How to Raise Money – Donations

COVID-19 UPDATE

In the absence of traditional trivia nights our lives do not have to be completely trivia-less. Check out QuizNightHQ’s guide to Isolation Trivia + Games. It contains plenty of ideas to get your friends, family and workplaces engaged in an online quiz night or online video fun.

 

Once you have read this guide you will have everything you need to seek out donations for prizes and Auction/Silent Auction items. Templates and key ideas to keep in mind are provided. If you want to know more about seeking sponsorship such as monetary donations for your event, check out QuizNightHQ’s comprehensive Ultimate Guide to Fundraising.

Contents

  1. Tips For Asking for Donations
  2. Donation Request Letter Template
  3. Where to Ask for Donations
  4. Suggested businesses to approach

Tips for asking for Donation Prizes for your Quiz Night

Donations are a key way to making money for your club/organisation on the night. Other than getting people to attend and organising questions this is your major pre-Quiz Night point of importanceIt will take a bit of time and the sooner you get into it, the better – you’ll build momentum for your event.

Once you have some donations advertising some of the larger, more valuable prizes/auction items prior to the night may even draw in a larger crowd too. Check out QuizNightHQ’s guide on How to Promote Your Quiz Night for plenty more suggestions and helpful hints to marketing your event.

Key tips for seeking donations for you Quiz Night:

Don’t be afraid to ask!

Start with businesses and organisations in which you have an existing relationship. Most businesses will be willing to donate knowing that it will spread awareness of their business or just support another local business/club/organisation/charity. Start with people you know who own businesses. Often small businesses are happy to put themselves out there as a way of promoting their brand. A small product purchase from a Silent Auction can majorly raise awareness to of their brand.

Don’t do it alone.

Many organisations running Quiz Nights have committees. Don’t go alone in asking businesses and individuals for donations, for your own sake. It’s far too big a job and if you want to raise some serious money on the night, spread the load and get many people asking, emailing, phoning. That way you’ll also widen the net, in terms of the connections to businesses that you’ll have. You may even find someone within your club/organisation that is highly competent or possibly psychotically into asking businesses for donations! Those people are out there and they’re gold.

Small items are good!

Keep in mind that on the night lots of small items in a silent auction will often accumulate a higher return than just a few larger and expensive items up for bidding. So don’t worry if you’re only receiving vouchers of lesser value or small items. See {Fundraising Games Guide} for ways to make the most of these donations.
Attendees will be more likely to spend an additional $20-$50 on a smaller item than $100s on a more valuable item.
Also, you’ll quickly find that businesses will be less likely to hand over a larger and more valuable donation. Asking for smaller items is easier and will add up quickly on the night.

Sponsorship/Donation Request Letter Template

See here for a FREE TEMPLATE of a letter you could provide potential businesses when requesting donations. You will find when asking for donations that some businesses request a letter (with letterhead) as a way of proving what the donation is for.

Also, if you don’t get to see the owner or manager, the store-person can pass on your details through the letter. However, try and speak to the person in charge, or with the ability to provide you with a donation as a first point of call. This allows them to put a friendly face to the request and hear you out directly rather than through a casual worker who may have less interest in the business they work for.

Where to Ask for Donations

It can be intimidating going into a business and asking them to hand something over for nothing. But you’ve got nothing to lose in asking and the majority of the time, it’ll be well worth your while.

Major companies such as large supermarkets and liquor outlets actually have a monthly budget on how much they can give away. So don’t feel like you’re putting anyone out if you ask for some vouchers or a donation of a product. They may need you to fill out a form outlining what it is for. Some places, after speaking to the manager and handing them your letter (see Letter Template), will hand over vouchers for as much as $100 on the spot.

Companies (Australian) that accept walk-in sponsorship requests:

  • Woolworths
  • Coles
  • Kmart
  • Dan Murphy’s

Please comment below with any other places that also regularly donate. It’ll be added to the list for everyone to benefit.

Suggestions for places to ask for donations:

  • Local grocers for vouchers or hampers
  • Cinemas
  • Large attractions (zoo, theme park)
  • Smaller entertainment venues (roller skate rink)
  • Small – Medium Retailers
  • Supermarkets
  • Department stores
  • Hardware stores
  • Friends’ businesses

Again, it doesn’t hurt to ask! You really do have nothing to lose …

Please comment below any additional thoughts you may have about seeking donations. Perhaps you’ve got an example of a success story that you would love to share.