05/17/05 Charitable donations

Welcome to Vine to Wine. This is your host Linda Moran and today we are going to discuss proper etiquette when soliciting charitable donations from a winery. So - you have found yourself helping your charitable cause by procuring contributions from wineries. First research the laws that dictate what type of contribution is legal for the winery to make to your type of organization. Also, I know that your cause is very important to you. But please respect the fact that a winery is also own or operated by people just like you who are involved in their community and have causes that are important to them. Like most businesses they have a budget for philanthropy and you may or may not be asking at a time when they have the ability to make a donation. Remember you are not the only organization making these requests. Some wineries will receive 50 or more requests in one week. When preparing your request - Ask yourself - what's in it for them? Why should they make this donation? What do they get in return? Once you can answer this with a satisfying well thought out reason, it should be much easier for you to make a convincing case for their involvement. Contact the facility and ask what is the process for a solicitation of these types, to whom should it be directed and in what form would they like to receive it? Always include information about your organization along with your registered 501c3 number along with your name and contact information. Most of all good luck! Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.