cussed in “Special Events”) to show donors the wonderful things you do in your community. Asking For Donations
last annual report either from us or from the Attorney General at State of New York, Office of the Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10721.”
You know who you want to ask, now comes the asking. After deciding what approach you will take, have your
Recording Donor Information
documentation ready in case anyone asks questions. Work in partnership with others—have an experienced volunteer or board member look at your proposal or go with you to a donor meeting. No matter who is doing the asking, your organization should have a consistent “case for support” message to ensure that everyone asking for money for your programs has a consistent message. Receiving Donations Here’s where you reap the fruit of your labor! The work’s not over though. It is essential that you: •
Log checks as they come in (it’s often a good idea to make a copy)
•
Record them as revenue in your bookkeeping system
•
Deposit checks promptly
•
Record donations in your donor filing system
Acknowledging the Donation Sending a postcard or letter thanking donors for their contributions serves an important purpose. It helps you build a relationship with the people who have donated money. By letting your donors know that their gifts are truly appreciated, you can help ensure that they will donate again in the future. By law, you are required to acknowledge in writing gifts over $250. However, it is a good idea to acknowledge all gifts. All acknowledgements should contain some form of the following language: “XYZ Food Kitchen is a 501 (c) 3 approved organization, and your contribution is tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by the law. Please note that no goods or services were rendered in exchange for this contribution. In accordance with state law, you may request a copy of our
You don’t need to be very computer savvy to know how to do this. Using index cards will get you started. Note the donors’ names, addresses, phone and fax numbers, date of donation and amount. Transferring this data to a spreadsheet format like Excel or Access will make it even easier for you to stay on top of the donations you will be receiving. You can also use a free, web-based service, such as www.ebase.org to help you track your donors. More elaborate database systems can be expensive but are an investment —companies to research include: Raiser’s Edge (http:// www.blackbaud.com/products/fundraising/raisersedge.aspx), GiftWorks (http:// www.missionresearch.com/index.html), Convio (http://www.convio.com/). If you are technologically savvy, there are also free of charge, open-source systems such as Sugar CRM (http://www.sugarcrm.com/crm/ products/crm-products.html) and CiviCRM (http://civicrm.org/ ) which are very effective systems but require more personal time and technical investment since there is limited technical support available for these systems. Keep Donors Informed Between fundraising campaigns, it is a good idea to keep your funders informed of what’s going on with your organization. Treat your donors like investors—they have invested in your programs and they want to know what their dollars made possible. Share a client story, how your programs provided food for children in the area, how you were able to make a
Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry Best Practices Guide
Section 7
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