Charitable giving is good for business and good your soul! But if you find yourself being weighed down by obligation to contribute to every donation request that comes along, I’ve got 3 tips to be confident in responding to non-profit donation requests.
1. Contribute to a Specific Cause
Pick one or two organizations that you are passionate about and when you are approached by a charity you can proudly tell them where you do contribute and how often, or however much information you’d like to share. This could be a great way for you to share your passion! “Thank you for thinking of my fab biz for your fundraiser, however I’m already committed to giving donations annually to this-specific-Autism-nonprofit.”
2. Donate Gift Certificates
Three words, limit your loss. Just because you’ve won the raffle at the school fair doesn’t mean you’ll use all the products in the basket. Rather than giving products to someone who may or may not use them, offer gift certificates to be redeemed. This is also a good way to get that person to your website! I’d allow for an amount of one of your most popular items (plus shipping). I’d also hope that they’d throw in another item or two in the shopping cart!
3. Offer a Non-profit Rate
Just because they are non-profit doesn’t mean you have to be! Non-profits raise money for projects, they likely have a budget for hiring out. If you are a service, consider offering a special rate to charities. You may want to limit how many non-profit jobs you do a year or commit to specific causes you are super passionate about and offer your discounted services only to that cause.
I often receive invitations to participate in fundraisers for many awesome causes through Stay at Home Rock Star, but I couldn’t possibly give to every organization that approaches me. I give to adoption fundraisers because that melts my heart. I also give to a specific MS event yearly. Debbie Hamm, the woman who organizes the event, is so passionate I just have to be a part of it and I’ve gotten some very positive feedback from the community from my donations to this annual raffle.
You can’t give to every donation request, but you can make a smart choices for your business and be in control by having a solid charity giving plan. These PR moments can be what makes you as a business owner and your business stand out!
Cary Heise
Founder and Director at Designed For Joy
Cary is the founder and director of Designed For Joy, a transitional work experience for women coming from trafficking, homelessness, time in prison, overcoming addiction or other vulnerable situations. DFJ provides living wage work hours while building confidence and refreshing resumes. We are launching equipped women into the marketplace.
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Comments
This is something that I was just evaluating Cary. Thanks for the feedback. I like the gift certificate idea because it’s a win -win-win for everyone.
I just recently had switched from offering a “free heart” or whatever piece of JILLry to offering a gift certificate for that very reason…. (many times they are never redeemed) BUT the person running the auction loves them because individuals can pick what they want AND then HandmadeJILLry always looks good for “donating” that. =)