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Hosting a pet food drive

2K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  doodlebug 
#1 ·
Just wondering if anyone here has ever hosted a pet food drive before? I'm hosting a casual drive for a local rescue and need some ideas on how to do it.

So far, I've put up a couple signs around my small town asking for cat food donations and the signs have my phone number on them, so people can call me and I can have them drop the food off at my house. I wanted to have barrels at the grocery stores for people to just drop the food off in, but the grocery stores won't let me - they'll only let me put up signs at the front of the store.

If anyone has any ideas that they'd like to share, that would be great. I don't really have a goal of how many bags of food I need, since I live in such a small town and no one in town has done anything like this before - so it's difficult to calculate how many bags might be donated. For me, as long as a couple bags are donated (not by myself lol), it will be a success - every little bit helps and I want to help out as much as I can.

Here's the rescue's website: http://catnipandtails.org/default.aspx
 
#2 ·
I would post about it on Craigslist. Sure, you'll get responses from some nut cases, but you'd be surprised at the generosity of people.
 
#4 ·
I know the grocery stores won't let you, but maybe pet stores will, especially the mom & pop type. Maybe you could put a nice-looking container in one with a sign on it. I mean, people are already there buying food for their own pets. Good PR for the pet store, helping out a rescue, too.
 
#5 ·
In my experience, people will often *want* to do something to help but if it's not Suuuuper easy to accomplish somehow it never seems to get done. Driving over to your house, or even calling you to come pick it up, would make it less likely to happen.

I would suggest asking if you get set up a small table to accept donations somewhere with alot of foot traffic...like outside of a store that sells it? Surely they wouldn't object if you point out that people will be buyign the food there and donating it when they walk out the door. Only a couple of hours on a Sat or Sun should get you *something* (it helps to "seed" the donation box with a bag or couple of cans of food to get people started). You could even do it once a month or something...get people in the habit of giving.
 
#6 ·
I helped at a pet food drive for a local shelter last year. Tractor Supply let us set up in their store. A few people brought food with them, but the majority came to the table asking what kind of food was needed most, and they bought it right there at the store. Good for both the shelter and the store! We also sold some baked goods and pet toys and held a coloring contest for kids (with pizza coupons as prizes). Plus, the donation jar was filled!
 
#7 ·
Ok, so here's the thing...putting up signs or posting on Craigslist and asking for donations will not yield you much, except from friends and family, mainly because you have no credibility. These people have no idea whether their donation is really going to the rescue or it's going to feed your pets. And if they have to go out and buy food and then call you, why wouldn't they just drop it off directly at the rescue.

By having a collection event in a store, the fact that the store allows you to be there gives you credibility. But the store isn't going to allow you to do it unless you're affiliated with a rescue. Going in and saying you're an individual who wants to have a pet food drive at their store is MUCH different than saying you're a volunteer at Cute Kitty Rescue and would like to have an event at their store.

My advice is become a volunteer and talk to the appropriate staff member about doing some food drives. This way a store that you approach will be able to call the rescue and verify that you're legitimate. Also be aware that many towns require a permit be issued to conduct such an event. So check with your town hall about the requirements, there is usually a nominal fee of $5-25 for a permit.

Grocery stores, pet stores and even Walmart will allow this if it's done with the right credentials.

I will say, that you're likely to be more successful if you just do a fund drive at these stores, than make people go in and buy something. Half will forget about you before they hit the first aisle. But if you ask for cash at the door, they'll toss you a buck. Make it easy for them to donate, don't put any responsibility on them. Then you can take the money and either just give it to the rescue or buy whatever it is that they need.
 
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