How to Organize a Donation Drive

donation driving, an eco-friendly, socially friendly way to drive

Host a donation drive from start to finish for a non-profit near you because when you gather items for a non-profit in your community you make a difference! Donation drives are fun to do with your friends, family, co-workers, school group, church group, neighborhood, or other already organized group you belong to or if you are feeling bold, you can create your own group! You can meet new friends and strengthen old friendships while meeting the needs of non-profits and strengthening our community during the holidays and year-round. One donation is good. A huge pile of needed donations for our amazing, local non-profits gathered with the help of many is even better! Here are some tips for organizing your own donation drive to collect items for a non-profit near you. For more ideas or to share your donation drive stories and pictures with us please email Jen (jen@AlchemList.org).

Timing: Year-Round Giving.

Many non-profits receive overwhelming support from our community during the Holiday Season (thank you!), but the needs are year-round. Please consider organizing a community drive to collect items any time of the year.

Decide which non-profit you would like to support.

With AlchemList, you can find non-profits:

• near you
• in a particular city
• that support a cause close to your heart
• or that need a particular item

Or browse a list of all non-profits and their wish list items.

Contact the non-profit

Let them know you would like to start a donation drive for them. Most non-profits will be very thankful and excited that you are dedicating your time to help. The non-profit might be able provide details about the items that are at the very top of their wish list of what they need right now. Double check guidelines about what items are accepted and how/when they should be delivered. If delivery will be a challenge for you, check to see if pick-up is available.

Decide what wish list items to collect.

Some things to consider as you are deciding what you will gather are:

• the bulkiness/size of wish list items
• ease of finding particular items
• variety of wish list items being collected during your (more variety can make it interesting but adds to the level of difficulty)
• cost of each item and total value and number of items to be collected
• what the people who will be gathering with you will likely have fun finding

Make a plan

Be creative. Will you have your friends bring donations to a get-together? Encourage your co-workers to bring toiletries to a collection box at your office? Just a couple ideas to get you started.

Set a date(s)

We've found that begin and end dates work well. Give yourself enough time to plan and get the word out before the donation drive officially starts. Give your people enough time (at least 2 weeks) to gather items but not so much time that momentum's lost. If building friendships is your goal, setting some additional dates for regular get-togethers throughout the span of the donation drive are also important. If you are not comfortable meeting in your home, meet at a central location such as a coffee shop, park, bar, community center or library (free rooms usually can be scheduled as long as the event is open to all community members). In our own donation drive, we really enjoyed our social gatherings throughout the course of the donation drive.

Get the word out

Most people want to donate, they just need to be asked! You can send emails, letters, postcards, hang flyers, post on web sites and social media like Twitter, FaceBook, WordPress, etc. Invite the people you would like to involve (friends, family, co-workers, members of a group) to join you and encourage them to invite others to join the fun. Also, you can mention the donation drive at meetings or other gatherings. We can provide you with a template into which you can insert your drive-specific information.

Donation Drive Hubs: Workplace · School · Local Business · Gym · Dentist · Church · Coffee Shop · Family · Hair Salon · Sports Team · Book Club · Neighborhood · Craigslist Activities

Let people know about reasons for donating and why you are organizing this donation drive for this charity.

Throw a kick-off party (or 2, 3, or 4 parties!). (optional)

If you're coordinating a gift or clothing drive with a group, consider getting everyone together to talk about the non-profit you are helping, why donations are needed, to communicate logistics of the donation drive, and most importantly to meet each other and have fun! The more people involved, the more successful your drive will be. Make sure people leave with the information and any materials they need to participate. Key information may include: key dates, drop off locations, your contact information, wish list items and information about the non-profit.

Make it easy to donate

Have a central location for people to drop off their donation items. You can also collect items during a holiday party, office gathering, family picnic or other get together. For office or school or neighborhood drives, make sure you have collection boxes in several locations.

Make it fun to donate

Be creative thinking of uniquely you ways to make it fun and memorable! Be sure to get a photo of your people with their boxes full of goodies!

Deliver your donations

Deliver your donations but first make a list of what you are donating. This is helpful for the non-profit and great for you to share with your team. Check the drop off times for the non-profit and call ahead to schedule your donation. If you are very ambitious, drop off your donations via walk, bike, or bus. Again, take pictures!

Celebrate

Be sure to thank your donors and to let them know how much your group gathered for donations. Remind them what a difference their donation makes and why you appreciate their participation! Consider a celebration for your donation drive grand finale.

Share your success!

Let us know you completed your donation drive so we can thank you and everyone who participated. Share stories with us so we can share them to help inspire others to embark on their own donation drives. Please email pictures and stories from your donation drive to jen@AlchemList.org and we will post them for the world to see. And THANK YOU! Through donation drives, you not only collect much needed items for children, youth, young adults, animals, the environment, the arts, snow leopards... our community but you also raise the awareness about the causes and the non-profit organizations that passionately serve those causes.

You can host a donation drive. Get Started Today!