It’s hard to believe that the holidays are just around the corner! It’s been a rough year in many ways, but there’s something about coming together to support a great cause that brings hope and warms people’s hearts during the holiday season. Hosting a donation drive is a fun way to get family, friends and the neighborhood into the holiday spirit and do something good for the community! Check out these five tips on how to host a donation drive.
1. Choose a Local Partner
Think of a cause you care about and look up local organizations in your community. You want to make sure the donations you are collecting are things people actually need! Many nonprofits have a wish list posted on their website of items needed, so you can use that as a reference to ask for donations. It also adds credibility to your donation drive when people know where the donations are going.
At Root for Kids, we serve pregnant women and children from birth to age 5 in Washington County and the Arizona Strip. Every month we serve 600 children through Early Head Start, Early Intervention and Parents as Teachers home visiting programs. If you’re in the St. George area, we’d love to partner with you!
2. Recruit
You can host the drive on your own or you can partner with family members, friends, church groups, school groups, etc. to reach an even broader audience. Decide together who you want to support and go to the next step…
3. Define Timeframe and Drop-Off Location(s)
Decide when you want to take the donations to the organization. You can check with the organization first to see if there any preferred donation drop off dates and times (especially during the holidays and COVID-19). Define a drop-off location and give people enough time to bring the donations (at least 2 weeks).
Our next fundraiser event is the Drive-Thru Radiothon on December 14, 2020. We are encouraging people to stop by Root for Kids (2044 S. Mesa Palms Drive – St. George, UT 84770) between 6:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. to drop off donations.
4. Spread the Word
Now that you have all the details sorted out, you are ready to get the word out about your donation drive! You can create a flyer or poster to take around the neighborhood and make it an image as well to share on social media. You want to include the following details:
- The organization you are benefiting and a little bit about what they do
- Wish list of items needed
- Drop-off dates and location
- Your contact information
Again, you can always contact the organization to see if they already have something designed you can use. If you’re interested in hosting a drive for Root for Kids, feel free to download the image below to share and the PDF for printing.
5. Gather and Deliver
Collect donations from the drop off location(s) and deliver them to the organization you picked. Don’t forget to take pictures and share on social media (tagging the organization), so your followers and people who donated know they’ve made an impact!
We hope you have found these tips helpful and are motivated to do something for your community this holiday season. Feel free to use the materials on this post and on the Radiothon page to host your donation drive benefitting Root for Kids.