Donations

From WikiAdvocacy

Look at donations broadly. You can obtain money, equipment and supplies in this category. A donations campaign—or even an ad-hoc effort—can be combined with seeking foundation grants, as discussed above, to offer companies a range of options for being involved with your organization.

[edit] Obtaining Donations

Mary Ann Wilson, Administrative Director

Neurofibromatosis, Inc.

"In 1979, the Neurofibromatosis Mid-Atlantic Chapter started in my dining room in Mitchellville, Maryland. We mailed letters, seeking to identify families, to the local pediatricians listed in the Yellow Pages of the telephone directory. The Chapter needed an inexpensive way to reproduce information about the disorder and communicate with the families and health professionals about various resources and meetings we were scheduling.

The Washington Post published a feature article on the Mars family (that's right—the candy people) in McLean, Virginia just across the Potomac River. I wrote a letter to The Mars Foundation explaining the disorder, the support group just getting started, and the need for a copying machine to help make information available to families and physicians.

Knowing that a lot of different people make a high volume of copies in libraries, I visited the local library to find out the manufacturer of the copiers being purchased by the County Library System. The local representative for the manufacturer quoted us a good price for a tabletop copier after hearing our story.

In less than a month after writing the letter to The Mars Foundation, we received a check for $2,000 for the copier. Until we moved into bona fide office space 10 years later, we used only that machine. We then obtained a donated copy machine with a much larger capacity. That is another story!"

[edit] International Donations

Canada

In order for U.S.-based organizations to give tax-exempt status to Canadian donors, a Canadian charity must be established. Those who have gone through the process share that the criteria is very strict to become a Canadian Charity, but it is well worth the effort. The website of the Canadian Revenue Agency is where you must begin. This website also offers some information.

[edit] Internal Links

• Helping Your Membership Help Your Group
• Recruiting
• Choosing Internet Service Provider
• Conference Call Services
• Taking Credit Cards on the Web
• Maintaining Your Membership
• Becoming the Organization You Imagine
• Getting Grants
• Charity Rating Listings
• Member Dues
• Events
• Celebrity Spokesperson
• People and Roles
• Harnessing the Resources That Are Hard to Measure
• Preparing for and Handling Publicity
• How to Obtain Donated Office Space
• Building a Website
• Meet Your Neighbors & Organizations