Fundraising Idea: Dollar Tree Connection

Here is a fundraising idea from our member agency, Spokane Valley Partners Food Bank:

We’ve developed a great relationship with the Dollar Tree stores through a point of purchase program.  Working with 7 stores, I select which items I want them to focus on.  These items are placed in a basket at each cashier’s station.  As a customer goes through, they are asked by the clerk if they would like to “purchase” an item for the food bank.  Please note that I pick the items for this process AND the customer buys it, i.e, it’s not a donation by Dollar Tree.

Every week, depending on what I’m collecting, I receive somewhere between 1200 to 1800 pounds of product.

So why is it successful?

·        It’s an easy, quick and remarkably inexpensive feel good for the customer.  For a mere buck, they can feel they are giving back to the community and helping someone else.
·        It’s a quick, easy and relatively paperless activity for the Dollar Tree stores.  While they “count” the number of items sold, they don’t have to do any special paperwork or in-depth training of staff.  In fact, I always stake out the sites just to watch the clerks.  If they don’t seem to be asking, I’ll talk to them and show them how easy it is.  On average, 1 out of 3 “asks” will produce a sale.
·        It’s a massive source of their increased revenue.  Their corporate office has been all over this and wants to replicate it.  Our region is now the largest source of revenue of all areas.  Needless to say the store managers LOVE this kind of attention from their corporate bosses.
·        It’s a consistent source of food and non-food items for the food bank.  I can change the package with just a few minutes on the phone to more efficiently fill the gap in what is not coming through food drive.  
·        It’s malleable to whatever I need.  Although my job title has changed, I still do a lot of solicitation for programs other than mine.  For example, our baby program, a subset of our clothing bank, always need new baby clothes, bottles, lotions and potions to keep baby clean and other baby items.  When our director says she’s getting low, I just call the Dollar Trees to get them to change from food to baby items.
·        Since all the items are straight off the shelves, I don’t need to worry so much over code dates or condition, unlike food drive from Second Harvest. 
·        Dollar Tree’s products are mostly name-brand, so the quality is always good and recognizable.
·        You make new friends.  I happened to be talking with a customer about the program, and he got so excited, that he’s now doing a food drive with his company for us.  And his company is 12 miles away!

There are several other reasons why this works, but without a doubt, it’s the easiest solicitation I’ve ever done.  All I have to do is arrange pickup.