""I've found a lot depends on whether or not your business people live in town. Our business owners don't for the most part, and as a result don't really care if our PTOs/PTAs are successful. It doesn't touch them personally so why should they care? That our kids and families support their businesses means nothing to them, because they can be pretty sure they won't lose any customers. We have a couple of VERY successful restaurants that the kids and families STILL support despite them being absolute cheap pr!cks! And I'm sorry--there's just no other word for it!""


Try bringing a kid or two in school spirt clothing or uniforms. No one wants to look like a cheapskate in front of kids who attend the school that's soliciting. Worked for us at a big Adventure Travel Expo held in NYC (we're from a Bronx parochial school). You aren't supposed to solicit, BUT.... By offering companies the opportunity to put out business cards, brochures, etc.. we realized quite a few good gifts and I am going to hit up the NY embarking cruise lines this week to see if they have any ships going out soon that aren't nearly full. Maybe I can wrangle a cruise out of one (or more) of them. Wish me luck.

plhepner;83204 wrote: So, here I am about a month later from my last post. Now, I've gone from $1400 to about $2700 worth of merchandise - all from national companies. While I'm thinking about it, I read on a thread about "banks are good - contact their community relations chairperson". Then, it brought me back to the original title of this post which was "local business donations are a joke". The ONLY bank that responded was the bank where we have our organization's checking account! TEN other banks didn't even respond. Only three out of 24 local restaurants and those were all "franchise" restaurants that I'm sure get their community involvement orders from higher in the food chain.

However, I'm happy and content. I think my auction is going to go well. (It is scheduled for the first week of March.) I've done 100 times better on a national basis than a local basis. I guess these numb nutz in my town don't realize the power of a single donation. If I tell 100 people in a meeting about a kind local business, then each person tells one more person, yada, yada, yada, that one $10 donation can generate hundreds of dollars in extra revenue.

Thought I'd just give a little update since the tone of my previous posts was a little depressing.

Here's a tip for upping your possibility of a donation, and/or getting a bit more appreciation for your tactics and better response next year.

Most fundraisers have some sort of program, whether it's professionally printed or xeroxed in the school office. Immediately offer all people you are soliciting the opportunity to e-mail you a jpeg of their logo, give over their business card or give you a stack of flyers/menus so that their business can be credited and brought to the attention of all in attendance at the event. Worked absolute wonders for our solicitor.

Anyone soliciting in person should go out with a letter from the school principal or Development/Fundraising Coordinator in hand stating that they are authorized to solicit on behalf of the organization. Also have letters outlining the event, date/time/place, state you are an educational institution and not for profit. Demonstrating the need for funds or how the funds will be used will help. The name and address of the contact person at the school should be included in case the donor wants to mail in their donation. We include a SASE for anyone receiving a mailed letter. It's also a good idea to carry a form that functions as a receipt, so your solicitor can fill in the donation info, as donations are almost always tax deductable...which is another plus to donors.

plhepner;83182 wrote: Now, if I had a Heidi Klum or Tyra Banks in my membership or even an Enrique Iglesias, I might be able to walk into a store! But, how do you "break the ice" especially when I would probably be doing this by myself? I mean, I'm a sociable person but don't personally believe people should be caught "off guard". Maybe I should hire some young whippersnappers to handle it for me!

The only person willing to volunteer to canvas area businesses (and she's done this work very enthusiastically) was NOT a "looker", to the contrary. But she knew that face-to-face solicitations from a member of the community and a person who represents a school full of patrons would be the way to go. I thought that sending out "the hot moms" would get us a great result, but no way that they could have gotten us all the great stuff that Plain and Plump Jane did.

Don't be shy about asking in person. It usually works in your favor because people don't want to appear to blow you off (like they can easily do when you send a letter). The worst they can do is say no, and that didn't happen much at all. It's not like you are asking for a free this-or-that for yourself. It's for a school...a school full of kids that need to raise funds; whose parents spend money in the community.

Don't forget about keeping an eye out for the trucks that are delivering to local businesses, too. They are making money off of your community and frankly they sometimes feel the pinch of donating a bit less, or have promotional items they can send your way. I jot the name and contact info listed on the doors of the trucks down, along with the product they are delivering and the store they were delivering to. This lets them know that you are aware that they do business in your neighborhood.

Congratulations to you - you must live in a great town! I started this thread with the idea in mind that NO ONE locally donated to our school. We are, how you say, next to the bottom spot on the food chain. Our cultural and socioeconomic diversity is not very appealing when businesses are looking to get in the newspaper. The - quote - higher end schools receive local business donations all the time. But, that's water under the bridge. My auction is over now.

Some folks are on the fence about sharing the lists. Some are fine with sharing six or seven hundred names and some aren't but can you imagine if everyone knew everyone's source of donations multipled to the thousands??? These companies would revoke their giving guidelines! :eek: Some folks in bigger cities will share but some are protective. Personally, I wouldn't feel right simply "copying" someone else's work. I want to feel like I've "earned" it through my hard work. Anywho, also water under the bridge. My auction is over and I'm quite satisfied with the result.

Thanks for everyone's continued input. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Ademom74-
Congratulations on such a successful auction! I know it was a ton of work and your efforts have paid off!
Regina

PTO Yeah - You and me are on the same page. I would share my list with anyone who would ask for it and have on this website. I let the co-chairs of our auction know this and they went ballistic on me. Yada-yada-yada, I promised never to share it again. The reason that I feel that way is simple... When my kids were redistricted 4 years ago, I volunteered to help at my new school by coordinating their solicitations. I saw that their list of potential donators was pitiful. I went to a good friend and asked for her schools list. She handed it over to me, no questions asked. 600 names, addresses, zips, fax#'s - the works.
By using this initial list as a jumping off point, we have been able to grow our auction to what it is today.

Here are the stats for our auction that was held 2 weeks ago.

489 letters sent via mass mailings
311 positive donations
150 local businesses donated
$40,700 - cumulative value of all donations
480 attendees
$36,000 gross revenue

Gaptadad-
None of the men and women (core group of 6) who accumulated all these donations are hotties. Just parents, all shapes, sizes and colors.
We start our mass mailing in October and start calling/visiting businesses in January.
Our school is far from affluent and our region is semi rural.
If we can do it, you can do it.