You’re tired of going door to door, practically begging for donations to your worthy cause. Friends and neighbors are strapped for cash, and even the most generous patrons can only cough up a fraction of the money your organization needs to keep doing its good work.
It’s time to get creative about raising funds and gathering products, resources and volunteers for your favorite charity, club, school or nonprofit group. Instead of turning to individual wallets, tap the assets of profitable businesses.
Many local nightclubs will host free or reduced-cost weeknight benefits for your tax-exempt organization. Excalibur will provide a full dinner buffet and two drinks for up to 200 people. Your guests pay $2 at the door, and 100 percent of the money is given back to your agency. Call 312-266-1944. Of course, the clubs hope that the added traffic will lead to more drink sales into the night.
America’s Bar will provide a dinner buffet for as little as $5 per person. They keep the $5, but you can charge extra on the ticket to boost your coffers. Call 312-915-5989. Kaboom!, Crowbar, Vinyl, Hi-Tops and Tequila Roadhouse will give benefit parties for $25 to $50 per person; your organization walks away with about half the ticket proceeds. Call 312-243-4800.
“Most people who attend charity events are not big drinkers, so by doing these parties, we’re bringing in people who wouldn’t usually be at the club. We’re making them aware of what we do,and hopefully they’ll come back another time,” explains Lisa Speaker, sales representative for America’s Bar.
Two large grocery store chains provide your patrons with a painless way to give. Jewel’s Shop & Share and Dominick’s Benefit Days programs give nonprofit organizations up to nine days a year to get some money back from food purchases. Both stores supply 500 free coupons that the organization can distribute to its supporters. When the coupons are presented at the checkout register on the designated days, 5 to 7 percent of the grocery bill is given back to the organization. Call Jewel at 708-531-6464 and Dominick’s at 708-562-1000 to sign up.
“A program like that enables low- and middle-income people to make donations in a way that doesn’t stretch their budget, because they were going to buy those groceries anyway,” says Joan Flanagan, fundraising consultant and author of “Successful Fundraising.” “The store benefits because they get more people in, and higher transactions.”
Capitalize on companies with a conscience. The Body Shop pays its employees to do volunteer work, and according to manager Laura Stein, “an organization can approach the shop and ask that volunteers be sent to their organization or their special event.” Contact each store individually.
Helene Curtis, Inc. will mention your volunteer needs in its internal bulletin, encouraging employees to heed your cause. Send a description of volunteer opportunities and information about your agency to Jenny Welch, Volunteer Services, Helene Curtis, Inc., 325 N. Wells St., Chicago, Il. 60610.
Another way to recruit volunteers is to approach an organization that already has a volunteer base, one that may be looking for work to do, says Flanagan. “Tap into senior citizens organizations or the junior board of a hospital,” she recommends. Fraternities and sororities will “adopt” a charity and donate their time and money to it. “Or they may give you the proceeds of one of their parties,” she says.
Look into organizations that have already allocated resources for charity. In 1993, corporations and foundations gave $15 billion cash, not including in-kind donations of products and services, to charities, says the American Association of Fund Raising Counsel.
Marshall Fields, for example, has a Community Giving program that lends support to social action and arts organizations. For an application, write to the Public Affairs director, 111 N. State St., Chicago, Il. 60602.
(Fields, by the way, receives countless requests for its trademark Frango mints for distribution at charity events, but organizations must deal directly with individual store managers.)
“What you have to do is write to the companies and tell them why your needs are important and how their specific donation will make a difference to your cause,” says Ranjana Bhargava, executive director of Apna Ghar, a local battered women’s shelter that has received many gifts from banks, consumer product companies, department stores and private foundations.
Product donations can be just as valuable as cash. Flanagan recalls, “When we repainted our church, we asked Sears for 20 gallons of paint, and they gave it to us. We informed them that the church is used for community events, as well as things like Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and that their great American paint needed to be on those walls to support those causes.
“Plus, we hinted that all of our 200 members would rush to Sears next time they needed paint. It always helps to point out that your donor base is also their customer base.”
Improve your chances by identifying organizations that have a history of similar types of giving. The Donors Forum walk-in library, located at 53 W. Jackson Blvd., is an information warehouse for fundraisers and grant seekers. Call 312-431-0260.
“The more you can get your name out, the more people will respond to you,” says Flanagan. “Take advantage of public service messages. Your local phone company, for example, will often print a message on its bill about some worthy organization.”
The Apna Ghar shelter advertised its events on radio through free public service announcements.
As difficult as they may be to tap, individual donors remain the best prospects for raising funds. They gave $102 billion to charity in 1993. Studying your constituents will help you reach them.
The 1993 statistics from the American Association of Fund Raising Counsel indicate that the best donor prospects are those who volunteer their time. Volunteers gave an average of $1,193; others gave $425.
