Approaching national stores for raffle prizes etc.

mwa

Hello there,

My partner is a keen runner and last year ran the London Marathon for a disability charity. This year he's running the New York Marathon for the RNLI and needs to raise significant funds, so we're back to fundraising again.

We are hoping to make it easier this year by 'piggybacking' on events and holding raffles/tombola stalls, as last time we relied on donations from friends and family and it was a bit stressful to say the least!

Can anyone tell me whether national stores like Tesco, Sainsburys etc. tend to have policies supporting charities like this by way of donating items for raffle? Last time we wrote to 100 local businesses asking for support and not one response, so we are thinking about approaching the nationals this time.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks
Morwenna

Lynxette

We've recently approached both national and local companies for donations to our raffles. :P

Prehaps it's where we live - Our small town is very community spirited - But we found local businesses were often happy to donate for a good cause. However, we did approach them in person which may have piled on the guilt a little more than just a letter. :P

We also approached Tescos, and although we had to cajole and 'bully' them a little with multiple visits and little reminders here and there, they did finally produce some goods for us!

I think the key is to approach face-to-face, and guilt trip, just a little. :P And persist!

drifter34

i used to work in promotions and ring up companies such as nestle,cadbury procter&gamble do a public grant for charity, hit the biggest go for the top rank it works manufacters,tesco etc do but can be stingey contact food manufacters P.R or MEDIA ENQUIRES
IT IS THE DOGS BO.....
trust me p&g,mars,rountrees,imperial tobacco for umberellas,t-shirts,pens,coasters.mc donalds head office,unilever,kimberly clarke ltd, cadburys a family day pass,brewsters a meal for 4 etc hope this helps you out xx

Diane_239

hi you could contact wilkinsons head office they do help with thinks for local events.if you need the address then pm.

fengirl_2

Commercial companies are unlikely to donate items, or money indeed, to individuals, even though it is claimed to eventually benefit a charity. They have no way of knowing who you are and there are no checks and balances to enable them to be confident that the items are going to the cause specified. Put yourself in their position - random person approaches them for something in aid of RNLI - how can they be sure it isnt a scam? Getting the charity itself to ask for donations would work better.

dollymouse_2

Hi Mwa
would be interested to hear how the donations are going so far. I have just started to do something along the same lines to try to get donations for an auction in aid of Macmillan- they have given us all security pass type things and a letter confirming we are who we say we are for when we approach local businesses. might be worth seeing if RNLI will do something similar?

Good Luck!x

petekeaney

I Had massive success a couple of years ago, I got hold of a roll of about 200 stamps (got my comany to buy for me) and printed of a form letter explaining what i was doing and who for, and sent it to anyone i could think of!
I sent it to ferry companies, F1 teams, and anytime i bought something i wrote to the address on the label to ask for something.

I ended up with parcels arriving at my door everyday for over 2 weeks, got some good prizes too, free tickets on eurostar, a pewter model of a motorbike from a race team, gliding vouchers, free driving lessons... were just some of the high value stuff i got i can remember... Any business that thinks they will benefit from repeat business are high success rates, for instance your local gliding school might give a free flight in the hope that the recipient wants to go again..

hope that gives you a couple o' ideas!

Ianna

My advice is to get a letter from your charity confirming that you're doing charity work for them. Ring up the companies and find the best person/department to send the letter to so that it doesn't get lost in their internal mail system. I've got best results from writing to companies I've got a link with e.g. my mobile provider because they know where I live and I'm guessing they're more likely to believe I'm genuine.

Best of luck!

cmcconnell

Very recently had to organise a last minuite raffle for a Charity concert ( i quite litteraly had less than a weeks notice) and although you'll find many companies have to have a letter sent to the head office, there are lots that will hand oer a prize there and then ( as long as you have a letter cnfirming you are actually acting / doing work on behalf of the charity ( although all we had was a poster advertising the concert and a clipboard to make it look important...which it was)
anyway we found the companys listed below to be very helpful at such short notice:

Homebase
Haskins Garden centre
Hobbicraft
Towsure
Pumpkin patch
Krispy Cream doughnuts
Millies cookies
Mecca bingo
Bella italia
Revolution (bar/ club)
Rosebowl (cricket)
Mayflower theatre
Waitrose lent us the glasses for our refreshments for free with no deposi and supplied us with bottles of champagne and wine.

Another good tip is to ask local sports places we ot lots of 1 or 2 hour lesson vouxchers for the local horse ridding / football and golf academies, or local childrens play centres.
We raised over £1,500 which isnt bad for a weeks work! lol :beer:

hope this helps !