What Should a Donation Request Email to a Company Say?

A donation request email to a company should fit on one phone screen and say five things: who you are, what the event is and when, the one item you are asking for, the date you need it by, and your nonprofit status. Put the event name and date in the subject line, and attach proof of your status. Before you write it, though, check that the company takes email at all. Many don't. Wegmans says it does not accept emailed requests, and ALDI takes applications only through its online system. Books-A-Million, by contrast, considers e-mailed requests only.

This guide covers the email itself: where to send it, the subject line, the body, attachments, and the follow-up. For a full printed letter, use our donation request letter template.

Step 1: find out whether email is the right channel

Don't send an email to a company that only reads its own form. Check the company's giving page, or its page in our directory, before you write. Here is how a few companies say they want requests, in their own words.

Among the companies above, the large chains take requests through an online system or the local store. Email is most useful where a company asks for it by name, where a store manager invites it, and with smaller, locally owned companies that have no form. When a company runs a form, the form is the request. Your email text becomes the answers you paste into its boxes.

Step 2: write a subject line that survives a busy inbox

The subject line has one job: tell the reader what this is and when it matters before they open it. Lead with the word "donation", then the event and date, then your organization.

• First request: `Donation request: [Event name], [Event date] - [Your organization]`
• To a local store manager: `[Your organization] event near your store on [Event date]: donation request`
• Follow-up: `Following up: [Event name] donation request ([Event date])`

Avoid vague subjects such as "Partnership opportunity" or "Quick question". They hide the date, and the date is what decides whether your request can still be met.

Step 3: the email body

Keep it to five short paragraphs. Replace every bracketed placeholder and delete any line that doesn't apply.

Subject: Donation request: [Event name], [Event date] - [Your organization] Hello [Contact name, or "Community Giving Team"], I'm [Your name], [your role] with [Your organization], a [one-line description of what you do and who you serve] in [City, State]. On [Event date] we are holding [Event name], a [type of event] that raises money for [specific purpose]. We expect about [number] guests. Would [Company name] consider donating [one specific item] for our [raffle, silent auction or prize table]? We would need it by [Deadline date], and we can pick it up from [store location] if that helps. [Your organization] is a [501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN [number] / an honest one-line description of your status]. Our [determination letter / proof of status] is attached. Every donor is thanked in writing[, and listed in our event program]. Thank you for considering it. [Your name] · [Your role], [Your organization] · [Phone]

Three rules keep it working:

1. Ask for one thing. "A gift basket for our silent auction" gets a yes or a no. "Any support you can offer" gets filed.
2. Say what the proceeds do. Many programs only give to certain causes, so the purpose line is what the reader checks against their rules.
3. Only promise recognition you will deliver. A thank-you note and a line in the program are enough. Don't offer promotional placement. You are asking for a donation, not selling anything.

Step 4: attachments

Attach what proves you are who you say you are, and nothing the company has asked you not to send.

• Proof of status. Your IRS determination letter or the document your organization uses instead, as one PDF.
• The company's own form, if it has one. Books-A-Million asks you to fill in its Donation Request Form and e-mail it back, and warns that incomplete applications will not be processed.
• A one-page event flyer, optional. Only if it adds the date, place and purpose at a glance.

Keep it to two or three files, name them clearly (`[Your organization] - determination letter.pdf`), and never send attachments to a company that says not to. ALDI, for example, asks for any extra material to be attached to its online application instead.

Step 5: follow up once, at the right time

Follow up after the company's own stated response window, not before. Kroger asks you to allow up to four weeks. ALDI asks for four to six weeks for review. Some companies ask you not to chase at all: Books-A-Million asks that you not phone or email about the status of a request, and says it will email you if a request is declined, with the reason.

Where a follow-up is welcome, keep it short:

Subject: Following up: [Event name] donation request ([Event date]) Hello [Contact name], I'm following up on the request I sent on [date sent] for [one specific item] for [Event name] on [Event date]. We are finalizing our [raffle / auction] by [Deadline date]. If it would help, I'm happy to resend our paperwork or drop by [store location]. Thank you again, [Your name] · [Your organization] · [Phone]

Send one follow-up, then log the result and move on. A shared record stops two volunteers from emailing the same company. The donation request tracker sets out the columns worth keeping, a follow-up rule, and blank logs for requests, arrivals and thank-yous.

After the answer

If the answer is yes, send a short thank-you within a few days, and again after the event with how it went. If the answer is no, reply with one line of thanks; a gracious reply to a no can keep the door open for next year. The donor thank-you kit has a thank-you letter, a short email version, and a note for the companies that declined.

For timing, see how far in advance to request donations. To decide between the store and the corporate office, see who approves donation requests. To find companies to write to, browse a category such as food.