Our school received quite a few donations last year and many not the majority were from getting information at this site. It was my first year and I read each and every post here. From it I learned how to google for donation request,and do my own hunt for donors. This is a great source of information. For the most part we did not send out regular mail requests. I used e-mail. If a company requested forms etc. we tried to fax them that info. We may have sent out 15 regular mail requests at the most. The thank you notes on the other hand we had to send by regular mail for the most part. Spending $100 for stamps etc. when you are getting so much more in donations was totally worth it. I'll start my donation requests soon..our event is April 14th. Thanks again everyone for posting. I hope this thread stays positive I so dislike negativity especially when we are all working so hard for a good cause.
Hmmm...I am not aware of anyone being angry...and I certainly do not feel overwhlemed.
So I will restate what I posted in other words. Postage is expensive for us..maybe some organizations have lots of $$ to spend on that...we don't. We have to think and make choices before we mail requests out..because there are so many to be mailed.
I would think it would be of help to newbies and anyone to know that I found..maybe no one else has found..but I have found that once something has been listed on this board for a while, I tend to get a "no" from that company. If you see something that's been on here for 8 months or so...it may be harder to get...if the word is out here, it's probably out in a lot of places...or perhpas the companies have changed their policies or procedures or other reason. I did not blame this board for any of this...please don't put words in my mouth..or start calling people names like "greedy"..there is no place on this board where others help each other to start name calling over nonsense.
I find it VERY helpful to read on this board who is NOT giving...when people are posting that a certain company said "no"...I am probably not going to spend a stamp on it. Like the Hershey hotels...too many "no" on here for me, so I will bark up another tree. Don't think this line of reasoning is being angry or overwhelmed...not even sure where that comes from.
Most companies will say they receive an overwhelming amount of asks because they do. I doubt it is this board. That just means you have to make your case more appealing and foster relationships. A lot of companies have had to slash the amount of in kind donations they are able to make, so make yourself stand out.
I a professional fundraiser- it is a hard, hard thing. I stumbled across it when looking for major donors to a special event I am doing and Google turned up a post from a woman who is local to me and I thought I'd reply to her since I started my career doing smaller events like the ones you all are working on. I think it's great that everyone is sharing ideas for your auctions.
Ok, so here is what I received from Samsonite this morning. Since my event is not until May, 2012, can I re-request in January?
Thank you for contacting Samsonite requestinga donation for your organization.
Although we have historically welcomed theopportunity to support community programs and organizations such as yours,due to the large volume of worthwhile requests, we are unable to assistyour organization at this time.
Please feel free to contact us again at afuture date.
Sincerely,
Donation Request Department
Samsonite
To those who are getting "overwhelmed" - I am sure the creators of this site appreciate your confidence in them, but honestly - do you really think this one site overwhelmed anyone?? That is a polite way of saying "not this year", "we ran out", "your letter didn't move us"....whatever. For as many "overwhelmed" responses there are just as many "we would love to!" responses.
I hate to be the voice of reason but this is a numbers game. You have to get in at the right time and ask the right number of companies to get the number of yes's you need.
And one biggy - companies like to say we helped all these places...so if you have been getting donations from them for years, they may be looking to expand their list by giving to others. Besides, your parents don't want to see the same tired items every year. Try asking each company only every 2 - 3 years (except local of course) and you will be amazed at your results.
