GeeCees is the smart way for good causes to accept donations because:
- It’s cheaper and easier for a business to donate gift certificates, especially digital gift certificates. This means your chances of receiving a donation are increased, and the amount of your donation/s might be increased.
- By seeking digital gift certificate donations, you are demonstrating to your potential donors that you are seeking a win-win relationship. You are doing more than just asking for a donation; you are also offering to try to bring them more business. This elevates your status from beggar to partner.
- GeeCees makes it easy for you to sell your digital gift certificate donations by helping you create an online store. This saves you the work of organizing a forum at which to sell your gift certificate donations… a forum such as dinner with a silent auction. Since you’re no longer selling dinner tickets, your audience will have more to spend on gift certificates. And because all gift certificates on GeeCees are digital, you can post them for sale online and reach a far bigger audience than you ever could by organizing a dinner. You can also sell to everyone, not just those who would have attended your dinner.
Helpful Tips for finding businesses willing to donate to your good cause:
- Make it clear to your potential donors that you are NOT asking for a donation of Dollars or any other form of bank-issued currency. You are asking for a donation of digital gift certificates. If they offer bank issued currency, you can take it, but that’s not what you’re asking for.
- Make it clear that in exchange for the digital gift certificates, you will give that donating business as much exposure as it takes to sell those digital gift certificates. They will get the exposure whether or not you are able to sell their donations…so they can’t lose.
- Make it clear that because you are going to give their business exposure, their donation may also a tax-deductible marketing expense.
- Try to approach businesses which are constantly advertising and/or seeking new customers. Examples of this are hotels, Airbnb listings, restaurants, movie theaters, hair salons, daycare providers, and private gyms. Especially if they are just getting started!
- Start your own business and use it to support your own good cause.
- Include the Make Donations page and the Inc. article in the presentation you give to businesses/donors.