This is the letter I used this past spring. We were raising money for our playground, but you can substitute for whatever you are doing & facts related to your school. I used a few different letters from some wonderful folks here as reference. (Just wanted to give credit where it is due!) The majority of this is specific to our school, but I hope it can help you get started! Good luck!


Business Owner, Manager or Community Relations Associate;

We are writing to you today in the hope of garnering your support for the XYZ SCHOOL Playground Committee. Your generous support will help us bring safe and healthy playground equipment to the children of XYZ School.
As a PTO, our continued mission is to raise funds for educational materials that provide teachers the resources to support their curriculum, as well as to provide a healthy and safe school community for our students. The money we raise supports many programs, including teacher grants, D.A.R.E. and the Challenger Space Program. With the recent addition of the Pre-K program to our K-8 school, it has become clear to our Playground Committee that the playground equipment, which includes donated backyard swing-sets, is not safe for or adequate to serve the needs of our students. Therefore, we have decided to raise the funds for our school to install a new playground for our students. This is our first playground project in several years, and the largest fundraising campaign launched by our PTF. This project, which includes the playground equipment itself as well as site excavation and safety surfacing, is expected to cost our PTF approximately $40000, of which, we have currently raised $4000. The equipment that will be installed is rated for children up to age 12 and meets and/or exceeds all CPSC and ASTM safety standards as well as all ADA standards. As we are a small school in a rural community, this project is quite an undertaking. We are hoping to meet this challenge in the coming year and our school would greatly benefit from your support.
Annually, our fundraisers include Book Fairs and Catalog Sales in the fall. In the coming year, we will be conducting several additional fundraisers to finance this project, as we plan to fund the new playground with 100% PTF raised monies. We will be kicking off our Playground Fundraising Campaign with a Family Fun Fair, scheduled for June 3. This will be a day long event that will include games and activities for the kids, a café, a market place featuring local crafters and artisans and will conclude with a Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction, as well as a Basket Raffle, with theme baskets made by each classroom. Your business can make a donation of either product, service or financial support, as any kind of contribution will be greatly appreciated. We will, of course, be happy to recognize your company and your contribution to our program by displaying your company name on the item(s) at the Silent Auction and/or displaying your company name in advertising for the event, as well as announcing your sponsorship during the events. Keeping the June 3 date in mind, we are hoping to have all donations and/or commitments to donate by May 15, so that we may properly plan and advertise for the event.
We hope you will consider partnering with us to support this worthwhile cause and sincerely appreciate your time and contributions.

Your donation can be sent to the school in care of:
GROUP NAME
SCHOOL NAME
Attn: COORDINATOR NAME,Committee Chair

Or: Arrangements for pick-up of local donations can be made by contacting
CONTACT NAME, #, EMAIL
Additional information regarding our group and/or program is available upon request.

Thank you for helping us to provide our students with a healthy and safe play space.

Tax ID #

I was just put in charge of our auction for our "Big" reverse raffle in February, 07. I got some great ideas from all of you. Thank You! I already have people willing to donate from local companies but I've been reading your notes about sending out letters to bigger companies. Does anyone have a copy of a letter that I could use? It would be a huge help. I'm feeling a lot of pressure to come up with some really different things, such as signed jersies?! Any advise or guidance would be greatly appreciated! Mary

Just to chime in to last year was my first year working the Business letters and doing donations. LOCAL was best and the major companies didn't reply to us either.

Good Luck

Cindy

Follow up calls are a must for local business, well at least for the one I work at. We keep all requests for donations if someone calls or shows up they get one if they just send a letter they do not. It might sound bad but as a business we get flooded with requests and those who put in a little extra effort are the ones that are rewarded.

There's a long list of auction item ideas you can copy from this web site's Bonus Tools page. It doesn't list specific companies or addresses, but it gives a ton of ideas to pursue. There's some auction advice there, too. www.ptotoday.com/bonusTools.html

I'll just add one more "local is the best way to go".

I too have an extensive list that I have put together over the past couple of years. You can search online by going to websites & looking under about us & then community relations. In general most of the big places do not respond. They just get so many requests that to responding to all - even a no - is too much time.

Local, local, local is the way to go. Even with the national chain businesses, go to your local business & talk to the managers. They are often more likely to respond on the local level than the national level.

Like Lucella said local businesses like the cheap publicity it gives them. Look right around the school - what businesses are in the closest vicintiy? Even a warehouse may give a $ donation or maybe paper for flyers. Just ask!

The first time I asked, I thought I would throw up - I am far from a sales person, but it gets easier w/ each one you do & each yes you get. You will be surprised at who says yes! My husband knows every time I get a phone call & I start doing my little jig that I just got a donation.

I talk face to face, send letters & make phone calls - it is A LOT of work. If you are lucky enough, get help. This year I am doing all the initial contacts, but I have 2 other moms making follow up calls and another mom doing pick ups. I am soooo excited to have help!

Also when you go face to face have a letter ready to hand them. Many will say they need a letter and your tax ID # before giving them. To me printing a letter that may or may not be needed is more cost & time effecient than driving back.

If you call first many will let you fax a letter.

Best of luck!