Hey guys-
Good luck with your respective projects. All these charities are going to be so much better off because of awesome people like you.
I love planning these things, and I see that you two are writing from Pittsburg and Milwaukee? I have only planned philanthropy projects in my small college town, but the way I see it (correct me if I am wrong), that is to your advantage that you are in bigger cities because businesses won't be as tapped out. To solicit donations from businesses, I usually target the small-mid-sized ones. The bigger ones, like Staples (for paper and stuff) or Wal-mart (just in my experience) can more easily brush off requests because some managers say that they need to talk with the national office. The local businesses are MUCH more responsive.
First, I start with a business letter, so I don't have to ambush the manager with my request and then follow it up with a meeting/phone call about a week to a week and a half after the letter was delivered. Most businesses are happy to help!
(Ginger, I would try and get Maider's (sp?) and the Pfister to donate. They are my favorite places to eat and stay in Milwaukee
.)
Of course, Jess_pom would be a better resource, but when I planned my projects, I just called the general manager and set up a meeting. I told him what we were doing and gave him a proposal, and he gave us all our radio spots for free and threw in an on-air interview. He is really awesome though, and I don't know if everyone is like that.
If you have a general timetable, maybe I could be of more help. I made the next philanthropy chair a pretty in-dept binder with timetables about a similar event, so maybe I can share. EIther way- GOOD LUCK!!
Whew- this was long. I get on a tangent talking about this and Kate Spade though
.
these are so much fun!
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