All of the companies we contacted were done so through the contact link on their site. If there was an email I used that, if there was a contact form I used that. If there was a search tool I used it to search for donations. If something came up that said they didn't donate I wouldn't contact them, if nothing came up I sent them a message.

anyone can share a list and way to contact but it seems like we all have auctions going on at the same time, please remember that. If one company gets 100 emails in one day all asking for the same thing, they will shut down and not give for a while. Also check people's lists, I posted mine and had stated that some were local to Portland, OR. If your not in Portland then please research which ones are local. I didn't contact places that are 'exclusive' to one part of the USA, be aware that if you are far away people wont want to get an item they can't use.

I have had lots of luck contacting local businesses via Facebook. I paste in a message in a private message and attach my letter in a pdf. I either get a response in a few days, sometimes within a few hours, or I get the direct email of the appropiate contact. It's been a great tool!

We received a wonderful donation today, this may have been mentioned before, I'm sure I've seen gyms, etc. mentioned, but our local YMCA donated a 12-month family membership! Which I was not expecting and was very pleasantly surprised. I just called them and emailed them a follow-up letter.

I think the majority don't reply unless you are selected since they usually get so many requests. It seems the ones that reply are smaller companies or businesses (unless you count the robotic/auto replies).

Just fyi - Bonne Bell isn't giving away gift boxes anymore. They will only donate lip smackers for goodie bags if you are in Westlake OH and pick them up.

Do most companies reply to your emails? Or do they just send something? Or do just delete them! I sent alot of emails and have not got many responses ( saying yes or no)

Meme - While I completely understand what you are saying, I do business with this company as a therapist. If they cant donate, it is completely okay. I dont think anyone would be upset with a company who cant donate. It's the tone. They asked me to remove them from their list and I will completely. It's no big deal. I was just taken back by the tone. I have had hundreds of very pleasant rejections also asking me not to contact them in the future because they are committed to other organizations. They responded so pleasantly though. Just my two cents. Tact goes a long way. Im sorry to bring it up again but felt I needed to explain myself. I have removed them. It was no big deal. People do what they can do. Also, trying to let people know to not reach out to them.