What would you pay for charity?

[TheDisneyDoll]

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.

Donating directly to the charity is an option, i just wasn't asking for advise about that.

 

[descovy]

If I were you, I would nix the T-shirt idea entirely. I would never play $25 for a tee shirt unless it was something sentimental to me (like a concert tee) My kids' school clubs sell tees for all kinds of events & clubs for $10 or less.

I've had friends do similar race fund raisers. Some of the things they did...
*host a garage sale (even ask friends and family to donate their stuff to your garage sale)
*host a version of a bake sale. One friend did this at work with treats she made from home. Great for the 3pm munchies. Every day she had something a little different you could buy from her at her desk.
*Another friend was a sahm and hosted a "bake sale" at home. Invited a bunch of mommy friends over for free coffee and asked them to purchase treats. She too was an excellent baker, but also had some store bought things. Some things to nibble on while we visited, others were like a large cake to take home.
*Offer your time. My daughter's teenage friend is doing this to raise funds for a favorite charity. For $10 donation she will give you 1 hour of work. It can be errands, clean the garage, or she even offers to come work for your charitable interest for 1 hour. She created a FB page that friends and family can follow. Letting them know how much she earned. Giving them information about her charity. Take a picture of herself walking Ms Jones dog or packing care packages and Ms Smith's church thanking them for helping her reach her goal.

Finally, I think you have to consider, how much money are you personally willing to donate to this cause? At a minimum you should be willing to put up the value of the hotel, race packet with your own personal funds. Otherwise, yes, you pretty much are asking folks to finance your trip.

 

[Marionnette]

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

Hmmm. That diminishes the donation even more. Too many middlemen making money from this, IMO...the t-shirt printer, the shipping business, the crowdfunding website and then, in a sense yourself, since you would benefit from getting your registration and room paid for in addition to any other swag that the charity is offering in exchange for you signing up under their name.

I agree with descovy. You should have some skin in the game that is at least equal to what you would have paid to register for the race and stay at the resort.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

Hmmm. That diminishes the donation even more. Too many middlemen making money from this, IMO...the t-shirt printer, the shipping business, the crowdfunding website and then, in a sense yourself, since you would benefit from getting your registration and room paid for in addition to any other swag that the charity is offering in exchange for you signing up under their name.

I agree with descovy. You should have some skin in the game that is at least equal to what you would have paid to register for the race and stay at the resort.

I am fully prepared to pay the $2,500 if it comes to that, i don't have a problem contributing anything.
I was really only looking for simple advise about T-shirt pricing, i wasn't exactly prepared to be cut open and filleted here lol

 

[starry_solo]

Hmmm. That diminishes the donation even more. Too many middlemen making money from this, IMO...the t-shirt printer, the shipping business, the crowdfunding website and then, in a sense yourself, since you would benefit from getting your registration and room paid for in addition to any other swag that the charity is offering in exchange for you signing up under their name.

I agree with descovy. You should have some skin in the game that is at least equal to what you would have paid to register for the race and stay at the resort.

Agreed. I assume these crowdfunding websites are going to send you an IRS form for whatever you earn on their sites. So you'll have to calculate that as well.

Don't you have a link to the charity that people can donate directly to?

I know for the CHOC Walk (Anaheim, CA at DLR), every participant gets their own direct link that they can advertise. Someone I know on another forum (for pins) provided a free Disney pin to everyone who donated $10 or $20 directly to CHOC. Since the donor put their name on the donation, she would know who gave what (so she could give the pin to that person.) She also paid shipping out of her own pocket and the person who sent the money to charity gets a tax write off.

 

[Marionnette]

I am fully prepared to pay the $2,500 if it comes to that, i don't have a problem contributing anything.
I was really only looking for simple advise about T-shirt pricing, i wasn't exactly prepared to be cut open and filleted here lol

Then, IMO, skip the t-shirt, which is overpriced, and direct all of your friends and family members to your funding page on Noah's Light. People can give whatever they feel compelled to donate and it goes directly to the charity. If you don't make your goal, then it will be up to you to fund the deficit, but since you're fully prepared to do that, it won't be a problem.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

Agreed. I assume these crowdfunding websites are going to send you an IRS form for whatever you earn on their sites. So you'll have to calculate that as well.

Don't you have a link to the charity that people can donate directly to?

I know for the CHOC Walk (Anaheim, CA at DLR), every participant gets their own direct link that they can advertise. Someone I know on another forum (for pins) provided a free Disney pin to everyone who donated $10 or $20 directly to CHOC. Since the donor put their name on the donation, she would know who gave what (so she could give the pin to that person.) She also paid shipping out of her own pocket and the person who sent the money to charity gets a tax write off.

The T-shirt was only one piece of my efforts, one tiny piece of a much bigger picture. Yes I have a donation site, i am offering people a $10 donation incentive for that site as well, i was just offering other things in addition to that.
I am also offering other things, i was just asking a question about this one piece.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

Then, IMO, skip the t-shirt, which is overpriced, and direct all of your friends and family members to your funding page on Noah's Light. People can give whatever they feel compelled to donate and it goes directly to the charity. If you don't make your goal, then it will be up to you to fund the deficit, but since you're fully prepared to do that, it won't be a problem.

oh goodness, the T-shirt is just one thing I was doing to try and add to the total.
I am and have already sent the donation link by itself. I was not looking for fundraising advise in that regard, i was simply asking a question about a T-shirt. All donations for the fundraising page are 100% tax deductible, and that is encouraged, however NOT everyone wants to simply donate money there are people out there who are more willing to pay for a good when they know the profits from it go to benefit a foundation, thats clearly not everyone, but it is some people.
I at least now know that no one here would buy a T-shirt after they understand how the overhead fee's work. That is all i was looking for thank you.

 

[Marionnette]

oh goodness, the T-shirt is just one thing I was doing to try and add to the total.
I am and have already sent the donation link by itself. I was not looking for fundraising advise in that regard, i was simply asking a question about a T-shirt. All donations for the fundraising page are 100% tax deductible, and that is encouraged, however NOT everyone wants to simply donate money there are people out there who are more willing to pay for a good when they know the profits from it go to benefit a foundation, thats clearly not everyone, but it is some people.
I at least now know that no one here would buy a T-shirt after they understand how the overhead fee's work. That is all i was looking for thank you.

You asked about the t-shirt here because you wanted input from budget-savvy people. We've given you input as to how we feel and now you're getting upset because people have pointed out the flaws in the idea.

I hope that you meet your goal and don't have several cartons of t-shirts sitting in a spare room when the fund drive is over. Good luck with your marathon. I sincerely admire anyone who can run one but I am especially impressed with someone like yourself, who has to overcome considerable obstacles in order to participate.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

You asked about the t-shirt here because you wanted input from budget-savvy people. We've given you input as to how we feel and now you're getting upset because people have pointed out the flaws in the idea.

I hope that you meet your goal and don't have several cartons of t-shirts sitting in a spare room when the fund drive is over. Good luck with your marathon. I sincerely admire anyone who can run one but I am especially impressed with someone like yourself, who has to overcome considerable obstacles in order to participate.

i'm not upset, i just want the opinion of one thing and it seemed to get side tracked away from that. I know all the legal ins and outs with taxes and regarding the tax deductions.
I was hoping someone would give an opinion on what they thought a good price would be. I understand that people here would rather donate instead of buy something, BUT that in the context of my post was not an option. The shirt is to expensive that's fine that is the critique i was hoping for, thats all i asked for.

 

[mimi1016]

i'm not upset, i just want the opinion of one thing and it seemed to get side tracked away from that. I know all the legal ins and outs with taxes and regarding the tax deductions.
I was hoping someone would give an opinion on what they thought a good price would be. I understand that people here would rather donate instead of buy something, BUT that in the context of my post was not an option. The shirt is to expensive that's fine that is the critique i was hoping for, thats all i asked for.

I don't think it's too expensive. Coming from a background in retail sales and dealing with vendors who also use American Apparel shirts the typical markup on those shirts comes out to about $25-30. Your shipping price at $5 is high. Unless someone is buying more than one shirt you're looking at around $2 or less. Especially if you print your shipping labels through PayPal.

With that said if your target demographic is budget minded people there are less expensive shirt blanks than American apparel you could buy like Gildan. That would bring your cost down some.

I'm not sure what type of media presence you have but I often see fundraising efforts on Instagram through virtual auctions. You contact small shops and businesses and tell them what you're trying to raise money for and they donate an item or service. Then people bid on each item and the proceeds go to the charity. No overhead. Like a pp said direct selling shirts is the most costly manner. Also, as far as taxes unless you make over 20k and have over 200 transactions you won't generate a 1099k.

I think your best bet would be a cheaper shirt wholesaler or use GoFund Me or another site like that.

I will say that if someone asked me to donate to a charity and I knew part of the money would go to hotel costs and entrance fees I would be very hesitant to donate. I would pay those parts out of pocket and ask people to donate to the charity and just donate whatever I got. Good luck!

 

[mimi1016]

Also, I would think about maybe shooting for one of the less expensive packages and not the highest one at 2k if you didn't think you could raise enough through the fundraising page or link they provide. $250 or $500 is a definitely an easier goal to get to in a short amount of time.

 

[TippeeCanoe]

If I was hypothetically asked to give you money to participate in a runDisney event, my answer would more than likely be a question. How much of the donated money goes to the cause? I've not been able to find any information about the particular charity you mentioned other than their own very flowery web page, so that would make me leery of donating.

 

[starry_solo]

I am trying to target the people who don't want to donate for free, or who want something in return. Unfortunately I don't know many people who are willing to just donate money, they usually want a good or service in return.

When you target someone like this, I hope you give them the direct link to your participant's page on the Noah's Light Foundation, versus a GoFundMe or Crowdfunding link. If some stranger or acquaintance asked me to donate $25 in exchange for a t-shirt and told me it was going to charity, I would ask for the direct link and not a GoFundMe or other crowdfunding website. If the requester only provided me with the GoFundMe or other crowdfunding link, I would decline as I have no way of knowing that you would actually donate to the funds to the charity.

But I agree with what the other posters said, I'd get something cheaper and market it that way. $5 for a glow stick that people can buy for $1 would be better.

 

[mimi1016]

Yea I just saw that they have their own link and set you up with a personal fundraising page. I would just use that and advertise it to people making sure they knew where their money was going to. At the end of the day part of it is going directly to you and Disney and the rest to the charity.

 

[starry_solo]

BTW, what race package is $2500? The most expensive one I see is $2000.

http://teamnoah.noahslightfoundation.org/events/star-wars-half-marathon-the-dark-side/

Also, I would look at a themed idea. Since it's the Star Wars marathon, why not a Star Wars book? You could find them on Amazon.com and if you have prime, get them for $10 or under and have it shipped directly to the person who donated the funds.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

BTW, what race package is $2500? The most expensive one I see is $2000.

http://teamnoah.noahslightfoundation.org/events/star-wars-half-marathon-the-dark-side/

Also, I would look at a themed idea. Since it's the Star Wars marathon, why not a Star Wars book? You could find them on Amazon.com and if you have prime, get them for $10 or under and have it shipped directly to the person who donated the funds.

I added the 5k to my package, so i can complete all three runs that weekend.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

Also, I would think about maybe shooting for one of the less expensive packages and not the highest one at 2k if you didn't think you could raise enough through the fundraising page or link they provide. $250 or $500 is a definitely an easier goal to get to in a short amount of time.

$2,000 isn't a lot for three months of work, or it will be a lot of work, but it's completely achievable at the least! Who doesn't love a little bit of a challenge?

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

I feel i should add, as the page operator I can't see the people who donates information. The only thing that is made public (by their choice) is there name, a donate and the donation amount. I don't have access to the address of all the people who donate to send them things, and i'm not sure besides asking them for it out right if the foundation could even give me that information.

 

[mimi1016]

$2,000 isn't a lot for three months of work, or it will be a lot of work, but it's completely achievable at the least! Who doesn't love a little bit of a challenge?

Absolutely doable if you get the word out enough : ) do they give you the option to select a smaller amount and increase it or are you locked into whichever option you initially choose?