Thursday, October 7, 2010

You Can Pull Off A Extraordinary Fundraising Boot Drive

By Lisa Krempasky

One example of how to run a charity shoe drive comes from The Shoeman who started such a drive while working to clean up the water around the world. This organization which accepts donations of shoes from various businesses, churches, schools and special events in various areas of the United States works to provide affordable footwear and clean drinking water to those most in need in third world countries.

So where do the shoes come from? Organizations in various parts of the United States run charity drives to collect shoes from businesses, churches, schools and special events. Once such shoes are collected, the shoes are then delivered to third-world countries where the shoes are resold at affordable prices. After which, monies collected go to a variety of communities which are in desperate need of clean drinking water and other services.

Of course, since such shoes can save lives by protecting feet from athletes foot, mites, parasites, abrasions and other issues, such shoes are greatly appreciated. In addition, funds created by the resale of such shoes goes to pay for well water purification, hand pump repairs and well drilling rigs. Thus the shoes also bring clean drinking water to a variety of communities.

You can set up a website about your charity shoe drive. You may also want to place ads or listings in local newspapers or calendars which are often free for non-profit organizations. Of course, if you are going to host a successful benefit or drive, you may want to list notices in as many local calendars as possible. This will give you the best possible chance of acquiring both volunteers and donations to an event.

In addition, as it is often free to run public service announcement on public radio and television stations, you may consider doing so as an added way to get the word out about such an event. However, there also may be times when you may want to to pay to have such notices listed. If and when doing so you need to be sure and keep all receipts so that one can show the cost in relation to the benefit or charity which had been advertised.

Also, in the case of this particular not-for-profit partnership, the water delivery organization provides ongoing training in relation to a number of issues related to water. Whereas, the other organization collects and ships the shoes which have been donated throughout the year. As such, the organizations work in harmony with one another to assure that the donations received go to generate funds to help those most in need at the time such funds are made available.

Various laws may exist in different areas related to hosting such events or receiving donations. In addition, unless an organization is an official 501C3 organization at the time of such event, you may have to pay taxes on any monies which you receive. Therefore, it is always good to research any and all plans carefully before accepting any funds in relation to same.

Therefore, although the example here is related to a shoe drive, often you can host a benefit or charity drive related to a number of items which can be donated, recycled or resold. However, by discovering how to run a charity shoe drive, you can also learn a great deal about how to be successful with others. Last but not least, you need hold a 501C3 status, or partner with someone who does, which shows that you are operating on a not-for-profit basis. Otherwise, you may be taxed on any and all monies received when hosting such an event.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment