Solicit donations to a non-profit?

December 12, 2006 3:27 PM

Where can I get handouts in Sydney?

I'm working for an organization in Syndey, Australia, coordinating childrens' programs. I have one coming up next week, and another in early March. We charge for these events, but run at a loss.

I've seen similar events being advertised as 'partly sponsored' by, say, the NSW government, etc.

How do I go about getting one of those? The things I'm looking for can be cash (that's always useful), products (for prizes and the like) or anything else useful. I've already made an attempt at Apple's organization donation form, and I'm looking for more like that.

Help??

posted by mhz to work & money (5 comments total)

Microsoft has many community initiatives/funds/programs available.
posted by jkaczor at 4:03 PM on December 12, 2006

First, is the organisation registered for fundraising? In NSW you have to go through the Dept of Gaming and Racing to get an Authority to Fundraise.

NSW Government program information will be available on the Communitybuilders website.

If you're hunting out funding you generally have to show what the benefit will be to the recipients - not just that they'll have fun but that their lives will be enriched in some way, they'll learn something, or they will be able to take part in activities which they normally can't because they are remote/disadvantaged/etc. Corporate sponsors will also want to know what kind of exposure or cross-promotion they can get out of the event. (Apologies if you already know this stuff - I can't tell from your question how much experience you have).

Philanthropic support is also available but most philanthropic trusts will need your organisation to be a Tax Concession Charity and possibly also a Deductible Gift Recipient. They're also generally less inclined to support ongoing programs, or things which they think have a good chance of accessing corporate or government support.

To find corporate giving, here's my favourite tip. Google this: "in the community" site:.com.au and you will get a huge number of links to the giving programs of Australian companies.

You might want to think about getting some assistance from something like GoodCompany. They provide a service whereby you can register your "wish" and possibly get some pro bono assistance. If you're running all programs at a loss, obviously it's not sustainable and you might benefit from getting a business plan written by one of the pro bono experts on there, or fundraising/sponsorshop advice from a professional.

If you only have time to do one thing I'd poke around in the funding section of the CommunityBuilders site listed above.
posted by andraste at 5:01 PM on December 12, 2006

Good advice from andraste, but if you are looking a little more low key, why not directly approach suitable sponsors via a letter/phone call?
If you need a small amount of money, or could benefit from payment in kind (e.g. paint for an art programme etc.) I would do it through an informal process.
Remember, networking is the king in this stuff. Do any staff/friends/family/participants have a contact in a suitable organisation?
posted by bystander at 5:37 PM on December 12, 2006

Some corporations will partner with a charity. For example, Krispey Kreme will supply boxes of donuts to onsell (see their webpages for details) but they may also come out and just give away stuff if you give them publicity etc. Contact radio stations for free publicity and give-aways, food companies for raffle-prizes and samples. Your local RSL or Rotary are often willing to partner depending on the cause (and will often hire for a nominal fee their candyfloss machines etc etc).

Don't know where you'd go for cash as that's slightly harder to pry out of cold, dead corporate hands. Most large corporates have their "pet" charity with not much left over for this type of discretionary spending, but the links above look like an excellent start.

Good luck.
posted by ninazer0 at 10:05 PM on December 12, 2006

Thanks for the links.

Re: the fundraising issue:

Is that required even if I'm asking just for products? The reason I even thought of cash was because of companies like Microsoft, which make products that aren't all that useful to the actual event (aside from a Zune or Xbox which can be used as prizes).

As far as I'm concerned, actual products are a far better deal than cash. Easier on both sides.
posted by mhz at 10:38 PM on December 12, 2006