My friend's child is selling pasta for her dance troupe. I do not want pasta but I want to support her cause. Do you have an address I can mail the pasta to?. Do you have a preference for a type? This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We have very successful macaroni dinners each year for our animal shelter. Solicate local businesses for donations of gift cards or staples goods that you will need for the event. Get others to do the same. Go to places that you frequent as well.
Our dinner is all you can eat macaroni, home made meatballs (cooked the night before), rolls (donated by bakery), salad (donated by local produce distributor), soda (2 liters in cups, cheaper than cans) and desserts (all made by volunteers).
$12 for adults, $5 for 12 & under.
We do a 50/50 raffle. We have 'chinese' auction items. I look for bargains all year long and put small baskets together for these prizes. I always shop after each holiday when things are 75-90% off. You'd be suprised what you can put together. And my baskets come from yard sales. Usually when I tell people why I
want them they donate them. Also, re-gifting! Yes...how often have you received a gift you know you will never use? Just make sure the gifter doesnt find out...lol Ask local business for gift cards too. A baked item (pie, cake) makes a great prize item too. Ask someone you know that knits/crochets, they often love to make items and dont know what to do with them after! We also do a small Flea Market table. All items are $5 or less. We all have some stuff we want to part with but dont know what to do with it. Give donaters tax letters.
When event is over write a thank you letter naming your major contributors in a local newspaper, they will love the 'free' publicity.
Just a note on soliciting for donations. We would promise these people we would only come at them once and that we were securing items for the entire year of events.I just happened to have the time last year and spent hours contacting everything from local museums and zoos to Big Chain Stores. I filled out forms for each one and I will never have to do it again. This is what I did. 1) Business - phone# - address 2) Asked for person to talk to about donations and listed name, phone/ext. position/department 3) Let them know what we were doing and asked for donation. 4) If they needed a letter I asked for a fax # and was able to fax rather than snail mail. Many times we were refered to their "Central Office". So I kept the Central Office info. As things came in we were able to pick and choose what we used, and when. We also let them know that with their donation we would consider them Partners in Education and we would acknowledge their generosity in our Newsletter, Web Site, and meetings. We faired very well. 5)We kept track of who sent what, sent thank you notes and noted it for next year. We are able to say "Thanks for the free movie rentals. The kids loved them. We were hoping for your support again this year....." Get a committee going. Best Wishes
[This message has been edited by plw (edited 06-07-2001).]
We have a chili dinner in the fall. We make it into a chili cook-off. Parents enter the chili cook-off, which gives us the chili to sell. Prizes can be anything from a ribbon to a ladle to an apron. Our parents seem to enjoy the friendly competition. We also ask parents to bake goods for a bake sale which are then sold for the dessert. Good Luck!
How about sending donation requests to pro sports teams in your state. Also send requests to entertainment facilities ( science museums, zoos, childrens museums, ski lodges, etc.) Via snail mail. I would start 2-3 months in advance. Sometimes it takes that long for the donation request to be approved by the organization. We had a good response from both of these groups. Then I would personally solicit local businesses. I feel you get a better response this way. If you are wanting to make as much money as possible in this event, why not have a silent auciton-public auction as well? Also send a donation request to your parents. Be specific on what you are looking for. Remember to add your tax exempt statis on all these. Most places require this.
Regarding donations...Generally "chain" stores & restaurants (K-Mart, Applebees, Blockbuster, etc...) require a letter. You'll need to call a local store to find where to send it. Be sure to follow up though!!! You won't always get contacted, but that doesn't always mean they won't donate.
I usually like to stop by local businesses (delis, shops, grocery stores, etc...) personally. I always have a letter with me however because they often require one.
Good luck!
Jo
