Hey missa,
The best time to start asking is about the middle of the month...let me explain. If your event is in May and you know you will need XXXXX a letter sent in March or before April 10th assures that it will get into their hands in plenty of time and in time for their next budget meeting.

The challenge of being in a small town is the key here. I grew up in a town of 325 in Iowa and remember in high school (20 miles away) we did alot with the local insurance agents, lawyers, tax accountants, banks, market, feed grain elevators, actioneers, and yes even the meat locker would pitch in $25 when he had a good month! No one liked going to the funeral home but they were alwasy good about donating $100 and asked to have their card printed. You know, that was about all everyone asked. We'll help you if you thank us with our name printed in the newsletter etc.

And sometimes it's loading up the little ones and going from business to business and talking aobut what you are doing at the school and what you could use their help with.

I know live in Denver and it's not much different. Sometimes you find that shop owner that is happy to see a mom and kids with a request for a donation. As a matter of fact, our church's easter egg hunt was Saturday and to my surprise the credit union came with $150 worth of baskets and prizes for the kids to win! All I had asked for were or thought they would do was a couple things.

Before I forget, thank you. No really. Thank you for hanging in there and doing what you do best. You'll see, soon you'll be advising us and cheering us on!! Your kids are SO lucky!!

thank you for the input, but i still have a few problems. i forgot to mention that we are rural. pop 411. the closest mall is 90 miles, and we have very few local businesses. let me pose this question, are you soliciting for the entire year, or for one event? and how much of this is done outside of your school year? of the few local donations i receive, a big problem seems to be they are tapped out by time i get to them. Am i getting started too late?

I started by going to an area that I wanted to visit and emailing our letter on letterhead with the donation form attached and figured what the heck. All I have done if they don't reply is sent an email. I sent items to the corporate places as well but I received alot more donations for places within my own state (museums, vistor centers, resturants, resorts, etc).. Again like the other posters parents, grandparents, family and friends are great resources.

As the other poster noted you use to use your students families as a resource. We send home several fliers in the months leading up to our Tricky Tray (auction) asking for donations of items from their places of business and from family members places of business. You never know who works where and can get items. We had one parent alone who got us at least 5 grand prizes from her business and those of friends and family. We tell people don't return those unwanted Christmas gifts as we will be happy to have them. We will accept any item no matter how small as long as it is new because they can be put into theme baskets. We also get some monetary donations from families and businesses that don't have items to give us. We then just use the money to purchase items.

Your local businesses tend to be the best source of donations. Our person who does the soliciting goes personally to the local businesses with a letter and speaks to the owner or manager. Some will give her something on the spot, some will tell her they will donate and they will contact her back as to when to pick it up and some just say they will see what they can do. As we get closer to the date she then calls back any local business she has not heard back from or gotten something from just to remind them about our donation request and to ask them if they are still interested in donating. Many businesses will wait to the last minute to donate something.

The letters that go to big national companies are always hit and miss. Make sure you start with the ones that are guaranteed to donate such as American Girl Dolls, Most big chain restaurants, etc.. Use the lists on this site where people note who gave to them as a starting base for who you definately should ask.

We also have 3 malls by us. Someone always goes to each mall with the donation letters and visits each store to talk with the manager. Malls can be a great resource because you have many businesses in one location.

Good Luck and don't give up!

Persistance is key when getting donations. Not pushy or obnoxious, just gentle prodding and reminders. You need to make it easy for businesses to donate. If they say yes, then jump in and say, 'When will it be ready, I would be happy to pick it up from you on ___date.'
You need to smile and build relationships with vendors. If you have used any service business recently, ask for a school donation when you settle the bill. If you go into a store to buy a something, have a solicitation letter on hand and ask for a donation. It's hard for a vendor to say no to a paying customer.
Also families are a great resource. We offer an incentive to families that if they make a donation of a certain value, they get an extra sheet of tickets. We had 38 families donate 60 baskets. Many families also have home based businesses. Offer them advertising space in the program for a fee and/or a donation.

Just as an FYI, our solicitation committee gathered over $40,000 worth of merchandise and services for our auction. They worked really hard for literally months to get these donations. I give them huge amounts of credit.

What am I doing wrong? I have found this site extremely helpful. I gather all kinds of ideas, but my question is how are you getting all of these donations? Yes, I have done the Wal-Mart thing, and we have mailed tons of letters, we have done door to door solicitations, but I do not have the success that most on the site seem to brag about. Where am I going wrong? I am in Arkansas, is it my geographical location?