MENU

Organizing a Donation Drive

Setting up a donation drive with Goodwill of Greater Washington is easy and beneficial to your community. Clothing, books, housewares, working electronics and furniture donations are sold in Goodwill stores, keeping them out of landfills. The money from the sale of your donated items helps Goodwill provide free job training, education and career services for people and families in your community (view our video).

Please Keep In Mind:

Donation drives are contingent on scope and availability.

Step 1 - Plan Your Donation Drive

Here are the basic steps to planning your donation drive event. Please allow three to six weeks for the planning process to help ensure you have a successful donation drive.
  1. Form a small group of people to coordinate the drive.
  2. Decide on the date, duration, and location for your donation drive.
  3. Choose a theme for your donation drive; for example, run the donation drive in connection with a holiday, special event, or corporate initiative.
  4. Establish commitment from key players in your group or organization, such as management, administrators, teachers, etc.
  5. Set a goal for the number of items or pounds of goods you will collect. Suggest that each participant bring in a dozen household goods or clothing neatly folded or on hangers. Donation receipts are provided upon request.
  6. Decide if additional promotional materials will be needed to successfully promote the drive. Goodwill materials available for promotion include brochures, posters, and balloons.
  7. Important: Once the above details have been set and confirmed, organize the pick-up of the donations by registering your event with Carolyn Becker, Director of Communications & Community Engagement, via email. 

Step 2 - Donation Drive Promotion

Let people know what you are doing and how to get involved. Some suggestions include:
  1. Schedule a fun kick-off event.
  2. Display posters and information in key locations throughout the office (ex: copy room, break room, elevator).
  3. Host a “Spread the Goodwill” information meeting. Take a few minutes in the morning or at the end of a meeting to explain how they can make a difference!
  4. Include an article about the drive in your company newsletter.
  5. Send a company-wide email.
  6. Include a flyer in employee paychecks.
  7. Set up a display or bulletin board in the office or break room to inform coworkers of the project.
  8. Develop a collection system and create a drop-off location/ box in a central location (ex: lobby).

Step 3 - Energize Your Donation Drive

It is always important to make the event fun for everyone involved. Consider the following ideas:

  1. Encourage friendly competition between departments, classes, and offices.
  2. Challenge a rival company or school.
  3. Offer incentives or prizes (ex: stickers, dress-down days, pizza party).
  4. Organize a fashion show with the donated clothing.
  5. Assign a point value to different items and have an incentive for the person or team with the most points (ex: jeans – 10 points, shirts – 5 points, shoes – 8 points).

Step 4 - Celebrate Your Donation Drive's Success

Celebrate the success and announce the results. Simple ways to follow-up and say thank you are listed below.

  1. Give each of the donors a certificate of appreciation to acknowledge their participation.
  2. Send thank you cards, letters or emails to show your appreciation.
  3. Send a company-wide email to announce the overall results and acknowledge the participants.
  4. Include the results of the drive in a follow-up newsletter.
  5. Host a party to celebrate the success of the drive.
Back to Top
Follow Us!