Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference.
-Cheryl
For Animal Resource Friends (ARF), custom can coolers and custom made bumper stickers have played a key role in attracting donor attention and raising funds for pets in need. As an organization that helps owners keep their pets in their homes by providing food and spay and neuter services, ARF has a cause that many find it easy to get behind. But getting potential donors to notice them is a problem.
“We don’t rescue so we don’t have cute doggies everyone gets to see,” explains Kathy Kennedy, Vice President of Animal Resource Friends in Mebane, North Carolina. “Nobody wants to come see us because we don’t have all the cute dogs to adopt. So why would you stop at our table?”
That’s where promotional products come in. “Now, at least if you come visit us we can talk to you and give you a freebie. We didn’t have that before. So now with those items, we at least can say, ‘Have a pamphlet, have a pen, take a sticker.’ And it gets our name out there.” Kennedy says.
As a recipient of a 4imprint® one by one® grant, ARF was able to order a number of promotional products for their Sounds for Hounds fundraiser. They selected the Removable Euro Bumper Sticker, the Javelin Pen, and the Pocket Coolie. The custom products helped them get more donations at their table and provided thank-you gifts to all who attended the event.
The fundraiser is vital to the organization, which provides up to 6,000 pounds of pet food to pets and their owners in any given month. They also have supplied 250 vouchers for pets to be spayed or neutered since the organization’s inception.
The response to the promotional products was great. “I want to say that the table had almost $200 in donations, and that was literally just all our stuff laid out and a glass jar,” Kennedy says. The fundraiser drew in additional funds through the event as well.
In the end, it’s all about keeping pets at home. “The hope is if you need help with your pet, we can help you keep it fed so that you don’t have to turn it over to the shelter,” Kennedy says.
Read more one by one recipient stories on Cheryl’s blog. To apply for a one by one grant, visit our website at onebyone.4imprint.com and click the Application tab.