Which Companies Donate Gift Cards to Fundraisers?

Target, Books-A-Million, Big 5 Sporting Goods, The Cheesecake Factory, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse and Benihana all say on their own websites that they donate gift cards or gift certificates to eligible fundraisers. Each routes the request differently. Some decide at the local store, some only through an online portal, one takes email only and one takes mailed letters only. Knowing the route, the limits and the lead time before you ask is most of the work.

Gift cards are the easiest prize to raffle, bundle into a basket or put on a bid sheet, so they are worth asking for early. This guide covers companies whose own giving pages describe gift card or certificate donations, how each wants to be asked, and the programs that sound like gift card donations but are not.

Companies that donate gift cards or certificates

Every detail here comes from the company's own giving page. Each company links to its donor page in our directory. Programs change, so check the company's page again before you apply.

Two routes: the local manager or the corporate process

Gift card programs split into two kinds. Asking through the wrong one is the most common reason a good request goes nowhere.

The local manager decides. The Cheesecake Factory says its restaurants donate gift cards to select charitable groups and events, and asks you to contact the General Manager at your local restaurant. Olive Garden and Outback Steakhouse both want a written request on your organization's letterhead, delivered to the general manager or managing partner of your nearest location. It should give your organization's full name and contact details, what you are asking for, when you need it and how it will benefit the community. Target sits in between. You fill in a company form, but you print it and bring it to your local store.

A corporate process decides. Big 5 Sporting Goods says its online request system is the only way it considers a donation, and it no longer takes requests at store level or by email, phone or fax. Dick's Sporting Goods reviews requests monthly through an online portal. Books-A-Million takes its form by email only, and says requests are filled through its corporate offices, not your local store. Benihana wants a mailed letter on letterhead and cannot accept requests by phone or email.

If you are not sure which kind of program a company runs, our guide to who approves donation requests explains how to tell.

Read the limits before you ask

Gift card programs are usually small and tightly scoped. These limits come straight from the companies' pages:

• Target does not donate merchandise. GiftCard donations run February through December as funding permits. An average donation is $25–50, and the maximum is $500 per year per agency.
• Books-A-Million honors one request per organization per year. It gives priority to 501(c)(3)s and educational institutions focused on reading, literacy and education. It excludes donations intended for online auctions or resale, and says processing can take up to four weeks from September through December.
• Big 5 limits donations to once a year per organization, and says its store eCards expire after 5–6 months. That matters if your event is far off.
• Benihana does not donate to sports teams or leagues, conferences, seminars, reunions, or travel. It needs your current 501(c)(3) determination letter and proof of your Federal Tax ID.
• Dick's Sporting Goods says a donation can support a specific event or an individual youth sports team, so it is one of the few on this list suited to a team fundraiser.

Costco Shop Cards: possible, but not for a prize table

Costco accepts monetary requests only from 501(c)(3)s focused on children, education, or health and human services. Its warehouse giving can take the form of Costco Shop Cards. Its guidelines, though, exclude individual schools and PTAs, athletic teams, and merchandise for raffles and auctions. It considers one request per organization per fiscal year (September to August) and asks for at least 3 months' lead time for a dated event. For most school and team fundraisers, Costco is the wrong door.

Programs that look like gift card donations but are not

Search results for gift card donations often mix in programs where your group buys cards, or where shoppers earn rewards. They can raise money, but they will not put a free card on your prize table.

• Menards runs Scrip. Religious and other nonprofit groups buy Menards gift cards at a discount of up to 4% and resell them at face value, keeping the difference.
• Staples runs Classroom Rewards, where shoppers earn 5% back on in-store purchases to give to a local school or teacher. Its Community Giveback program lets customers buy school-supply kits that are donated to local organizations. Neither is a gift card donation you can request.
• Wegmans lists discounted gift card programs among the requests it cannot support.

Getting the most from a donated gift card

A single restaurant certificate is a modest prize. Paired with a movie night or a bookstore card, it becomes a themed basket that sells more raffle entries. Our roundup of companies that donate raffle prizes covers the other prize groups that combine well with cards. Restaurants that donate to fundraisers goes deeper on dining certificates and how they differ from percentage nights.

When you ask, give the event date in the first line and say how the card will be used: raffle, silent auction or door prize. Keep your determination letter and EIN ready, because most of these programs ask for proof of 501(c)(3) status. For in-person asks at a restaurant or store, the restaurant and local company ask sheet covers when to walk in, what to say first, and a one-page leave-behind a manager can act on after you have gone.