What would you pay for charity?

[Marionnette]

I have to agree with teller80. I would not make a donation knowing that the majority of the money was going toward "overhead". Maybe there's a way to get your costs for the t-shirts down to a more reasonable level? Perhaps you could reach out to the business that you plan to use for your t-shirts to see if they would discount the costs in exchange for advertising on your website or on the shirts themselves?

 

[teller80]

Is it just me or does $2500 per person seem like a lot for an organization to ask?

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

Is it just me or does $2500 per person seem like a lot for an organization to ask?

It's not really a lot It includes the registrations for 3 runs, and the hotel for two nights. It's the only fundraising plan they offered I could pick for all three runs though, and they can kind of charge what they want the run is sold out.

Plus $2,500 isn't much if you've ever looked up the fee of some other charity runs, it's pretty reasonable.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

I have to agree with teller80. I would not make a donation knowing that the majority of the money was going toward "overhead". Maybe there's a way to get your costs for the t-shirts down to a more reasonable level? Perhaps you could reach out to the business that you plan to use for your t-shirts to see if they would discount the costs in exchange for advertising on your website or on the shirts themselves?

The average person wouldn't know the overhead costs, they would just see the flat fee of the shirt. I only explained that here so it would make sense why the end cost is so much. 100% of the profits go to benefit the foundation.
I can't see selling a shirt where else than $5 raised goes to the foundation, that seems almost pointless. Shipping is what really makes the price go up. I don't have the option for the store i run to charge shipping separately, so it has to be worked into the total cost, so essential the shirt would be $20 with an additional $5 for shipping.

 

[Narnia_girl]

Are there no print shops in your area that do T-shirts? I've had shirts designed and printed for all kinds of groups and they were never that much. Most of the time, they gave me a break on printing if they knew I was buying a certain quantity. And no shipping costs. Most of the shirts I've had printed cost about $6 to produce.
Regarding raffles, in my city you need a permit approved by the city council. The application asks for your organization and how long they have been around. The fee is $5 for 60 days of selling.

Back to your original question. If you asked me to buy a $27 T-shirt, I'd say "no thanks, but here's a $10 donation."

 

[Marionnette]

The average person wouldn't know the overhead costs, they would just see the flat fee of the shirt. I only explained that here so it would make sense why the end cost is so much. 100% of the profits go to benefit the foundation.
I can't see selling a shirt where else than $5 raised goes to the foundation, that seems almost pointless. Shipping is what really makes the price go up. I don't have the option for the store i run to charge shipping separately, so it has to be worked into the total cost, so essential the shirt would be $20 with an additional $5 for shipping.

You have no intention of disclosing that the majority of someone's donation will not go to the charity itself? That's just not right.

It's not really a lot It includes the registrations for 3 runs, and the hotel for two nights. It's the only fundraising plan they offered I could pick for all three runs though, and they can kind of charge what they want the run is sold out.

Plus $2,500 isn't much if you've ever looked up the fee of some other charity runs, it's pretty reasonable.

So, not only will you be putting less than the full amount of the donation toward the charity, you are also getting 2 free hotel nights in Disney from this? I understand that this is how the organizers set things up. It just doesn't strike me as being very "charitable". Do all runners in these events raise 100% of their entry fee from donations? If so, I think we've all found a new way to partially finance our Disney trips.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

You have no intention of disclosing that the majority of someone's donation will not go to the charity itself? That's just not right.

So, not only will you be putting less than the full amount of the donation toward the charity, you are also getting 2 free hotel nights in Disney from this? I understand that this is how the organizers set things up. It just doesn't strike me as being very "charitable". Do all runners in these events raise 100% of their entry fee from donations? If so, I think we've all found a new way to partially finance our Disney trips.

That is the way this foundation works. Some organizations work differently, Noah's Light uses the bibs and hotel as an incentive to raise money. They do this with dozens of runners, if not hundreds. It's their method of doing business. Anyone is welcomed to register, runner or not but $3,000 isn't easy and it's definitely more than the value of the runs and hotel room. If the fundraising goal is not met the remaining balance comes out of your pocket. It's a risk situation.

 

[Jeff_G]

You also need to consider the tax implications of this, since the doner will receive a material benefit from their donation, they cannot claim the full donation as a tax deduction. They have to subtract out the cost of the t-shirt, so you will need to provide that information. Personally I would rather donate a set amount and know all of it went to the charity and then all of it would be tax deductible. Ive raised money for LLS Light the night walk, and the donation part was handled via their web site. They took in the payments and then issued the proper tax forms at the end of the year. Its a much better way to handle it, you just pass out the web site and do not have to handle the money side.

 

[ironz]

Couple of things you should probably keep in mind: 1) if you ask for a donation of, say $25, and are basically selling a tee shirt with that, then the donor cannot deduct the whole $25 on their taxes. There will be people out there who want the whole tax deduction if they are going to donate to charity. and 2) along the same lines, you should make sure of any tax implications of raising money on indiegogo or other similar sites that are linked to you personally vs linked to the charity, outside of the official Noah's light donation page, for that same reason of people wanting to get a tax deduction.

--- JeffG and I coming up with this at the same time!

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

You also need to consider the tax implications of this, since the doner will receive a material benefit from their donation, they cannot claim the full donation as a tax deduction. They have to subtract out the cost of the t-shirt, so you will need to provide that information. Personally I would rather donate a set amount and know all of it went to the charity and then all of it would be tax deductible. Ive raised money for LLS Light the night walk, and the donation part was handled via their web site. They took in the payments and then issued the proper tax forms at the end of the year. Its a much better way to handle it, you just pass out the web site and do not have to handle the money side.

That would definitely be easier, but i am working with people who do not give to charity out of kindness. There may be a few who are so generous, but i've raised money before and the people I know who'm i'm targeting want something in hand in return for their generosity. Flat donations are always accepted and encouraged, and I have shared that page to all the people as well as the other donation page, so it is people choice.
I was originally just asking a question about one method I am using, not my strategy as a whole.

 

[SirDuff]

The average person wouldn't know the overhead costs, they would just see the flat fee of the shirt. I only explained that here so it would make sense why the end cost is so much. 100% of the profits go to benefit the foundation.
I can't see selling a shirt where else than $5 raised goes to the foundation, that seems almost pointless. Shipping is what really makes the price go up. I don't have the option for the store i run to charge shipping separately, so it has to be worked into the total cost, so essential the shirt would be $20 with an additional $5 for shipping.

But a lot of that is actually spent on your race bibs, hotel room, etc. Or did I misunderstand what you said. How much of someone's donation actually goes to the charity to do its charitable acts? You should be prepared to answer that (I, for one, would ask). I know that these types of fundraisers are very popular (so I know what you are doing isn't unusual), just something to consider because the question may be asked.

ETA - for the original question, I wouldn't buy a t-shirt at all (no matter the price) as, for me, too much of the money is going to something other than the charity's charitable acts.

 

[Marionnette]

$2,500 is what I have to raise to be able to participate in the run, my goal is $3,000.
I don't have anyone to sell things like glow sticks too or that would be easy, I was trying for a good someone would at least want.

So, getting back to these numbers. The entry fee is $2500 but your goal is $3000. Will the additional $500 go directly to the charity?

 

[BrerRabbit66]

I need a favor from some of y'all if you please. This is not a solicitation I am looking for your genuine advice and thoughts.
I'm raising money to participate in the April Dark Side half Marathon at Disney World, to do this I thought a great way to raise funds would be to design and sell a T-Shirt that fits the theme.
Now i have run into a little problem when it comes to pricing which is why I am asking for your help.
My goal is to raise $3,000 (I need a minimum of $2,500).
The shirts cost $7 with the printing themselves, i have around $3.00 in additional fee's plus $6.00 for shipping all worked into the total price.
The shirts are printed on American Apparel jersey T's, which are a bit softer and nicer than some other options.
So thats roughly $16.00 in fee's.
I'm trying to decide what is reasonable to charge per shirt, and since my main demographic is people trying to save when they can i thought y'all could provide some good insight.
Right now they're at $26.99. I thought since all the proceeds do go to charity it would be okay to charge a little more, but i'm kind of feeling like i am asking way to much, but at the same time the amount raised per shirt needs to be reasonable too.

So i am asking honestly what would you pay for a shirt when you know it costs $16 to produce and that no one is making money it's all going to charity.

again this not a solicitation I have just been staring at this for so long and everything i come up with feels wrong and I need any outside opinion.

It actually is a solicitation (not of us, but that you are looking to solicit funds from your target audience eventually). You are seeking funds for you to participate in a charitable event....your entry fee would be considered a donation to the charity less the value of any benefits they offer you for participating. Since you don't have the money yourself, you are seeking others to support your desire to participate in this event. It's a nice thought, however if I give you money, it is not considered a charitable donation as the IRS does not allow donations to be made to an individual. This would be a "gift"...not a charitable donation. Since you yourself are not a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, any t-shirt you "sell" at any price will be considered taxable income to you.

It's not really a lot It includes the registrations for 3 runs, and the hotel for two nights. It's the only fundraising plan they offered I could pick for all three runs though, and they can kind of charge what they want the run is sold out.

Plus $2,500 isn't much if you've ever looked up the fee of some other charity runs, it's pretty reasonable.

As for your desire to participate, I think that is admirable and wish you the best in finding an appropriate way to raise the money.

 

[teller80]

How many t-shirts are you planning on buying? You'd have to sell 250 shirts to raise $2500, that's a lot of shirts!

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

So, getting back to these numbers. The entry fee is $2500 but your goal is $3000. Will the additional $500 go directly to the charity?

The foundation itself does not give out any of that information. The run registrations are discount to charity foundations, but Noah's Light being the main charity for the run I don't have anyway of knowing what they pay for the registration. They're not bound by the same rules as the other foundations.
The $2,500 is the minimum fundraising limit the foundation sets. Not ALL of that goes the run registration or the hotels, the value of the run registrations is probably around $400 now that doesn't mean thats what they paid, the hotel they chose as their resort for the weekend is Coronado, I know they also get a group rate and a discount for being a charity, what that discount is, is fairly unknown guessing that it is around what a CM pays it would be about $145 a night for that week maybe less.
That being the actual amount raised based on those numbers would be well over half the total raised.

 

[Mr. lncredible]

If I was asked to donate, I would ask the basic questions as PP have stated. What's it for and how much goes to the actual charity, which in the case of the T-shirt doesn't sound like very much. My second thoughts on this, it sounds more like funding someone else's trip to Disney. Which if it were for make-a-wish or some other similar organization that sent the sick kids to the parks themselves I wouldn't have a problem with, but in this case where the one raising the money gets a huge benefit out of it, I would most definitely decline. I prefer my donations get to the end recipient much more intact and with as few middle persons as possible shaving off the final amount.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I don't see getting a lot of people outside of your sphere (friends, family, and maybe friends of friends) to fund this. I partially funded a family member for their 5K walk, contributing to their overall needed donation...but that was family. She was nice enough to make me a Tshirt for afterwards (total surprise) and didn't ship it...instead, she gave it to me when she saw me and she used a local Tshirt place to keep her prices way down.

 

[Marionnette]

Can someone enlighten me a little more about these crowdfunding websites, like indiegogo and gofundme? Don't you pay them a percentage of what you take in? Actually, they take the money in and skim their percent off of the top before sending you the rest?

I'm looking at the indiegogo website and they take 5% of the money coming in, plus 3% in credit card fees or 3%-5% in PayPal fees. Does that get waived if you're raising money to participate in a charity event?

 

[Jennunc]

If I'm going to donate to a charity like this I don't want a $16 tshirt someone made. I'd make a flat donation. The tshirt is very very odd to me. I don't get it at all. I donate to charities & events (Sandy relief, Flint, etc) I don't expect a tshirt, cookie, or otherwise.

And yes, I'd have the same questions (& look them up often when donating) how much is going to charity, what is the money used for, etc.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

Can someone enlighten me a little more about these crowdfunding websites, like indiegogo and gofundme? Don't you pay them a percentage of what you take in? Actually, they take the money in and skim their percent off of the top before sending you the rest?

I'm looking at the indiegogo website and they take 5% of the money coming in, plus 3% in credit card fees or 3%-5% in PayPal fees. Does that get waived if you're raising money to participate in a charity event?

No fee's don't get waived for charities, but they usually offer a reduced rate. It still is not free though.