[Ohio-talk] A Practical Guide to Obtaining Donations
Everett Gavel
everettg at successfuladaptations.com
Sun Nov 16 03:05:17 UTC 2008
Hello,
Below is a 7-page guide on requesting donations,
including sample request letters and thank you letters.
I hope this can help some here, or in your chapters, to
become better prepared and more outgoing in your
chapter's efforts to raise funds for various events or
programs. Such as the Imagination Fund and upcoming
March for Independence / Rally on the River event next
summer in detroit. Have you signed up yet, to help
raise funds? If not, please, get on over to
www.MarchForIndependence.org to sign-up now! We need
your involvement. Just because you signed up last year
doesn't mean you're signed up for this coming year in
Detroit. Go to www.MarchForIndependence.org to check
and make sure. There's only a few of us signed up
right now. It's pitiful. Where are all the
Go-Getters? The March for Independence needs you!
Let's get a few hundred more signed up by year-end!
Come on, get to it, let's do it! We need your
involvement! Sign up before year end!
Okay, anyway, off my Imagined soapbox for now. Below
is what will hopefully help some of you improve your
fundraising abilities. ;-)
It's nothing to do with the NFB. It's just a document,
7 pages, which the college students who put it
together, call a Guide. It has some good and useful
info in it that can help us be better at raising funds.
Sample donation and thank you letters - and some tips
are below.
Strive On!
Everett
www.everettgavel.com
A Practical Guide to Obtaining Donations
from Private organizations and Companies
- with Sample Donation Request and Thank You Letters
Included
http://www.wright.edu/~jenny.alexander/donation_guide.htm
By
Aaron Dowd, Vicky Giminez, Kathi Goings, Peter Hutzel,
Lindsay Johnson, Russ Smith and Kathleen Werning
COM 141 Fall 1999
(Below is the 7-page Guide.)
Introduction
Have you ever had a great idea for a plan or project
only to discover that you don't have enough funds to
complete the project? Are you planning a social action
project with a group or club and are tired of
collecting canned goods or food donations? This guide
will provide you with some helpful hints and tools to
actively, correctly and successfully solicit donations
from companies or individuals.
The barrier to obtaining donations from private
organizations may be your group's lack of knowledge
about donation requesting. To effectively solicit and
obtain donations from private industry, your group must
be organized, plan ahead, and know the local business
community. The business community works on a system of
supply and demand coupled with the profit margin.
Industries want to make money. However, they want to
promote a good, positive image to the community. The
majority of companies want to help worthy causes with
donations. They can't donate to your project unless you
ask.
How do you ask? You ask in person with a professional
image and a well thought out donation request letter.
Donations are possible. Most corporate companies'
budget for donations to worthwhile causes. Local and
national corporations want to promote business by
showing an active interest in supporting the needs of
the local community.
The explanation of the donation request letters that
follow has an example so you can model your own letter
after the sample.
After you receive a donation, what do you do? Take it
and run? No, you have to acknowledge the donation and
send the donor a thank you letter soon after you
receive the donation. Section 2 of this guide explains
the components of an appropriate thank you letter and
some examples are provided for your assistance. We hope
this guide is helpful in your quest for donations. We
wish you luck in your endeavors. Remember just because
one company says "No" doesn't mean they will all say
"No".
DONATION REQUEST LETTERS
The following donation letter is a copy of the donation
request letter used by our group to solicit donations
for our project. The body of the letter and the return
address heading remained constant in all letters. The
addressee heading was formatted for each individual
business or individual. This format allows the
business to utilize the donation request letter and
their own itemized ledger for tax deduction purposes.
It is a good idea to mention tax deductions because
many companies especially small and/or local companies
may not be aware of the tax deduction potential of the
donation. They can donate out of season items, last
years stock or even clearance items to your cause or
project while deducting their full market value from
their taxes at the end of the year. Donations that don't
have a direct market value such as the use of equipment
or supplies can be deducted from the company's taxes in
the form of depreciation costs of equipment or
materials.
Some larger companies such as Meijer's, Wal-Mart, and
Kroger have an annual budget from donations to
worthwhile events or projects. This makes these types
of companies good sources for donations. It is
recommended that you request donations as early as
possible. This is essential if your group, club, or
project is following a strict timeline. Large companies
may require your group or club to complete a donation
request form supplied by the company. This donation
request form is usually mailed to a corporate office
for consideration. Donation requests are handled on a
first come first served basis. The corporate office may
require 3 to 4 weeks to process a donation request.
Make sure you request donations well in advance of your
event or need.
A member of the group or club requesting the donation
should deliver the donation request letter in person if
possible. This individual should be dressed in a
professional manner and be able to answer basic
questions about the project. The group member should
speak with the owner, the shift supervisor, or the head
of customer service. Be polite. Don't promise something
that your group or club can't provide such as media
coverage or recognition of a donation. Thank the
individual for their time and consideration of your
request even if they decline to donate.
Send a thank you follow up letter describing how the
donations your group or club received impacted your
group, club, project, or the community. (See the sample
thank you notes in this booklet). Make certain your
follow up thank you is timely. Don't wait until two
months after your project is completed or the group has
benefited from the donation to send your thank you.
ALWAYS SEND A THANK YOU ADDRESSED TO EACH INDIVIDUAL
DONATOR . DON'T USE A FORM THANK YOU LETTER.
MAIN COMPONENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE DONATION LETTER
· Who is asking for the donation?
· What are you asking for? ( Be specific- not
just clothing but infant clothing, or cookies and
cupcakes for 50 people rather than baked goods)
· Why are you asking for this donation?
· Who will the donation benefit?
· What can the donator gain from donating to
your group, club or project? (free advertisement by
your posting a list of all the donators, recognition in
the community if the event is in the local area and/or
printed in the newspaper, a tax deduction, and
donations to local groups, clubs, or projects are good
for public relations and business.)
· Thank the business in advance for considering
donating to your group, club, or project.
· The name and phone number of a contact person
(from the group).
· Signatures - all group members, or the
contact person, or "major" group members (i.e.:
president, Vice President, Chairman, Board Members
etc. )
** Sample donation request letter
Small Group Communications Class COM 141
Wright State University
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton, Ohio 45435
Jim Amburn
State Farm Insurance
6070 Wilmington Pike
Sugar Creek Plaza
Centerville, Ohio 45459
We are students at Wright State University. Our class
requires us to plan, develop, and execute a social
action project over the course of a university quarter
term. We have chosen to sponsor and provide a Fall
Harvest/Halloween Bingo Party for the residents of
Brighton Gardens in Centerville on October 17, 1999. We
are soliciting donations from area businesses for
prizes, decorations, and refreshments. If your business
is interested in donating to this project we would
greatly appreciate your input. All donations would be
recognized as donated from your establishment at the
party, in the resident community newsletter and
possibly in the local newspaper (if we are able to
interest them in a human-interest story for the paper).
This letter and our letter of Thank you indicating your
exact donation are sufficient documentation of your
donation for tax purposes.
These donations will be used for the sole purpose and
benefit of the residents of Brighton Gardens in
Centerville. No donations will be awarded to Wright
State University participants or employees of Brighton
Gardens. Our project goal is to provide a Sunday
afternoon of activity, socialization, and enjoyment for
the residents of Brighton Gardens. If you have any
questions you may contact the project group chairman,
Kathleen Werning at 513-896-6545 or kwerning at fuse.net
If you wish to have further information on the nature
of the class requirement you may contact our
Instructor, Jennifer Alexander-Paul, at 937-775-2710.
Thank you in advance for your consideration and
support.
Sincerely,
Aaron Dowd Vicky Gimemez Kathi Goings Peter Hutzel
Lindsay Johnson Russ Smith Kathleen Werning
THANK YOU LETTERS
The following thank you letter is a sample of the thank
you letters our group sent out to those companies and
individual's that donated items to our project. We also
sent a thank you card. Enclosed is a second example of
a thank you letter of a more professional style. The
style you chose depends on the amount of the donation,
type of donation, and type of company you are
soliciting. Each thank you letter was addressed to the
business or individual that donated. The individual
letters mentioned the exact donation, how it was
utilized, and how it supported our project. The
individual from our group who had obtained the donation
signed the thank you letter for that donation. This
helped to maintain continuity and familiarity with our
group member and the business.
Thank you letters are extremely important when dealing
with donations. Some companies use the donation request
letter to justify the actual donation but use the thank
you letter as proof that the donation actual occurred
when filing their taxes. Despite providing
documentation for tax purposes, the thank you letter
affords your group or club the opportunity to express
your appreciation to the donator for their donation and
to inform the donator what his donation did for your
group, club, or the community. Finally, individual
thank you letters to your donators is a common
courtesy. It lets the business or individuals know they
are dealing with a professional. It expresses your
group or club's gratitude for the efforts of the
business community. Everyone desires to be appreciated
by others for what they do. By sending a personalized
thank you to all your donators you help to insure that
the next group or club that asks for a donation will
probably get one.
MAIN COMPONENTS -- THANK YOU LETTER
· Address the letter to your contact person in
the company or the individual in the company who
authorized the donation.
· Include a direct reference to the specific
items donated.
· Explain how the donation benefited your group,
club, and/or the community.
· Send out the thank you letter within one week
of receiving the donation. It is important to send a
prompt thank you to avoid feelings of neglect or abuse
on the part of the donator.
· Include in your letter any unique things that
resulted from the company's donation. (Maybe their
donation helped persuade another company to donate
also, maybe their donation was the largest or most
beneficial donation in your fund-raising activities or
maybe their donation changed a community situation for
the better.) By highlighting the outcomes or results of
the company's donation, your group will increase the
chance that the company will donate again and the
company has first hand knowledge of their power to
impact the community.
** Sample thank you letter
October 21, 1999
Small Group Communications Class COM 141
Wright State University
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton, Ohio 45435
Jim Amburn
State Farm Insurance
6070 Wilmington Pike
Sugar Creek Plaza
Centerville, Ohio 45459
Mr. Amburn:
On behalf of our group, I would like to thank you for
your generous donation of the use of your business's
Polaroid Camera and six packages of Polaroid film. Our
small group communication social action group
appreciates your support of our Halloween Party for the
residents of Brighton Gardens. Our event on October 17,
1999 was a wonderful success. We spent the afternoon
entertaining and socializing with a group of 30
residents. We took pictures of the residents enjoying
the festivities, mingling with the Wright State
University Students and playing bingo. We gave a photo
to any resident who wanted a momento of the afternoon.
The remaining photos were posted on the activities
bulletin board in the first floor lounge of the
facility. After the Halloween season is over these
photos will go into a time capsule book for the year
1999 for residents to remember the event in years to
come. Your donation played an integral part in the fun
and success of our project. Thank you for your generous
support of our efforts to brighten the afternoon of
some of the elderly members of our community.
Sincerely,
Lindsay Johnson
Wright State University Student
** Sample thank you letter
May 10, 1999
Wright State University Rehabilitation Club
Creative Arts Center
Wright State University
Dayton, Ohio 45435
GENEX
Thomas Kinser, MS, CDMS
3040 Riverside Drive
Suite 302
Columbus, Ohio 43221
Mr. Kinser,
We would like to thank Genex for the generous donation
of 8 Cincinnati Reds Tickets to our fund raising raffle
at the May Daze Festival at Wright State University.
Wright State University Rehabilitation Club appreciates
Genex's support in our fund drive. We would like to
extend a special thanks to Mr. Kinser for his
assistance in obtaining this donation. Our fund raising
raffle was a huge success. . Our raffle provided over
$300 to our club treasury. These funds are utilized to
assist students to attend professional conferences and
seminars in the area of Rehabilitation services and
fund community outreach activities to individuals with
disabilities and the agencies that service individuals
with disabilities. Thank you again for your support.
Respectfully,
Anna Haynes
Wright State University
Rehabilitation Club Treasurer
End of Document
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