Donations are a good way to raise money for your cause or charity, but you might want your donors to give more than money. There are a few ways to use donation pick-ups to make your charity better, and you can add revenue streams that are appropriate for your charity and community. You can use each of the pick-up options listed, and you can deploy these ideas throughout the year until you are raising more than enough money for your foundation.
How Do You Pick Up Donations For Your Charity?
You can work with a donation pickup service, that will pick up items on your behalf, or your charity may own a few different trucks that your staff can drive around the community. A donation pickup involves anything that you think can help your charity make money.
Clothing, Toys, And Food
Clothing, toys, and food are popular donation items for your charity. You can give these items to the people who need them, and you do not need to buy as many new items. The money that you have saved can be used for other purposes, and you do not need to worry about losing money every time you need new items.
You Can Auction Some Donations
Some donations can be used to make money in an auction. People who donate cars might donate something that will fetch a good price in an auction. You might ask people in the community to donate furniture that you can sell in an auction, or you could sell old cars at auction because those vehicles will be sold for parts.
Collecting Cars Is A Good Way To Make Money
If your charity is collecting car donations, you can sell all the parts on every car to make money. The previous owner does not need to worry about selling the car, and you can easily break up the car, convert the title to a salvage title, and wipe out the registration.
When you pick up car donations, you need to make sure that you get the title when you meet the donor. You should ask the donor if the car works, and you can quickly test the car. You could sell the car for a good price, or you might give the car to someone in need. Collecting cars makes it easier for you to create a fleet of vehicles that will be used to offer services, and you could accept truck donations if you need more trucks.
Electronics
When you are picking up electronics, you can sell those devices to a recycling company. You can make quite a lot of money from the sale of old electronics, or you could recycle these electronics with a company that pays for old devices. You may want to hole different donation drives for different products. You cannot pick up cars at the same time you are picking up the furniture.
You should send out ads or create a phone campaign that will help people know when the drive will occur. You cannot send out trucks every week, and you should make it obvious that you are picking up cars, electronics, or furniture. You should create a special campaign for food items because even cans will expire at some point.
Send A Receipt For Each Donation
You should send a receipt for each donation that allows your donors to write off anything they have given when they file their taxes. Because of this, your donors are more likely to give in the future. You can send a notification for the next drive when you send the receipt, and you should ask donors to plan for the next drive. This is a simple way to generate interest throughout the year, and you will make more money on every drive because you have more dedicated donors.
You Should Stop Any Ineffective Donation Drives
You should stop holding any ineffective donation drives. Your charity will waste money if you host a drive that does not produce any results. You should ask your donors for advice by sending email surveys, or you could have meetings with your staff to determine which drives they believe are best.
Ask Donors To Give Money In-Lieu Of Items You Have Asked For
You should make each donation drive as simple as possible for your donors. You can ask for a monetary gift when you send out notifications for each drive. Some people might donate on your website, or you might get envelopes with donations when you pick up items in each neighborhood.
Host A Yard Sale
You can use a lot of the donated items you get to hold a yard sale. You can make a lot of cash during a yard sale because the people that visit are there for a good deal. You can drop the price on everything at the yard sale, and you can quickly make money. You could host this sale a few times a year so that the community gets used to it, and you can continue to host donation pick-up drives to get more items.
Be Consistent
You must be as consistent as possible. The people in your community will get used to when you have your donation pick-ups, and they will leave their items on the curb knowing that your pick-up drive is coming. You should work with other charities so that you are not hosting your drive at the same time as everyone else. You do not want to think of other charities as competition, and that is why you should maintain your schedule so that it does not interfere with other charities that did you the same courtesy.
Conclusion
When you are ready to host a donation drive for your charity, you can use the tips above to make as much money as possible. You can collect a variety of items throughout the year, sell these items, and generate income for your charity.
