Fundraising and soliciting donations

[Woodsy]

What fundraising methods do you use?  We are looking to do something, but do not want to get into a door to door wrapping paper, popcorn, cookie dough, etc. type thing.  We are looking for something with little or no up front costs and minimal administrative involvement.

How do you go about seeking corporate donations? Would anyone be willing to share a form letter or something that they send out?

Thanks.

[Spaceman3750]

Find out if any of your members work somewhere that give donations. We have 2 members who work for a company that gives a donation to our squadron after the member has volunteered 40 hours that year (not hard for these two).

[Eclipse]

We have one unit that sell cheesecakes every year and brings in several thousand dollars of revenue.

Some corporations will allow for matching donations to 501c(3)'s, and others will do things like donate an equal amount to your vacation time, etc.,
to a designated charity, which can be a game-changer to a squadron.

Don't forget to get approval in advance from Wing before you start accepting checks.

[Slim]

Three words....Wreaths Across America.

You sell the sponsorships, not the wreath itself.  The donor fills out the form, gives you $15, cash or check made out to WAA.  All you do is send in the forms and checks (account for all of your cash, and get money orders), and mail everything out to Maine.  When the time comes, the wreaths are shipped to the cemetery, and volunteers place them on graves.

Your squadron (once registered with WAA) gets back $5 for each wreath you sell.  Sell 100 wreaths, your unit gets a check for $500.  My unit typically brings in between $1500-2000 a year doing it.

Make presentations to veterans groups in your area; VFW, DAV, AmVets, etc.  Hit up the other service and fraternal clubs as well; all the animals-Moose, Eagles, Lions, etc.  Make arrangements with a local big box store (like Wal-Mart or similar) to set up a booth on a weekend.  Get into community events like fairs.  One of the things we do is put a donation jar on the table for people to make smaller donations (I've seen people just drop a five or ten dollar bill in it after seeing the displays); at the end of the day, add up your cash, figure out how many wreaths that will buy, and under the name of the sponsor, just write something like "On behalf of the people of Jonesville, USA", and send it in.

Very important though, you must register with WAA to get started, they will then issue your unit a code number to put on your sponsorship forms to ensure that your unit gets the money back.  You'll also need wing approval for fundraising.

[Ed Bos]

The Nebraska Wing is involved with a workplace-giving federation, where a non-profit third party asks for charitable donations through payroll deductions for employees around the state, including ensuring participation in the Combined Federal Campaign.

The group that NEWG is affiliated with is Community Services Fund (http://communityservicesfund.org/).

Other wings can look for similar groups by checking out http://www.communitysharesusa.org/our-affiliates, and looking for a group in their state.

Some background: I'm the Director of Alaska Community Share, and since I'm a CAP member the General Counsel has determined that there's a conflict of interest for the AKWG to participate in this sort of fundraising with my group. That shouldn't stop other wings from following the model that NEWG is using though.

I also brought a partnership between CAP and Community Shares USA up at the national conference this past summer, so that's a good chance that several wings might find themselves talking with someone familiar with CAP.

[JC004]

...
Some corporations will allow for matching donations to 501c(3)'s, and others will do things like donate an equal amount to your vacation time, etc.,
to a designated charity, which can be a game-changer to a squadron.
...

I collect the employer names on all of the volunteers at my non-profit and check it against a list of companies that do matching gifts or Volunteer Incentive Programs.  I acquired the list from the state university system's development office but it is available publicly online and I am sure similar lists could be acquired for other areas.  Many of them are national/international companies anyway.

[jimmydeanno]

Solicit local businesses to sponsor certain things you do in your squadron.  We just got a donation of $1,500 from a local restaurant to help our color guard team.

We also just raised $500 from a local embroidery shop to help pay for needy cadets to go to encampment.

Just remember that people don't donate to programs, they donate to people.  Instead of asking for money to support "THe Civil air Patrol Cadet Program" ask for money to "Help kids go to summer camp."  The latter, people understand what their money is going to.

[Woodsy]

So, you're saying it would be better to ask for money "to purchase new color guard equipment" than to "support the cadet program?"  Now that you mention it I think I've heard somewhere before that more specific things get better results. 

Also, we already do WAA, but looking for something in addition to that.  Because of the time WAA takes is why we don't want to get into anything too involved or logistically complicated... 

[jimmydeanno]

So, you're saying it would be better to ask for money "to purchase new color guard equipment" than to "support the cadet program?"  Now that you mention it I think I've heard somewhere before that more specific things get better results. 

Also, we already do WAA, but looking for something in addition to that.  Because of the time WAA takes is why we don't want to get into anything too involved or logistically complicated...

Correct.

It even works in the WAA arena.  A few weekends ago, we set up a WAA fundraiser outside of a grocery store.  The cadets started with "Would you like to support Wreaths Across America?" with very little result.  I suggested they ask if people, "would like to help put a wreath on a veteran's grave."  Next thing you know, $20s are jumping into the bucket.  In 4 hours, we had approximately $1,000 in donations.

[JC004]

Don't underestimate the power of in-kind donations.  I've done less donation-getting for CAP because there's more red tape and hassle than in my own organization (which is a shame because wing lost out big time for not moving fast a few years ago), but the same principles still apply. 

Some time ago, for my non-profit, I put together a HUGE list of local and national companies from which I thought we could get things that would help the organization - especially the program for kids (again, same principles...).  If it's for the children, you get more bites.  So after I'd made my list and got input from my volunteers and staff, I went about writing letters.  I got many thousands of dollars in things donated - office supplies, furniture we needed, equipment like a copier, computers (about 20), and a crap ton of stuff in general.  I think that for the first time, I got something like $15,000 in in-kind donations with about 3 or 4 days' work.

We do it periodically and I got SO MUCH STUFF donated that for some of the supplies, we're STILL going through them 6 years after the FIRST in-kind donation drive.  I had to borrow a volunteer's truck to move all the stuff.  We even ended up getting a whole office of furniture donated and had to rent a truck for that (not sure what the value of that was...didn't include it in my total.  Probably $10,000 or more).

In addition to general stuff, a lot of places seemed to be willing to donate gift cards as well.  We still get Walmart gift cards (donated by Walmart...look into that).

It never hurts to ask.  I felt like my organization needed more gift cards to give away for our raffle, so on the way back to the office from the post office, I stopped at different stores.  In the end, we had a whole STACK of new gift certificates.  All I did was ask.

Another specific idea: BJs runs membership fundraising programs.  Similar clubs may as well.  We also got a BJs membership because I asked for one.  That has saved us good money.

[DakRadz]

It never helps to ask.

Might want to fix that

[JC004]

It never helps to ask.

Might want to fix that

lol.  Got it.  I switched it from "it helps to," except I neglected to fix the whole thing.

[Woodsy]

Thanks for ythe great advice guys!  It looks like we need to make a list of the specific items and funds we need.  My question is, if we do solicit a donation for a specific item, can we use that money for any other reason at all?  I'm thinking of a situation where we ask for money for project X, which has a price tag of $100, and due to sending multiple letters end up getting above and beyond what we needed for that specific project.  I know there are federal laws stating that if someone donates money and specifies where it goes, it has to be spent on that..  Does it work the same way in reverse, where we solicit money for a specific thing, then end up having left over, what are we required to do then?  Can it be moved to another project without any red tape?

[arajca]

Alot will depend on how you word the request. You should be specific, but not to the point of listing individual pieces. For example, if requesting funding to start a color guard, ask for donations for equipment and support for the color guard. That would cover the equipment, travel expenses if any (if you start getting active, you'll have some), possibly uniforms. You can also keep it general enough that it's not an issue - requesting funds to support activities for cadets and listing a couple of activities (color guard, ES training weekends, musuem/cultural tours) allows maximum usage. If a donor says they'll provide funds for colorado guard equipment and the local VFW donates a full set before you can use the donantion, contact the donor before diverting. Be honest about it and ask if they would allow you to use the money in a different, but related manner.

[Eclipse]

Looks like golf outings are where the real bucks are these days!

http://capvolunteernow.com/news.cfm/15k_corporate_donation_surprises_wis_squadron_at_golf_event?show=news&newsID=11359



WISCONSIN – The golf outing that the Eau Claire Composite Squadron holds annually as a unit fundraiser came off with an unexpected windfall this year – a major donation from the event's sponsor, Black Gold Assets LLC.

Executives from Black Gold Assets, an oil-drilling company based in Southlake, Texas, donated a check for $15,000 to the squadron at a dinner following the third annual golf outing, held June 27 at Whispering Pines Golf Course in Cadott. Van Williams, the firm's CEO, presented the check to Maj. Rose Hunt, Wisconsin Wing vice commander and project officer for the event

Originally seeking $500 donations from businesses to support the unit, Hunt was shocked when she heard that the Texas company was making such a generous donation.

"As volunteers we mostly pay our own way in CAP," she said. "The funds raised at this event will go a long way in securing the equipment we need to best fulfill our missions."

The squadron also announced that an anonymous gift of $1,000 had been pledged, along with donations from several other businesses in the area. 

A total of 56 golfers paid a fee to participate in the golf outing, held to raise funds to support the Eau Claire squadron's cadet program as well as to secure a venue suitable to support its missions.

That much money is absolutely a game-changer for most units.

[JC004]

That is true, actually.

[Spaceman3750]

I wonder how much squadron cash and sweat equity is tied up in that golf outing. That cannot be cheap or easy to run - that said, making money or fundraising requires both but there is still a big risk to the squadron.

I don't even know what I would do with $15k if I was that squadron commander. Actually, wait, yes I do .

[davidsinn]

I wonder how much squadron cash and sweat equity is tied up in that golf outing. That cannot be cheap or easy to run - that said, making money or fundraising requires both but there is still a big risk to the squadron.

I don't even know what I would do with $15k if I was that squadron commander. Actually, wait, yes I do .

I've been involved with one that size. It's a lot of work but it's not too bad. We were able to get pretty much everything donated so there was little up front expense.

[Woodsy]

I dunno about golf, but I could def. promote a surf contest!  good idea...

[peter rabbit]

So, you're saying it would be better to ask for money "to purchase new color guard equipment" than to "support the cadet program?"  Now that you mention it I think I've heard somewhere before that more specific things get better results. 

Also, we already do WAA, but looking for something in addition to that.  Because of the time WAA takes is why we don't want to get into anything too involved or logistically complicated...

Correct.

It even works in the WAA arena.  A few weekends ago, we set up a WAA fundraiser outside of a grocery store.  The cadets started with "Would you like to support Wreaths Across America?" with very little result.  I suggested they ask if people, "would like to help put a wreath on a veteran's grave."  Next thing you know, $20s are jumping into the bucket.  In 4 hours, we had approximately $1,000 in donations.

You might want to be careful about having a 'bucket' where people throw in cash like the Salvation Army. WAA rules are very specific - all money raised in WAA's name must be processed through WAA and must include the wreath sponsorship form they provide, a copy of which is on their website. And don't forget the rules about uniform wear while fundraising.