A practical guide to obtaining donations from private organizations and companies

Aaron Dowd, Vicky Giminez, Kathi Goings, Peter Hutzel, Lindsay Johnson, Russ Smith and Kathleen Werning

COM 141 Fall 1999
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 the supporting the needs of the local community. The explanation of the donation request letters that follows 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 donator 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@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 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

Small Group Communications Class COM 141

Wright State University

3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy

Dayton, Ohio 45435

October 21, 1999

Jim Amburn

State Farm Insurance

6070 Wilmington Pike

Sugar Creek Plaza

Centerville, Ohio 45459

Mr. Amburn:

On behalf of the 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

Wright State University Rehabilitation Club

Creative Arts Center

Wright State University

Dayton, Ohio 45435

May 10, 1999

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