Working with charities

I am someone that has been helping with charities for most of my adult life and it is something that I enjoy doing. I have supported charities through volunteering my time for events and such. Besides donating my time, I have also been able to support the charities through my crafting, and I have always enjoyed doing that. Through the crafting that I have done for charities I have learned quite a bit and it something that I would like to pass on to others. 

Here are a few things that I have learned:

1. Needs – figure out what is needed by the organization and the items are going to be donated to. If the items can be different sizes make sure you know what the sizes are that are needed, as well as any restrictions, such as type of yarn or colour. If you are collecting handmade blankets, make sure that you know the size that the organization wants and needs and not just a general idea.
2. Volunteers – when you have volunteers that are willing to assist in getting items made, make sure that you communicate to them the sizes, etc. that are required. This is important so that you don’t get items that you cannot distribute.
3. Communication – communication between volunteers and the organization is vital because that ensures everyone knows what is going on. If needs change spending out emails, etc. quickly is a good way to let everyone know about these changes.
4. Accepting items – figure out the method that you will accept the donations, so that everyone knows how it is going to be handled. If you are sending out communications that say “Drop Off’ make sure that you are going to be accepting people dropping off things. If you are not allowing people to drop-off items, make sure that is clearly communicated. Recently I received an email from a charity that I was working with that said, “Schedule a drop-off time” and it turned out that you were to box everything up, weigh it, measure the box and send that information and they would then get a courier to pick up the box. Not everyone has a schedule that allows for waiting around for a courier to pick up the box. This should have been one of the options not the only option.
5. General – making sure that everyone feels part of the team is very important because that is how you will continue to get others willing to help. It is amazing how a crafting community can come together to assist a charity if they will like they are part of it.

These are just a few of things that I have learned while dealing with charities and especially helping make items for different organization. It doesn’t matter what the charity is collecting be it funds or items understanding the importance of volunteers is key.

I understand working with charities can be difficult especially during these economic challenges. Some of what I have learned is also from obtaining my Fundraising Certificate and being able to assist charities is something that I would love to do more of.