Why I don't donate signs.

[Kentucky Wraps]

I recently did a gymnasium full of banners for a local high school. Here's the deal I gave them...I'll give them my wholesale price on banners if I can throw in 2 of my banners as well. I was met with NO resistance and they've returned for more work since. I guess large corporations work differently though.

 

[Bill Modzel]

Check with your accountants about your receipt/deduction idea. From what I've understood, you have paid for the stock that you used, hence it is inventory already deducted from your gross income. No matter what other labor you invested in that job, you have already made the deduction.
To deduct the invoice of the job is taking a double deduction.

That's just how it was explained to me by my accountant, check with your own.

 

[Jillbeans]

I just give the receipt to let them know the value of the donation.

 

[Gino]

What? Why? Each banner has the logos of all the major sponsors on them. I would think it would be a whole lot more intrusive to have everyone else grouped together and me on a giant one by myself.

I talked to my wife about it tonight and she convinced me just to do it the way they want it and leave my logo off everything. Since me whole goal is to make a goodwill gesture to the two companies that keep my mortgage paid I should play nice and go with their terms.

Don't you just love it, when you're trying to do something nice and someone just has to gum up the works and make you feel like total crap ??

Believe me.... this seems to be something of late where people are dictating to us [us... as in all of us in collectively in business] more and more and we have to just say yes'sum and do as they want.

​

 

[OneUpTenn]

I do not donate anything PERIOD. All is does is make more people ask you for donations. My classic line is this...."Please understand that most of my work comes from people in your same position and it wouldnt be fair to donate to you and not them and it wouldnt be feasible to donate to ALL of them. I will however give you a very reasonable price for what you are ordering"

 

[UFB Fabrication]

I donate to who and what causes I care for. If it were a good customer I would do it for cost if they were also kicking something in. I dont want to have any recognition for the work as it will likely attract more free work. Kinda like the ONE stock car I sponsored. The only thing it got me was the headaches of other stock car guys asking if I could letter their cars and that I could have the privilege of putting my name on the car. Oh geee thanks.......

 

[Baz]

we've donated some signs in the past to Extreme Makeover of a senior center.....but declined the video acknowledgment of it.....the parties were cool to attend and we had fun with that.....

I do the work for my local hospital's children foundation fundraising events. They have three major ones each year. One event i donate everything and the other two i only charge material cost. I have my logo placed with all the lower level donations and i would not care if it wasn't.

What i find great is going to the launch parties or dinner events afterwards. I make sure i have plenty of business cards on hand. Helping out sick kids and meeting local business people (while drinking) is why i do it!

 

[Graphics2u]

My idea of supporting charities is to strong arm all my suppliers into giving me free stuff which I then present to the charity myself, my contribution if you will.... this is my charity gig and you aren't invited.... just give me the free cr@p and get lost

Your customers probably like the idea of presenting these banners as part of "their" contribution to the event... sticking a label which reads donated by XYZ Signs on them kinda bursts that bubble... everyone now knows you provided the goods for free so what exactly are YOUR customers providing out of their own pockets? The answer is probably nothing.

To me a donation is a donation. Whether it's in goods or services or cash shouldn't matter at all. If you didn't donate them they would have cost $600 from the monies other companies gave them. So what's the difference??

That alone makes the above comment even more correct, they wanted the recognition for the banners and you were taking it.

 

[CanuckSigns]

My idea of supporting charities is to strong arm all my suppliers into giving me free stuff which I then present to the charity myself, my contribution if you will.... this is my charity gig and you aren't invited.... just give me the free cr@p and get lost

Your customers probably like the idea of presenting these banners as part of "their" contribution to the event... sticking a label which reads donated by XYZ Signs on them kinda bursts that bubble... everyone now knows you provided the goods for free so what exactly are YOUR customers providing out of their own pockets? The answer is probably nothing.

This is exactly what is going on, but if they are your biggest customer, i would let it slide

 

[Billct2]

I make substantial donations every year to my two largest customers big charity golf tournaments, and they always include me as one of the major sponsors.
I also do all the work for my church for free.

and Bill mentioned it, but be careful what you use as a tax deduction, my accontant also said all I can deduct is the cost (which is already part of my overhead) and nothing for my own time.

 

[slappy]

a-holes! just remember Pat.. those banners can be used next year and the next year after that if the sponsors are the smae, i'd get them back when they are done with them then since she's being a beeotch

 

[artsnletters]

My beef isn't really about the logo being on there or not. My problem is that she essentially told me to my face that what I was doing for them had no value. She just reiterated my feelings about donations....in her mind signs and banners are cheap since they didn't have any cost to her.

i'd tell her to find another pigeon....F-em! To her they are a on-time use, throwaway item...i'd say ed-u-ma-cate her and say you changed your mind! Besides, when you do stuff like that, all it does is get solicitations to do MORE free stuff....no good deed goes unpunished...
Tim

 

[kgirl]

I do the work for my local hospital's children foundation fundraising events. They have three major ones each year. One event i donate everything and the other two i only charge material cost. I have my logo placed with all the lower level donations and i would not care if it wasn't.

What i find great is going to the launch parties or dinner events afterwards. I make sure i have plenty of business cards on hand. Helping out sick kids and meeting local business people (while drinking) is why i do it!

it is....it's amazing who you get to meet at these events....and who shows up...

 

[Firefox]

Our procedure for donation solicitation is to explain that the current years donations have been budgeted but if it is an annual event please feel free to submit a request after the first of the year. The request will be submitted to the board of directors for consideration in that years charity budget.

Very rarely does anyone question it or actually submit an annual request. The only one that did was my biggest customer. For about 5 years they spent between 100K -120K annually and it was a pleasure to donate to their charity event. They offered a place for "donated by logos" but I declined and they didn't refer anyone to me for free stuff either!

After this customers business was bought by an out of state mega corp. he still did his annual golf event but offered to pay since he knew he was not spending much with me any longer. A classy individual if you can imagine that!

A really big fish deserves a little bait once in a while... I would not dream of telling my biggest customer to shove it, especially when it really costs me little more that a little time. If it's less than 1% of their annual purchases it's a no brainer.

I do agree with most here that "No good Deed Goes Unpunished" though...

My father used to say that it takes all kinds of people to make the world go round... Some of them should be used for grease on the hubs!

 

[Colin]

Our procedure for donation solicitation is to explain that the current years donations have been budgeted but if it is an annual event please feel free to submit a request after the first of the year. The request will be submitted to the board of directors for consideration in that years charity budget.

I tried that once and it didn't work. Here's how the conversation went:

Me: "The current year's donations have been budgeted, but if it's an annual event please feel free to submit a request after the first of the year. The request will be submitted to the board of directors for consideration in that year's charity budget."

Them: "But you're a one-man-show!"

Me: "DOH!"



:Big Laugh

 

[Firefox]

I tried that once and it didn't work. Here's how the conversation went:

Me: "The current year's donations have been budgeted, but if it's an annual event please feel free to submit a request after the first of the year. The request will be submitted to the board of directors for consideration in that year's charity budget."

Them: "But you're a one-man-show!"

Me: "DOH!"

:Big Laugh

Not Married?

 

[Colin]

Married to the sweetest woman on the planet. I know I'm biased, but it's true.

 

[Graphics2u]

Married to the sweetest woman on the planet. I know I'm biased, but it's true.

Then there is your Board of Directors!

 

[itzdeb]

Pat, I think we've all been there...I've seen all kinds. You are right about everything when they smite you, but don't turn into them, as I also donate to who I want to and when I want to, and they will keep my logo on!

btw, I've lowered myself to where they can't find me unless they are lowdown like me and that is donations to animal causes...as they are some of the most humanly innocent beings in the world, as sweet as a little child forever.
Man, that just makes it all right and if the public wants something from me, they have to show me first how fancy their house and cell phone is.

 

[itzdeb]

ha, Jill...I've had my steady stream of:

sports teams, race car owners, churches, scouts; but it's the aggressive middle man/woman (who thinks they run the show; they are taught to expect and capitalize on those wanna bees as they think we are). There are very appreciative folks out there that never ask, but there's many just waiting to sniff out how gulible the giver is... I just say my way or no way, you don't get it, sorry.

about 1/2 do it my way and the others come back crying in a year when I'm too busy.