lisa:
Write a letter about why you are doing this. Make a list of
everyone you want to ask for sponsorship. Send them the letter - better
yet, give it to them in person, and tell them how important this program
is to you. Don't stop with family and friends - ask your doctors,
neighbors, parents' friends, friends of friends, perfect strangers.
Never go anywhere without a pledge form, and if
possible, carry letters that are ready to hand out, in your car,
briefcase, etc.
Let as many people as possible know about the program -
the more you ask, the more you get. Don't be discouraged if some people
say no. Don't take it personally - maybe they've already made huge
donations to other charities lately. If you aren't getting some
"no" answers, you probably aren't asking enough!
Q: What are the details of Avon's
non-profit status?
Avon Products Foundation is the non-profit arm of
Avon. Their tax ID number is : 13-6128447
Q: Got any hints about keeping track
of donations?
lisa:
Have sponsors return
pledges to you, then send them to the bank yourself - this will
help you keep on top of thank-you notes, and know that pledge forms
are filled out correctly with your name & number.
Make
sure every sponsor check has YOUR complete name on it (in the memo
section). Also make sure it has your number AND your walk city. Remember,
if you are #2345 in San Francisco, someone else is #2345 in Los Angeles,
and someone else is #2345 in Boston, and ... In 2002, they are
adding a "check digit" to your number on the pledge form, so
that should help reduce mix-ups.
The
bank has been known to make mistakes and mix things up. You can help
minimize that by double-checking forms and checks, stapling checks to
forms, and keeping a list yourself of just what was sent in, and
when. Also, the bank has to process all of the checks for a number
of AIDS
Rides and 3-Day Walks, which means that it takes them awhile to get that
report back to you. Do you really want your sponsors waiting one or two
months for that thank-you note? I didn't think so.
Note: new for 2003, sponsors will now complete a
pledge "coupon" instead of a form. The coupons are bar-coded with your
name/number info, so this will greatly improve the processing time, and
lower the risk of mistaken crediting of donations. It still is a good idea
to put your walker number on each check.If your sponsor pledges on-line, it gets processed in as
little as 1 week, whereas if a check is mailed in to the bank, it takes
several weeks. Although you receive a regular report, it sometimes takes
awhile for the bookkeeping to catch up.
Q: Can I see
some sample pledge letters that get sent to sponsors?
Sure, on this
page.
Q: Can you explain the relationship
between Avon and the hired production vendors?
lisa:
Here
is how I think it works...
The money raised by walkers goes to the Avon Products Foundation, Inc.
which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Their tax ID number is
13-6128447. APF, in turn, pays various vendors to run the production of
the event.
Keep in mind that sponsor checks are made out to the Avon event . So this is
just like any other non-profit organization that puts on a fund-raising
event -- you make your donation to the non-profit, and they have expenses
to pay. In this case, those expenses go to the vendors they have hired.
Now it may be true that people like to debate whether any of the vendors get more than
they "should," given that it's a fund-raising event for a
non-profit. Debate all you like, it's still true that the money is being
raised ON BEHALF of a non-profit org, who then pays their expenses from
the total dollars taken in.
Avon Products Foundation's mission statement can be found here:
http://www.avoncompany.com/women/avonfoundation/
And here is their contact info:
The Avon Products Foundation, Inc.
1345 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10105
Tel: 212-282-5100
Fax: 212-282-6058
By the way, the foundation has been around for many years, long before any Walk program. The
Walk is just one of a number of programs they
have to raise money.
