SOURCES FOR FUNDRAISER DONATIONS AND SPONSORSHIP
Hopefully this page will save you time in locating sources of donations for your fundraising event. Many companies require your request to be received by them at least six weeks ahead of time as well as limiting their donations in various ways, so it’s best to apply as early as possible.
When requesting any kind of donation, you should always explain what’s in it for the donor. For a company, this would mean explaining the publicity & promotional opportunities their donation provides, the demographics of your event, estimated attendance, amount raised in previous years, and how the funds raised will be used. Required information is provided on each company's site. Check back often as we will be updating information!
Donations From Pro Sports Teams
Major League Baseball (MLB) – Select your local team, click on “Community” tab, then select “Fundraising & Giving”, then select “In-Kind Donation Requests”.
National Basketball Association (NBA) – Select your local team, click on “Community” tab, then click on “Donation Requests”.
National Football League (NFL) – Pick your team from the logo list across the top, then click on the “Community” tab, then click on “Donations”, then select “Merchandise”.
National Hockey League (NHL) – Select your hockey team, click on “Community” tab, then click on “Donations”.
Donations from Airlines
AirTran -Donation request link. AirTran certificates are valid only on AirTran-operated flights (not Southwest flights).
JetBlue – JetBlue proudly supports non-profit organizations in the cities that they serve.
Hawaiian Airlines – Send raffle prize or auction donation request via US mail or fax.
KLM Airways – KLM sponsors projects which are related to art & culture, environment and education.
Southwest Airlines – Very narrow charity focus. No schools. See list of qualifying organizations.
Spirit Airlines - Primary focus is on events in the Health/Medical fields, Education and Military. Request must be submitted 8 weeks prior to the event or any print deadlines
US AIR – Limited to non-profit groups in or around their hub cities of Charlotte, Philadelphia, Phoenix, or Washington D.C.
Donations From Grocery Stores & Convenience Stores
Albertsons – Focuses primarily on hunger relief, youth & education, and organizations with whom they have established partnerships.
Casey’s General Store – Provides food, coupons or gift certificates. Supports non-profit groups in communities where they have stores (14 states).
Kroger -Assists local non-profit organizations, schools and churches working in their focus areas.
Publix- Focus areas: youth, education – specifically literacy, and the plight of the homeless and hungry.
Stop & Shop – Focus areas: Healthy living, hunger relief, and kids (K-12).
SuperValu – Focuses on communities with their stores, hunger relief, health, environment.
Whole Foods -Focuses on communities with their stores, hunger relief, and holds 5% Days to support local nonprofit or educational organizations.
Donations From Retail Clothing Stores
American Eagle – Donates a limited number of $25 gift cards to high school and college sponsored events.
DICK’S Sporting Goods – DICK’S Sporting Goods Community Program supports thousands of youth sports and outdoor recreation organizations in communities surrounding their stores.
Gander Mountain – Supports non-profit organizations in communities where it does business. Written requests only.
J. Crew -Please direct all charitable inquiries to charitabledonations@jcrew.com.
Macy’s & Bloomingdales – Offers the My Macy‘s District Grants Program and the My Macy‘s District Event Sponsorships Program.
L.L. Bean – Focuses on Conservation/Outdoor Recreation, Health & Human Services, Culture & Arts (Maine only), and Education (Maine only).
Lands End – Please send all questions or comments regarding donations or sponsorships to donate@landsend.com.
Sears/KMART – Community support is focused on four areas: health, military, homes and education.
Donations From Toy Companies
American Girl – Focuses on assisting fundraisers benefiting children 12 and under.
Build A Bear – Donation priority given to schools and 501(c)(3) charities that help children, families and animals.
Nintendo - Send donation request to charitablecontributi@noa.nintendo.com
Toys-R-US - Donation requests must be made in writing via email 90 days prior to the date in which the donation is needed
Vermont Teddy Bear - All donation requests must be received at LEAST ONE MONTH prior to the requested ship/pick up date. All donation requests are processed at the end of the month
Donations From Restaurant Chains
Applebee's - All requests for funding and in-kind gifts, such as gift certificates, must be submitted in writing on your organization’s letterhead. If the request is regarding a specific event, please remember to include the date of your event as well as a contact name and phone number. You may email your request to Marketing@Applebees.com or contact your neighborhood Applebee’s® restaurant. For address information, please use our restaurant locator.
Ben & Jerry’s – Provides several printable coupons good for a free pint of ice cream for your event (schools and non-profits).
Benihana -Provides a restaurant gift certificate to a limited number of non-profit organizations.
Cheesecake Factory – Provides $25 gift cards to schools and non-profit organizations. Send your donation request letter to the attention of the General Manager at the restaurant closest to you.
Cracker Barrel – Donates gift cards to nonprofit groups for fundraising purposes. They have a list of criteria your request letter must include, then mail or drop off the request at your local Cracker Barrel.
Culver's - Send request to abroderick@hiebing.com or contact your local restaurant.
Hooters - Please contact the general manager of the Hooters in your city to discuss involvement. The best time to see a manager is from 3-4 p.m. Monday - Thursday.
Landry’s Inc – Donates a $25 gift card to 501c(3) charities that benefit the local communities of their restaurants. There are 40 different restaurant chains with 450 locations including Landry’s Seafood, Chart House, Saltgrass Steak House, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Claim Jumper, Morton’s Steakhouse, McCormick & Schmick’s, Mastro’s Restaurants and the Rainforest Cafe.
Max & Erma's - Max & Erma's participates in gift card donations, coupon donations and sponsorships to support your organization's fundraising efforts.
Noodles & Company - Donations for silent auctions, raffles and other fundraising efforts
Olive Garden – Donates to charitable causes that benefit the community. Donation requests can be submitted in writing to the general manager of your local Olive Garden.
Panera Bread – Regularly makes in-kind donations to local community events and fundraisers.
P. F. Chang’s – Supports charitable organizations in their restaurants’ local communities. Contact the Operating Partner or any manager at your local P.F. Chang’s to inquire about charitable giving availability.
Starbucks – Has several different community service offerings.
Donations From Retailers
Barnes & Noble – Supports K-12 schools and not-for-profit arts and literacy organizations in the communities they serve.
BJ’s Wholesale Club – Offers an in-kind donation of product(s) or gift cards to non-profit groups in communities they serve.
Black & Decker – Uses SponsorWise for submission of non-profit donation requests and sponsorship requests.
Books A Million – Donates books, games, or puzzles to support local schools, churches, organizations and charities in the communities they serve.
Brooks Brothers – Supports local non-profit organizations within the communities they serve.
Canvas On Demand – Donates a $100 gift certificate for fundraising auctions to 1,000 non-profit organizations each year.
Costco – Supports local non-profit groups with donated items in $25 to $50 range. Fill out form and take to your local store.
Home Depot – Local 501(c)(3) organizations should ask their store manager for a $25 off coupon.
JoAnn Fabrics – Donation requests from local non-profits focused on heart health, kid’s health, arts and education.
Michaels – Supports 501(c)(3) organizations with a strong focus on families and children. Submit by email.
Minted.com – Supports non-profit organizations with gift certificates.
QVC - Submit your donation request by either mail or email.
Radio Shack -Submit your donation request or sponsorship request only through their online form.
REI – Supports some local nonprofit partners that focus on both environmental conservation and promoting active volunteerism.
Saks – Supports local nonprofits in the communities where they operate that focus on arts & culture, community outreach, education, health, diversity, and youth mentoring.
Sports Authority – Supports only 501(c)(3) organizations promoting health and fitness through sports activities. Submit donation request to donations@sportsauthority.com
Staples - Donates $25 We Care gift cards through store managers to local non-profit groups focused on education or job skills.
The Body Shop - Email donation requests to tbsus.donations@thebodyshop.com.
Total Wine -Donates auction items, raffle items, and wine discounts to local non-profit groups.
Walgreens – Local non-profit groups requesting auction items, merchandise or gift cards (not exceeding $20) should contact their Walgreen district office directly.
Product Donations
Benchmade Knives – Apply by mail for a product donation for your non-profit fundraising event.
Cabela's - Charitable support for people, groups, causes and events best representing the Cabela's culture of hunting, shooting, fishing, camping and outdoor recreation.
Colectivo Coffee - donation requests should be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to the date they will be needed
Green Mountain Coffee – Donates coffee samples or Keurig coffee cartridges to schools and 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations for fundraisers.
Karen Foster Design – (Scrapbooking) – Donations are limited to one donation per 501(c)(3) organization per calendar year and only for events with 100+ participants.
Lumber Liquidators - Lumber Liquidators' Lay It Forward philosophy is "Our floors are made to last and benefit many generations to come, and we want our corporate donations to have the same impact in the communities we support."
Nike – Nike product donation request form.
Otter Box – Product donation request form for non-profits, schools, police, and fire departments only.
Pental – 401(c)(3) organizations may request a donation if their focus is education, arts, or health and human services.
Pink Calyx – Provides $50 Gift certificates for Facebook Likes. Any non-profit can like their FB page and receive an instant, printable $50 gift certificate.
Portrait Innovations – Schools and non-profit groups may email gift certificate donation requests to requests@portraitinnovations.com
Red Box – Fulfills 100 requests per month (provides 25 free movie rental coupon codes).
Stampin Up – Nonprofits send donation request with organization details, contact info, address, and how donation will be used to demos@stampinup.com
Tiny Prints – Schools and non-profit groups may request donations of $25 gift cards (sponsorship@tinyprints.com)
Think Fun – Fill out the donation request document and submit by email.
Vera Bradley - Submit donation request form on their website
Donations From Attractions
Chula Vista Resort - The Donation Committee considers donation requests three times per calendar year; January 1, May 1 and
September 1. For more information on purchasing a donation package, email donations@chulavistaresort.com. Please put “BOGO Donation” in the subject line.
Disney – Eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofits and public schools may submit donation requests for a standard gift of four (4) one-day Park Hopper® tickets to be used for fundraising purposes.
Ripley's Believe It or Not - Tickets donated for the location of your choice
Sea World | Busch Gardens -Contact info for each theme park location to request tickets for fundraising.
Donations From Hotels
Atlantis Casino Resort Spa (Reno NV) - Donates a 3 night stay in one of their gorgeous tower rooms. Makes a great fundraising auction item when bundled with some other donated goodies like travel or restaurant gift certificates.
Best Western – Submit your donation request by email and be sure to provide the requested information.
Fairmont Hotels – Each hotel works with local non-profit groups in their community. See donation request directions on website.
Hilton Hotels – Hilton supports non-profit groups in the communities they serve.
Intercontinental Hotels – Supports local charities in three areas: environmental sustainability, creating local economic opportunity or providing disaster relief.
Marriott Hotels – Submit local non-profit charitable contribution requests through their online form.
The Breakers Palm Beach - Requests must be submitted at least six weeks in advance of the fundraising event.
Donations From Rental Car Companies
Budget Rent A Car – Offers car rental vouchers to non-profit groups. Concentrates their philanthropic efforts on national organizations that serve the needs of the communities in which they operate.
Enterprise Car Rental - Does not donate vehicles or rentals. Gives back to the communities where their customers and employees live and work.
Hertz – Focuses on the communities they serve. Donates vehicles, no-cost rentals, volunteers, and grants.
Donations From Cruise Lines/Travel Agents
Carnival Cruise Lines – Focuses on arts & culture, community affairs, education, and health & human services. Request an in-kind donation and list how much your auction raised in previous years.
Hornblower Cruises – Hornblower supports all the communities it calls home, providing dollars and donations for local charities and non-profit groups.
Royal Caribbean – Focuses solely on non-profit groups serving children & families, education, and marine conservation.
Premier Cancun Vacations - Premier Cancun Vacations' Sunset Work Gives Back is a program designed to promote social consciousness, while doing it's part to help those in need. A portion of the proceeds generated from the sale of vacation certificates is donated to select charities each month. In addition, vacation certificates are donated to various charities for use at their events to generate donations.
Food and Beverage Donations
Dr Pepper/Snapple – Use their online form for donation requests and sponsorship requests
Emergen-C – Provides sponsorship donations for fun, active, and exciting events.
Hershey – Provides grants and product donations to non-profits supporting kids and kids at risk.
Jack Links Beef Jerky – Provides product donations such as gift baskets. Uses Sponsorwise system for all requests.
Nutiva – Uses email for product donation requests for fundraising events. Often donates a Superfood Sampler Pack.
Organic Valley Foods – charitable giving program includes grants, cash and food donations, literature and silent auction kits.
Each company has different policies on which groups they’ll support and how to submit your donation request. so use the links to get all the details. Some will let you use the donations for raffles and others prohibit using their donated item that way.