking for computers, especially to go on the Internet, they do not need them loaded with everything. They can try places that rebuild computers, or put a want add in the paper. If you talk to the big stores, the new computers are loaded with so much more than the simple Internet surfer needs.Also, if you only need a digital camera to put pictures on the web, you can get by with less resolution. Pictures viewed on the computer can have much lower resolution. It will not show unless the pictures are being printed. If no digital camera is available, you can try getting a used scanner donated, but even easier, Wal-Mart and others have the option to put pictures being developed on CD ROM's. Just request the CD only, no prints, and it is not too expensive.
Comment from Michelle:
Thanks for all the great info in these forums! I wanted to share this fabulous web site for non-profits: http://www.techsoup.org.Comment from Katherine:
I volunteer for a small rescue group in Charlotte, NC, and also for our local Freecycle (TM) group. When items are needed for a spay/neuter clinic or for people who foster, I place a WANTED ad for those items on our list. We have good participation from our area with donations of pet carriers, towels and sheets, and pet food.I'd like to encourage you to join local Freecycle (TM) lists, and when they need certain items, to post a WANTED ad asking for donations of similar items. Asking for monetary donations or selling is not allowed; everything must be free. You can investigate our founder's web page at http://www.freecycle.org. Another public forum, in certain parts of the country, is craigslist.org.
We need everything, where do we start?
Question from Nadine:
There are many rescue groups in our area and all in need of donations to help defray costs. Local businesses are constantly being asked for donations, not only from animal welfare groups but other charitable organizations.How do we go 'outside' the area or approach large companies that are frequent donators to animal welfare groups? We have a house that has been converted to temporarily house cats/kittens. However, our budget does not allow for the purchase of cat furniture, beds, toys, etc. Even donations of food and litter would allow us to free up some funds to make the shelter more comfortable for the cats/kittens. Where do we start?
Response from Claire:
I would start with food. Food is the easiest thing because it's perishable and plentiful. Lots of big chain stores have broken bags of food that they would be willing to give you. Go in and talk to the managers. Try for kitty litter too. Even Target has pet food!Then I would try for toys. Cat toys are relatively light and inexpensive. Toy companies are constantly changing their lines. If you can find a company that has returns, seconds, ends of lines, damaged packaging, discontinued lines, etc. etc., you will have hit it big! If you are lucky there is a good sized kitty toy company right in your area. If not, look further away.
Then I'd go for beds. Again, with luck, someone in your area is making beds and not that many people have found her/him yet. Then go for kitty furniture. Who's making it around there?
I think it's worth approaching your local businesses anyway. It's always possible to find that one nice person that really understands the extra work that you do for cats. You can become that person's favorite charity! Big cities are really big! If you're living in one, it's possible that you can find a business or store that others haven't found yet! Look for liquidators. We have a big liquidation business in Salt Lake City that give to charities. Maybe there's one in your area. Your local Yellow Pages can be a good resource even in this day of the Internet.
Hopefully you have what I've mentioned before: A web site where you can ask supporters to send in products on your wish list, and/or a newsletter to do the same.
Of course if you go outside your area everything has to be shipped to you, which is expensive. Although, some businesses are very willing to send donations and pay for shipping.
If you've been reading my previous idea, I suggest going on the Internet and finding anything and everything you need. Then calling up all those companies (at least those that have a toll free number). Find the right person to talk to about donations. Send them your "official letter" on your letterhead. And be sure to follow up thoroughly.
Also, how 'bout setting up a fund to buy things to expand that budget a bit?
For kitty furniture, if you have money to spend, I use Doctors Foster and Smith a lot. You can call them at 800-562-7169. Find out who is setting up their shelter discount. They give all shelters 10% off which is a big help. Also, their shipping is extremely reasonable. So if you are buying kitty furniture, which is heavy, that comes in very handy. Of course, Best Friends doesn't endorse any product or supplier, I simply mention them because of the shelter discount; I'm not saying that their products are any better than any others.
Stocking a garage sale or gift shop
Question from Janice:
I am hosting our first annual "Feline Fair". I need things for the garage sale and for our gift shop. I have sent messages by email and snail mail to the 50 people on my mailing list and only one has responded. When I go to businesses they tell me I need my 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity designation. We have applied but are waiting. We will not be in operation for the necessary one year until June. Please Help. It is hard to be a start-up.Response from Claire:
Since you don't have your 501(c)(3) yet... well, you know, some businesses if they just give one or two things don't really care about receipts and tax deductions that much. Do you know anyone that runs a small something store or business that you can ask?Are you the only volunteer doing this project? Girl, you need some help! Get any volunteers, relatives, friends, anyone... OK!
Here's the thing. Letters and e-mails by themselves do not work. They are too easy to ignore. So you and your friends are going to have to call everyone up on the phone. All 50 people on the mailing list and ask. Call in the evening when they are home. Everyone has stuff they can give to a yard sale. Garage sales are fun!
Go to yard sales yourself, or your volunteers, of course. Look for interesting and cheap items. Snap them up and then put them out in your garage sale at a slightly higher price.
Our local thrift shops have so much stuff that they can't put it all out. How 'bout going to local thrift shops to see if they will give you anything for the garage sale?
Do you have a little booklet or sheet of paper or anything on your rescue? I would take that around and give it to everyone. Ask them to bring stuff to a drop off point.
Some people are better in the trenches than others – this kind of work is the trenches. Pretty, outgoing and charming young girls are particularly good at this kind of thing. A long, long time ago I was one of those. See if you can get any of those to go around everywhere. They produce excellent results, daughters, nieces, cousins, etc. You'll get the occasional handsome and charming young man who isn't too bad either.
Good luck!
Prizes for fundraising events
Question from Kathy:
We are a fairly small breed rescue and are finally planning some events. We need prizes we can raffle off or have fun matches for. We have not asked for donations from stores/companies before, but we do have our 501(c)(3) non-profit designation. Can we send a letter requesting donated prizes? Do you know of a sample letter that we could tailor to our group? Or is it better to ask in person, which would be hard for us as we all work.Response from Claire:
I don't know whether you are in a big city or in a fairly remote area like Best Friends is. If you are in a big place I would get out the yellow pages to see if there's a manufacturer of anything that could be producing fun prizes. Don't forget, raffle prizes can be anything; they don't have to be animal products. They can be any kind of fun people products. Do you have a T-shirt for your breed rescue? Any hats? Totes, mugs, people love mugs. Breed rescue books... folks would love those for prizes. Soap. Key chains, pens, and coasters. Try radios, TVs, VCRs, DVD players for big prizes. The list is really endless. Anything can be a raffle prize. It doesn't have to be collars and leashes. Chocolate bars with your breed rescue name on them. You know, there are companies that do that. The Boy Scouts, etc. sell those bars.There are companies that specialize in little presents for clients, such as pens, calendars, key chains, shot glasses, you know, all that kind of thing. If you're lucky, there will be one right there. If not, there's always the Internet. And then there's the pet industry... products for the animals.
So see if there's a company, or it could be a large store, in your area that makes anything that could be used for prizes. Then you can compose a letter on your letterhead. One of you is probably a good writer. In the letter I use the first paragraph just request a donation. The second would describe your organization and what it does, the third asks for the donation in more detail. As in, "our rescue would love some... for our raffles or event. Donations are great because they help us economize." The next paragraph says, "our rescue is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation under the federal tax code." The value of most donations is tax deductible subject to IRS regulations." That's an important sentence if you are a 501(c)(3).
You can call up and make an appointment to see the donations person at a manufacturer or large store where you think they might be favorable to a rescue. Or if you can't do that, then you can send the letter through the mail. Then be sure to follow up with a phone call 7-10 days after the letter is mailed.
I have to send letters out through the mail, obviously, since Best Friends is located outside a town of 2,800. As I said before, I call up first and find the right person to send to receive the letter. Make sure you have the right address. Never just send a letter to a company. It will go right in the "round file," you know, the one on the floor! I would include a booklet or flyer or paper or whatever materials you have with the letter.
Make sure that everyone who gives gets a nice thank you letter in a timely manner (within 30 days maximum, within 14 days is preferable). It's very important to thank donors. They really appreciate it.
Capitalizing on caring corporations
Question from Marte:
What is a good way to approach national, corporate or chain businesses who might have a larger donation fund, but who have no real interest in what goes on in our own community, let alone in our organization?Response from Claire:
There is one answer to this: Luck. If you can find those animal lovers out there at a big company or corporation, they will do their best to help you. They don't know your community, or your organization, but they love the animals! When you tell them about all the work that you do, they will be overjoyed.If you've been reading my previous postings, I've given suggestions as to how to find and contact companies. As Forum Member, Donna, points out: Our philosophy is, "If you don't ask, the answer is automatically NO!"
So, good luck and don't be afraid to try!
The very best method to get donations?
Question from Melissa:
Our organization is going to hold an online auction of donated goods from businesses to benefit one of our programs. In your experience, what method or combinations of methods (mail, fax, etc.) would you recommend to get businesses to donate?Response from Claire:
Today I find that calling up and contacting the donations person at companies is the best way to begin to proceed, especially because I work from Kanab, UT, in a very remote area. I've written a lot about that. Thank heavens for the Internet and shipping!However, there are some folks who don't really like the phone. Also, if you are in a big city there is stuff everywhere! If you are an outgoing person, then start dropping in to likely stores or companies and seeing if the boss is there and seeing if she or he will give you anything! Bring your official letter, booklet, tax receipt etc. with you. Who knows how many animal lovers you can turn up? And how many donations! This is a particularly good method if you don't care what you get... if you are trying for donations for auctions, thrift shops, yard sales, and gift shops... that kind of thing. In a big city there is everything everywhere. I hyperventilate just thinking about it!
This method is a little time consuming, but some people like it much better than the phone. I did quite a lot of that in the garment district of New York City when I was asking for donations to stock a thrift shop – that was about 100 years ago - but I remember enjoying trekking through those showrooms and taking away lots of clothing samples. You really had quite a lot at the end of the day. People in New York are very charitable, so they'd always give you a little something.
My favorite guy had a small health store warehouse. I could kind of turn around and around and say " Any peanut butter today?" The warehouse guy would then bring out those jars where they had leaked oil and so ruined the label and couldn't be sold. What fun! My best donation at that time was an entire room of cookies. And so on....
Some veterinarians or other businesses let rescues put a big box in their waiting room. Clients can drop useful animal items in that box, everything from dog collars to a can of food... or anything else that could be used for an auction or sale.
In your city, of course, folks might not be as friendly and charitable as in my hometown. You'll just have to go and see!
How do we keep track of everything?
Question from Linda:
Is there a best way to keep on top of listing donors and their donations, members and their renewal dates for reminders, and volunteers and their volunteer hours for grant applications?Response from Claire:
I'm afraid I don't know anything about the fine points of dealing with monetary donations, grant applications and volunteers. I'm sure there are computer programs set up for all that, or even a simple spreadsheet could be helpful.For product donations, however, keeping extensive records is the key to success. I myself do not use computer databases. I'm scared off by tales of crashing hard drives. I've used the same system for about 30 years. It's simple, and you can just write stuff when your computer is turned off... what a concept!
I make a list of calls that I could make for every week. Since it's long, I just use a regular 8 ½ x 11 piece of paper, the kind with holes that fits in a ring binder, for each week. I have one for each Monday. The one I'm using this week says the week of Monday, April 4th. You can set them up way in advance, you see. If someone tells you to call in 2 weeks or next month, you can set that up on your pieces of paper.
I also have a piece of paper for call-backs for each month going into the future. I end up with those going even into the next year. Someone tells me to call next January, because that's when they'll be donating again. I'll be able to do that. I list the name of the person, the name of the company, the phone number, and the e-mail address if that's relevant. If there's a particular day to call I note that. Some folks like e-mail better. But I usually call them first and leave a message on the voicemail saying that I'm going to e-mail them!
Little lists, post-it notes, and little bits of various sizes of paper with notes on it are all banned!! That's the sure way of losing information. If you need to make some notes, like lists of products and prices, for example, turn your weekly paper over and record them there. That way you'll be able to find them again. Hopefully you'll be able to set up a good system that multiple volunteers can use. If you like computer databases, more power to you. Make sure that you've got a good backup system. I just use a file box.
Don't ever take your cards out of the office. If you have to travel with information, that's the time for portable notes not your extremely valuable original cards.
For every company that either gives a donation or sells products to you at a discounted price – some companies do both at different times – you make out a 4" x 6" file card. I've found that's a good size. On the front go the contact person, the phone number, the address, e-mail address and so on. On the back handwrite your update entries, including date, list of products donated and value of donation.
Each time a donation arrives I arrange for a thank you letter to be sent to the correct person.
At the end of each month I send a record of all the product donations to the office, which keeps track of all that just like you'd keep track of monetary donations. I believe that has to be reported every year to the IRS.
Good luck!
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