Philanthropic behavior

Tis the season for fundraising. In the past week I’ve been asked by three friends to buy something to support a school band trip, softball uniforms and a trip to Radio City Music Hall.

Reminds me of my days back at the florist. At least once a week someone would come in requesting cash or flower donations for an event or fundraiser. Our store was located just down the street from a major university, so I think we might have received more pleas than some other businesses. It got ridiculous after a while, quite frankly. Once you develop a reputation for generosity everybody begins knocking on your door.

Given the tight economy, I imagine that independent businesses will see even more donation requests this year. Which could put retailers in a sticky situation. You want to help; you want to generate goodwill. But you also have to stick with your budget and protect your bottom line.

Here’s how we ultimately fielded requests at the florist:

1. Make it formal. Folks often came in armed with a brochure and a general idea of the donation they wanted. The manager or assistant manager would then ask them to either mail or drop off a written request outlining exactly what they wanted and any promotional benefits the shop would receive in return.

2. Keep it visible. We made cash donations to a select few organizations. (And typically received mentions in program brochures in return.) But in most cases, we tried to donate loose flowers or arrangements. It was the best way to get visibility for what we do best.

3. Stick with the budget. We had donation dollars budgeted for each quarter. Two large, standing obligations sucked up most of the funds for the second quarter of the year. But regardless, once the money was gone, that was it. When additional requests came in we could say in all honesty that our funds had already been allocated for the quarter.

In talking with garden retailers over the years, I’ve encountered several interesting methods for handling donations. Some stores do contract growing for organizations at a reduced rate, providing merchandise for the plant sales they run. Many donate materials and plants to school gardens. Others sink their philanthropy dollars into community beautification projects like America In Bloom.

Let’s hear from you. How do you handle donation requests? Do you expect more of them this year?

-- Sarah

Comments

[greg draiss]

Requests must now be in writing on formal letterhead a minimum two weeks before needed. They are reviewed and notified by phone of outcome.

Hard to say if more will be coming in.We have always had a parade of requests.

Greg Draiss

[Kathy Jentz]

This post was timely as I came back from a lunch appointment to two such requests in my voice mail. As a publication, not a retail store, we get different but proabbly just as numerous requests. Today I gave 100 issues and a door prize to a upcoming Master Gardener conference.

Since we also solicit for donations for our events such as door prizes our annual Seed Exchange, I definitely see both sides here.

We do not have a formal request procedure. I generally give to all who ask as long as they are A. local, B. nonprofits, and C. some how garden related.

Maybe we should develop a form. I'd like to see examples of others' forms if they feel open to posting them.

[jeff griff]

interestingly enough we have seen a decrease in requests for donations due to the lack of 'benefit auctions' which have proved unsuccessful as of late in raising funds. due to the fact that we do not donate cash, only product or services, we have not met our monthly budgets for donations for the past 13 months.

[ricardo kmaxwell]

Now that B. Hussein Obama and his Democrat comrades control the federal government and they seem to be willing to use every one or our hard earned tax dollars (and then some) to give away to the "lees fortunate", private donations are no longer necessary or affordable.