STRATEGIC DONATING

"Will you donate to our charity event ... benefit ... children's program ... civic association? We receive an inordinate amount of requests for charity and civic donations. We generally try to maintain a high profile in the community. We often have large advertisements in local publications and the yellow pages - all of these "think of us first' marketing tools also mean that members of the event committee also think of us first when they plan their event and seek donations.

It is equally logical that we simply cannot fulfill every request that comes to us. And even if we could do so, we probably shouldn't.

Handling donation requests is often a popular topic when we get together. It's a challenge we all share. We are often afraid to say no, even when we feel we should. Having an established policy or set of rules makes it much easier to say no. Perhaps more importantly, it makes it more likely that your money, product or time is spent appropriately.

Here are four simple rules for charity donation requests:

1. Support charities that are of personal interest to you.
2. Support charities that buy from you.
3. Support, to the extent your budget allows, charity requests of important clients.
4. If the request doesn't fit into categories 1, 2 or 3, the answer is "no."

For many, merely establishing these four rules can be enough to genuinely simplify the decision. Your employees who regularly answer the phone or speak with customers should understand your policy. Train them on how you want donation requests handled. Coach them specifically on how to let the customers know how you make your decision. Rules 2 and 3 are so simple and sensible --- they'll probably make sense to anyone requesting a donation. One simple, direct "no" might save you several repeat calls, in addition to wasted time --- both yours and that of the requesting person.

The biggest challenge is handling request for industry events. Just look at a calendar of events and imagine how many requests confront a wholesaler, supplier, manufacturer or grower. These same rules and considerations apply to industry events. Just replace the words "charity event" with "industry event," and the same principles work.

Here are some other considerations to take into account in your donation program:

Develop a budget Only you can determine how much your business can afford to budget for donations. But it is important to determine some kind of monetary guideline, either yearly, quarterly or monthly. Quarterly budgets let you make adjustments four times during the year. This way, you won't spend the whole wad in the first half of the year. A monthly budget might be too restrictive, causing you to pass up one worthy cause because it is more than the current month's allotment.

Offer gift certificates Donating a gift certificate is one of the most painless ways to participate in a charity event and a good alternative to saying no. In many cases, it can be your best option, especially when the benefit is retail, but the cost to you is wholesale.

Request it in writing It is not unusual to require that any request for a donation be in writing. Be sure to have an advance notice requirement: "A donation request must be in writing at least 30 days before the event." This is a professional approach that should not create any undue hardship on serious requests. It does, however, weed out the vast majority of requests which seem to come over the phone two days before the event from a caller you don't even know.

Create a donation request form This is an alternative to the written request. Your staff can simply respond, "you're welcome to fill out our donation request form," to anyone requesting donations, and give, mail or fax it to persons who request. Be sure to spell out your advance notification policy or any other requirement you may wish to clarify beforehand.

Such forms can include questions regarding whether the requester or charity group or officers are regular customers. What's wrong with getting the message across that "you've never purchased from me, never been in my store before, but you are asking me to donate how much?" A few questions such as "Is the caterer donating all the food and services? Is the hotel donating the ballroom?" is like saying: "You're paying for everything else but think flowers should be free?"

Judiciously advertise The charity or organization will likely promise an ad in their event program that will "be seen by all the important people in town." Such advertisements are another means of promoting the fact that you make donations. The response that you get to the ad is more requests for donations for even more charity events.