How Do You Get a Company to Donate Again Next Year?

A company donates again when the first donation went well from its side. You thanked it promptly, told it what the item raised, and asked again at the right point in its calendar rather than yours. Many programs limit each organization to one donation a year or a season, and at least one asks for results before it will consider another request. So the second request starts on the day the first donation arrives, not a year later.

This guide is part of our fundraiser donation answers library. It covers what companies ask of past recipients, how each program counts its "year", how to report results, and a simple calendar for asking again.

The second request starts with the first thank-you

Some programs make the link explicit. The Boston Red Sox ask organizations that received an item to complete an online reply form after the event, including the amount the item raised, to be considered for future requests. Skip that form and next year's request may not be considered.

Most programs don't spell it out, but the same logic applies. A coordinator deciding between two requests will remember the group that wrote back with a result. Our donor thank-you kit has a letter, a short email, a written acknowledgment the company can keep, and a note for companies that declined.

Know how each program counts a year

"Once a year" means different things to different programs. Read the exact wording, because it decides when you can ask again.

Two things follow from the table. First, keep the exact date each donation was approved and what the limit is tied to. A calendar-year limit resets in January, while a "year's time" limit runs from your last request. Second, one organization is one organization. If a class, a team and the parent group all ask the same company under the same tax ID, they may be using up the same yearly allowance.

Report the results

A short results note after the event is the single most useful thing you can send. Keep it to facts you actually know:

• What the item did. It went in the silent auction, the raffle, or a themed basket, and what it raised, if you know that figure.
• What the event raised overall, in plain terms, and what the money pays for.
• A photo of the item on display, if you took one.
• A thank-you from the person who asked, naming the person who approved it where you know their name.

Only report figures you have. If you don't know what one item raised, say what the event raised and where the item sat. Where a program has its own form, like the Red Sox reply form, fill in the form as well as sending your note.

Recognition that stays a thank-you

Recognition should be a thank-you, not a trade. Offer only what you control and will deliver: a named thank-you in your event program, a mention in your newsletter, a post thanking the company, and a photo sent to the manager who approved the request. Don't promise promotion or placement in exchange for a donation. That turns a gift into a deal that product donation programs are not set up for. The thank-you kit includes a recognition plan so nothing promised is forgotten.

A calendar for asking again

1. Within a few days of the yes: thank the person who approved it and confirm pickup or delivery.
2. When the item arrives: a one-line acknowledgment, plus a written acknowledgment for the company's records if it wants one.
3. Within a week or two after the event: send the results note, and complete any form the program asks for.
4. The same week: add a row to your donation request tracker with the date the company's next window opens.
5. Before the window opens: reread the company's own donation page. Programs change their rules, areas and forms, and last year's route may have moved.
6. When the window opens: send the new request, with one line recalling last year's donation and its result.

Plan backward from next year's event date with how far in advance to request donations, and use the donation request letter template for the new ask.

When a company changes its program

Programs start, change and end, and they are not always announced. If a company you asked last year has changed its rules or no longer lists a program, thank it anyway and look for similar companies. Every page in our directory shows when it was last updated. The entertainment category and companies that donate to fundraisers are good places to find replacements.