Non-financial support

Companies can provide a wide range of resources beyond cash. The exact total is unknown, but in one Idpar study, 102 Canadian companies calculated the cash value of their in-kind gifts in 1991. The total: $39.8 million. Many others simply don't track in-kind donations.

Many companies would rather give merchandise or staff time than money — especially during a recession. The most generous sector was printing and publishing, in which 3 companies gave $5.3 million in kind but only $600,000 in cash. Three electrical equipment companies gave $5.2 million in kind.

In-kind gifts exceeded cash gifts for many companies operating in mining, food, printing and publishing, electrical equipment, chemicals and allied products, miscellaneous manufacturing, and transportation and communication.

In-kind donations of goods, services and personnel were reported by one out of three companies, with an emphasis on support of the welfare sector.

Corporate donors may give items that were surplus or could not be sold, but are still worthwhile to you. The goods may be brand new, or well used but recyclable. Shopworn, scratched demonstrators, used goods or trade-ins can be just as useful as new products.

You may get goods and services that you could not otherwise afford to buy. Some rare items may not be on the market at all.

• A business owner, for example, may find it easier to give you building materials, a computer, or merchandise you can use or resell. They usually cost the donor less than the market value of the product. In some cases, the manufacturer's cost may be as little a 25% of the retail value.
• An art lover may wish to give you a work of art.
• A landowner may offer property permanently or temporarily.
• A skilled person may offer services, from accounting to photography to painting walls.
• A company may have their staff do your printing, repair your organization's roof, or create an advertising campaign.

All these are referred to as gifts in kind. Many corporate donors appreciate the higher visibility that in-kind donations of products can provide that dollars don't. In addition, a donor may develop a stronger bond with your organization by providing goods and services than by giving mere money. It can give the donor a sense of personal, ongoing involvement with the organization.

Develop an In-Kind Shopping List

Review your organization's needs with an eye to in-kind donations. What ongoing expenses are you paying for now that you might get donated? What might you need in future? Include both goods and services. Make a list of all the goods and services you plan to pay for in the next year or more. Every one of these is a potential in-kind gift.

Be specific about what you'd like them to give. It could be a van, a dining table, a bulldozer, a park bench, a week of an accountant's time, volunteer companions… or anything else. Later, this list can be matched to potential donors to see what opportunities you may have. The first step is to determine what you need.

Ask everyone else in the organization to do the same. Get them to write down everything they can think of — an unlimited list of wishes. Nothing makes volunteers and staff feel more involved than being asked to contribute ideas. If you don't, they may feel slighted — “We do the work, why don't they ask us?”

Ask them to explain why they want each item and what they'll do with it — briefly. Show what the item would be used for, how urgent the need is, and how many people will benefit.

Though you may be aware of most of your organization's needs, your staff and volunteers may surprise you with things you never even thought of that will make your work easier.

Offer recognition and a small reward for the most practical time- or money-saving suggestion.

Give them a deadline but don't nag those who don't meet it. Just take what you've got and merge all the viable suggestions into one list. Prioritize them in order of need.

What can you get?

Here are some ideas to spark your imagination:

The products a company makes

Unfortunately, many companies are reluctant to give away first-quality products that they could sell.

Computer companies, for example, are flooded with requests for free computers. When they do give them, it is often to highly visible demonstration projects, or to schools in the hope the students will later buy their brand.

Printers, as another example, are among the worst sources for free printing (although they will do it, especially if you do a lot of paid business with them). A company that has its own press but doesn't have to show a profit in the printing department is a much better bet. Major food distributors and insurance companies often fit this bill. Newspapers may have enough down time between printing editions of the paper to print special items. Unions often have their own presses, too.

Fortunately, there are many companies that do give away what they make.

• McDonald's gives food for annual meetings. They can send Ronald McDonald to selected events.
• Ciment St Laurent, in Joliette, Quebec, supported the construction of an outdoor theatre by donating the cement for the seats. The theatre is used for a three-week summer festival of the performing arts.
• The Fairweather clothing chain gave dozens of chic business outfits and a fashion training session to Skills for Change for immigrant job trainees.
• Crystal Springs, the Canadian bottled water producer, celebrated its 30th Anniversary by donating product. They preferred upscale events at which the product was displayed on tables and at bars, such as the Brazilian Ball in Toronto.
• A pharmaceutical manufacturer sends medical supplies that are still good but nearing expiry date.
• University of Toronto MBA professor Allan Phillips puts together teams of students to work on advertising strategy, for nonprofit groups 3 times per year.
• A Toronto merchandising and design school provides artwork for an annual historical event by including it as a class assignment. This provides the organizers with 10 to 15 designs to choose from. The nonprofit group awards a $250 honorarium to the student whose work is chosen. For this small expenditure, they get artwork for posters, pamphlets, buttons, programs and T-shirts, a fraction of the cost of a professional graphic designer.

Bonus: Professional design work can increase donations as much as 25%, by creating or improving an organization's image. Fundraising Management magazine's cover story in January 1990 showed how it worked for a US health group.

• The YMCA receives cash donations from a new fundraising venture called the “Investment in Values Challenge”.
  The in-kind donation is the expertise of sixteen Toronto investment houses, mutual fund managers and pension fund directors. Participating companies each set up an investment portfolio of $100,000 and manage it for one year. At the end, the firm in each of the three categories whose investments have earned the most is awarded an “Investment in Values Challenge Cup”.
  All the interest earned by all competitors' portfolios is donated to the YMCA.
  The competitors host quarterly get-togethers and stage a gala dinner to recognize the winners.
• Club Meadowvale, a sports and fitness centre, organized a “Corporate Fit and Fund Challenge” with the support of the Delta Meadowvale Resort and Conference Centre in which it is located. All proceeds went to Credit Valley Hospital.
  Each event in the Fun and Fitness Challenge was sponsored by a corporation. Club Meadowvale gave 50% of the sponsorship fee directly to the hospital and 50% was used to run the event.
  All entrants' fees were donated directly to the hospital.
  Club members, who are for the most part members of the corporate community, solicited all the donations, often from their own employers.
  Companies such as National Grocers, Maple Lodge Farms, Bakery Delite, and Pizza Hut donated:
  • food and beverages for all events,
  • juices, fruit and vegetables for competitors,
  • pizza, chicken wings, etc. for resale to participants and spectators, and
  • a wide variety of prizes for a raffle.
• Sheridan College students create presentation pieces for the Mississauga Mayor's Awards for Business and the Arts. Sheridan College donates studio space and teaching time. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce provides half of the $400 honorarium each student receives, displays the pieces in their main Oakville branch for three weeks prior to the Awards Gala Dinner, and provides each of the students with tickets to the event.

Seconds (slightly damaged goods and samples)

Companies are pleased to find a use for goods that might otherwise be destroyed. By the way, the materials given to you would still be tax-deductible as a business expense if they were destroyed.

• Major department stores, for example, give shopworn merchandise with scratches or damaged packaging that you can use or sell at rummage sales.
• Levi Strauss & Co (Canada) will give an organization holding a sale up to 500 pairs of jeans so slightly damaged that the flaws are usually hard to spot.

Raw materials

• Newspapers will give the end of a roll of newsprint, which is too small for their high speed press, but great for flip charts or kids' art classes.
• Levi Strauss & Co (Canada) gives bolts of material, belts, coat hangers, thread, and elastic.

Used equipment and office supplies

Organizations that are downsizing or remodelling may have surplus materials available, ranging from desks and photocopiers to manufacturing machinery with very specialized uses. Work training centres for disabled persons, women, immigrants and other special groups can benefit if they can show a company that the people they train on surplus equipment may become future employees.

• The Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton gave away 45-50 used PC computers to charities.
• CP Rail gave 25 PC computers to the Skills for Change program which assists new immigrants entering the Canadian work force.
• A newspaper in Florida which had built a new plant gave the old presses to a nonprofit that shipped them to the Third World to print educational materials. Although the equipment was outmoded by North American standards, it was valuable technology overseas.
• McDonald's gives pads and pencils for conferences.

Office, workshop and storage space

Companies that are downsizing or moving to new premises and have time left on an old lease, may provide offices, warehouses or factories.

• The National Bank of Canada will give a “reduced rate for rent of buildings we own.”

Employees as volunteers for nonprofit groups

Companies will post your request for volunteers, or put it in a newsletter. They may make even more elaborate arrangements.

• ManuLife Financial has held `Volunteer Fairs' offering 60 or more organizations booths to recruit volunteers among their head office employees.
• Levi Strauss & Co (Canada) will give up to $500 to any charity where an employee volunteers.
• Bell Canada recently faced losing highly skilled staff to short-term layoffs. To keep them with the company, but reduce costs, Bell offered their services to nonprofit organizations at greatly reduced salaries for six months to two years.

Bell would pay from ? to ½ of their salaries which ranged from $52,000 to $55,000 per year. The employees kept their seniority, pension and benefits.

• American Express offers its employees sabbaticals with full pay and benefits to work for the community organization or nonprofit group of their choice. Staff are allowed six-month sabbaticals after ten years' service and a full year after twenty years.
• The Bank of Montreal offers staff members paid time off as “people care days”. The “paid leave of absence can be taken in part-days or even hourly increments”, and can be used “to deal with everything from getting a marriage license to working for a charity”.

Loaned executives during business hours

Companies may send their staff to assist you with special problems, or serve on your board. It helps the executive get well rounded training, and may provide added job satisfaction for those who cannot be promoted. Examples include an accountant to help set up or improve your bookkeeping, a publicist to help arrange media coverage of a special event, or a staff artist to design new letterhead or brochures.

Professional services

Ad agencies and lawyers will often take on nonprofits as free clients when they are not too busy. They do so to show off what they can do, keep employees busy or train new people. Companies have even paid their ad agency to work on a nonprofit's campaign. They may pay a consultant's fees if they believe it will help their favourite nonprofit.

Photocopying or use of a postage meters

Employees may do this on the sly, but many companies openly endorse it for causes they support.

Lobbying for legislative changes

When a position on an issue is shared by management, a company may want to participate. Having a corporation involved can be a big help. They can show you techniques they have used successfully themselves. Often just having a senior executive on your side adds clout to your presentation.

Strategic planning

Companies have refined planning to a high degree. They will occasionally assist nonprofits in developing their own plans.

Market research advice

Companies will help you develop the expertise to research your clients' needs better, or discover how widespread a problem is.

If you are considering setting up a small business, corporate market researchers can help you test the waters.

Donor surveys can be valuable ways to improve relations with supporters, and companies have helped design the forms and analyze the results.

Companies may tag a few of your questions on to a mass poll they are conducting, so that you can determine how the public feels about key issues such as improved accessibility, or better payments for attendant care.

Telecommunications and computer services

Companies and government offices may allow you to use their long distance wats lines for a day of special calls. Computer facilities may be shared to do major data entry work, or handle your books or mail lists, especially during the evening hours.

• Bell Telephone will sometimes bring groups into their boardroom to use free teleconferencing services (even video-conferencing) for national meetings.

Other creative combinations

Creative thinking can develop many more ideas. Sit down with your shopping list and supportive corporate donors and see what new ways you can devise together to help more people with limited budgets.

• ·The Oakville Waterfront Festival raised approximately half of the $400,000 budget through in-kind donations. One dollar in each $5 of revenue from the festival is returned to community groups whose volunteers have worked on the festival. The monies are distributed to the organizations in proportion to the amount of time given by their volunteers to the Waterfront Festival.
  The Chairman of the Festival is the retired Chairman and CEO of McCormick Canada (the spice company). He approached the festival and offered his services because he wanted to get involved in the community.
  Donations include:
  • all the accounting services
  • communication systems from Bell Cellular and Motorola
  • ?“a ton of office equipment” from Pitney Bowes for the four months that the festival operates a full office. This is better than an outright gift it doesn't have to be stored for the other eight months and what comes is more likely to be up to date.
  • over $10,000 in services from The Oakville Beaver including ads, telephone Info Line services, the services of an artist for posters, programs, etc and ad space to thank donors
  • a children's playhouse in Coronation Park. Built and installed by local builder, Mattamy Homes, it will be raffled or auctioned off at the end of the festival.
  • garbage removal services from McEwen Waste Management (Pat McEwen is Coordinator of Volunteers) working with the Recycling Association.
  • Big Brothers doubled the funds raised, from $10,000 to over $20,000, at their Appeal Spiel curling bonspiel using in-kind donations.
    To participate, teams solicited cash pledges. They received prizes based on the total pledges they brought to the Spiel.
    For example, an electronics firm agreed to provide 28" colour TV sets at cost. Each of the four members of the team with the highest fundraising total, over $5,000 in pledges, received a TV set. Corporate donors and small businesses also donated over 150 door prizes.
    Big Brothers were well aware of the consumer market they offer to sponsors — their members are primarily males 20 to 45 — and looked for sponsors who would appreciate it. For example, The Molson Companies Ltd, who donated three-day passes to the Toronto Indy Race, and fitness clubs, both local and in Toronto, who donated memberships.
    In many cases the Big Brothers were employees of the donors, or knew someone who was.
    
• Members of the Baha'i community of Oakville observed International Women's Day by helping promote and support Halton Women's Place, a shelter for abused women and children.
  A Baha'i member saw an article about the shelter and called and asked if they could help. They had posters designed and printed, promoting the work of the shelter and soliciting in-kind and cash donations.
  They arranged for air time on their cable television show Baha'i Presents for the Shelter to explain its activities and services, particularly the need for affordable housing.
• Junior Civitan of Oakville used in-kind donations to support their 19th Annual Dance-a-thon, which lasts 25 hours.
  The Oaklands Regional Centre, had in the past donated their facilities in trade for volunteer time. With increasing pressure on funding by the government, they asked instead for a donation of equipment for the gymnasium.
  • Subway, Tim Horton, and Pizza Pizza and local grocery stores (both branches of chains and small privately owned shops) donated food and beverages for participants.
  • Ford provided three vehicles, two vans and a pickup, for the weekend to move people and supplies.
  • The Airport Holiday Inn provided a large meeting room as a staging area for Junior Civitan participants who flew in from the US. The room was supplied with TV, VCR and videos.
• Luciano Benetton, the owner/director of United Colours of Benetton of Italy organized a worldwide campaign to gather clothes for those in need. In Canada, this was done in partnership with the United Way. Eye-catching ads featuring Luciano himself, discretely nude behind the text, were placed in major newspapers. Donors were invited to bring good used clothing to drop-boxes in any Benetton store. Benetton hired a fleet of trucks to deliver the clothes to local United Way offices. All the United Way agencies had to do was distribute them to their clients.

Determine the Cost of the Goods or Services

Put a price on each item.

For each item, list what you would normally have to pay. You can easily find this out by checking the Yellow Pages and making a few phone calls to manufacturers or retailers. Tell them you're putting together a budget and would like to get an idea of the cost of the item or service. If it's something that's often advertised, check your local papers. You may find it more economical to buy low cost items rather than spend valuable time arranging donations.

Put a value on it.

Once you've put a price tag on each item on your wish list, put a value on it in terms of what you can do with it. An item may seem expensive. You may fear it is too much to ask of a donor. To help overcome this barrier, present its value in terms of what effect it will have on your work or your clients.

This will be very important when you approach potential donors. Just as you tell them what their financial support will do in terms of goals accomplished and people helped, you have to be able to quantify what effect their goods or services will have on your work.

For example:

• the donation of a van to a Meals-on-Wheels group will enable it to get meals to 100 more shut-ins
• a telephone will allow a distress-line group to help 30 more people daily,
• printing 1,000 pamphlets will enable a childproofing group to help parents protect 2,500 children
• a computer for record-keeping will reduce the waiting time for processing a social agency's clients from a week to two days

Count all the costs

Be sure to include all the costs required to make the item usable:

• a van is just a hunk of rusting metal without insurance, gas, maintenance, and a driver
• a copier needs paper and toner
• pamphlets and newsletters need envelopes and postage to be mailed
• a computer needs a desk to put it on, a printer and diskettes, software, staff training and servicing

Beware `free gifts' that are expensive

`Free gifts' can be very costly! Watch out for these traps:

• Spending a dollar to save a nickel. Time is money. Don't waste hours of volunteer or staff time hunting for an item you could buy more cheaply. A worthwhile donation is worth five times what it cost to get.
• Getting false savings. A computer hardware manufacturer gave a major Canadian performing arts group a 50% discount on 27 personal computer systems plus a file server. The CEO of the manufacturer is on the arts group's board of directors.
  However, the list price was higher than actual available retail price so the effective discount was probably only 25%. The hardware has been troublesome. Support, both written and oral, has been poor, and delivery took seven months.
• Getting what you didn't want. A donation of an item you can't use is a liability, not an asset, even if it might be useful to someone else.
  These `white elephants' take up precious storage space, and deplete energy as people try to figure out how to get rid of them without offending the donor.
  If you have no immediate use for goods donated in kind, will the donor be offended if you resell them? This problem can arise when a donor gives product, art work or land, but you need immediate capital.
  If you are not going to resell them, can you store them adequately so there is no damage?
  Will you have to pay large fees for insurance, transportation, or legal work for an item you don't really want?
  If you can't use it, just say `No thanks.'
• Getting dangerous garbage. One nonprofit group received a donation of skis that were so old they weren't legal to use on the slopes. They couldn't use them, sell them, or give them away. Another got medicines that had expired and were dangerous to use.
  Refuse to be a refuse collector. Sometimes it pays to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Doing harm

Are the in-kind gifts used in projects appropriate?

For example, in a Third-World country, tractors are of little value if spare parts and fuel are not easily available. Food aid stops hunger short-term, but may do long-term damage to local farmers and merchants, resulting in worse hunger later.

Weigh the value of a gift against any harm it might do.

Decide Possible Sources

Round up the usual suspects. Contact printers for printing, the media for advertising, the appropriate manufacturers for their products, and restaurants for catering.

Ask your volunteers and staff who they know and use in your community.

Find out from other groups which businesses have given in-kind donations to them, what products they gave and what the value of the donations was.

Investigate the unlikely. Ask those that don't earn their living from selling the product.

Large companies that have in-house printing equipment can provide printing. Nonprofit groups have received free printing from insurance companies, supermarkets, newspapers and prisons.

Community colleges and technical schools teach a wide variety of skills. Schools like to offer `real-world' experience and students like to add to their résumés or portfolios. Look at the curricula of schools in your community for more ideas.

Businesses that are upgrading their computer or photocopying systems may donate their existing equipment.

Example: Petro-Canada's head office has given computers, office equipment and artwork, when renovating offices or changing staff.

Many companies are downsizing or facing bankruptcy. Don't write them off as potential donors. They may be happier to donate equipment or supplies to a nonprofit organization than to have it seized or sold for a fraction of its value.

When you approach manufacturers or distributors, ask not only if they will give, but also if they can put you in touch with anyone who has recently made a sizable purchase from them. That customer may be willing to part with the old furniture, copier, or computer that they have just replaced.

If you have an office, brighten up your lobby or reception area — speak to local art galleries. It is not uncommon for them to loan pictures in return for an acknowledgement hung beside them. Perhaps not vital to the function of your organization, but it shows everyone who comes into your offices your support of local businesses and artists.

Warning: Be sure you are insured in case the artwork is damaged or stolen.

Distribute the load. Don't ask a single supplier to donate everything. Ask a number of different donors for part of what you need.

• For a pamphlet, ask a designer to help you create it, one company to donate the printing, and another to give the paper.
• To get free food for a gala, get several cooks to each make one dish, and food companies or farmers to donate the ingredients.
• For a special event, ask a number of different entertainers to make a brief appearance. Convince a retailer or manufacturer to loan the sound equipment.
• For a computer system, ask different companies for the printer, software, diskettes, training and service.

Produce a list of needed materials or components, then plan the approach. Go for the easy targets first, then you can fill in the blanks with the more difficult items.

Example: The Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group approached a number of manufacturers and asked for a case or two of their product for prizes. The request was so small that almost everyone who was approached agreed and gave two cases. Not all companies were in the motorcycling industry — Scott Paper, ArmorAll, SC Johnson (who make Off! insect repellent), and Mentholatum of Canada (makers of hot and cold liniments) provided product. Though each manufacturer gave only $30 to $60 worth of goods at his cost, the two dozen “Prize Product Packs”, with a single package of each product, had a retail value of over $150 — a total of over $3,000!

Bonus: As well as being asked for less, the donor is often pleased to be part of the group. In other cases, when faced with the list of donations from other businesses, donors feel more pressure to go along with the group.

Example: A school offered one group the services of a graduating business student for eight weeks at no charge. The problem — no extra office space, furniture or equipment.

One staff person, seeing a chance for free help for two months, offered to bring in her home computer and printer. She spoke to a nonprofit that she knew was moving — they agreed to donate furniture they no longer needed. Next, the landlord was approached and told that student, computer, and furniture had been donated. He agreed to provide adjoining unused office space. Finally a major telephone-leasing group agreed to donate a used, multi-line telephone compatible with the office system.

Look for a connection. You increase your organization's success rate by making use of personal connections between your current donors, supporters or volunteers and the potential donor.

Ask donors who have something to gain. In a few pages we will cover in greater detail the benefits you can offer donors and the reasons for choosing to approach certain companies or individuals. At this point, however, consider as a likely source anyone you think might have something to gain from making a donation to your organization.

Find the Right Person to Do the Asking

Always approach businesses where you have leverage.

Give yourself the advantage by getting people who have some connection with the potential donors to do the asking.

Survey the home front. First look to your own suppliers — anyone whom you have previously paid for goods. Talk to the sales representative of any from which you buy products or services.

Then look to your supporters. In your volunteer and donor records, note their employer's name or, in the case of more powerful contacts, the name of the company they head. Look for the names of companies who purchase or manufacture the kind of goods you are looking for. Start with those who deal in large quantities.

Ask your volunteer/donor if he or she is willing to ask their major suppliers. The donation of their name and prestige will get you more goods — sooner and more easily.

Check out the locals. At local print shops, check business cards, letterhead and other samples on display. The more elaborate or expensive the samples, the more influential the client is likely to be. If their choice of paper or ink is environmentally friendly, maybe they are too. Make a note of the names and check to see if you have a volunteer/donor who works for any of them.

In the lobby or reception areas of local companies, check the business magazines. The ads in the trade magazines on the coffee table will give you an idea of the types of products they purchase. Sport trophies or recognition plaques displayed there can tell you what companies or organizations they are currently dealing with. Check your lists to see if you have a connection.

Read the papers. Check the business section of your newspaper for major contract announcements. They'll tell you who is dealing with whom, and often give names of senior executives. New contracts may mean major purchases from a variety of suppliers. Again check these names against your lists of volunteers and donors.

In the same newspapers, check the Appointments listings in the business section for names of your volunteers or current donors. Are they now with businesses that you might want to approach?

To be effective, the person you choose to do the asking should have leverage or connection with the potential donor. He or she may be an employee or customer of the company, or someone in the same business who has already made a donation similar to the one being requested.

If you have no one in any of the above categories, can you ask someone of prestige in the community? A city councillor, the senior executive of a major local employer, a recognized community benefactor, or a local sports or entertainment star? If the potential donor doesn't know the asker, is there someone whose reputation will mean something to him?

This is where a little research can go a long way. As well as the potential donor's business connections, look for personal connections and interests. How does the donor spend his or her leisure time, who does he/she spend it with, what sports or entertainment does he/she enjoy, what involvement does the spouse have in the community?

When you have found a volunteer with a connection, find out how much they know about their prospect. It's always worth a little research to make sure your asker knows as much as possible. The better prepared your asker the more likely and larger the success.