Food Bank of the Rockies Corporate Tool Kit Thank you for downloading our Corporate Tool Kit. In this kit you ll find information about Food Bank of the Rockies and ideas on how your organization can help us fight hunger. We hope this kit will get your creative juices flowing and you ll be able to find the right experience for your team. If you don t see what you re looking for here, please contact us for more ideas. We d be happy to brainstorm with you!
Who We Are & How We Can Work Together To Help Our Community Food Bank of the Rockies has been helping to feed our neighbors in need since 1978. From our humble start in a one-room schoolhouse, delivering bread donated by a nearby Safeway to Little Sisters of the Poor, we now distribute tens of millions of pounds of food every year to more than 1,000 hunger relief programs across the Rocky Mountains. Our three warehouses in Denver, Grand Junction and Mills, Wyoming distribute food throughout Metro Denver, Northern and Eastern Colorado, the Western Slope and the entire state of Wyoming. In addition to food distribution, we have many other food programs, including children s after-school meals and snacks as well as seniors programs. Donations of funds, food and time are the key to our success. Donations of funds are essential in keeping our operations running. The size and scope of our organization allows us to turn every dollar we receive into FOUR meals for those in need. We strive to keep our operating costs low; 96 cents of every dollar received goes towards food distribution! (took out $1= 4 meals since it was already stated above). Food donations from grocers, manufacturers, and retailers are vital to FBR. Community food drives are greatly appreciated as well, but food drives are only one way to help. This tool kit will introduce other ways to fight hunger ways to stretch your dollar and feed more of our hungry neighbors! Volunteers are the backbone of our organization and provide the equivalent of more than 30 full time employees. Projects include packing food boxes, sorting donated food, assisting partner agencies with food orders, general office work, light cleaning and assisting with special events. FBR has volunteer opportunities for very large groups, small groups and individuals. Work, school, religious and community groups are welcome. Volunteers must be at least 14 years old. To schedule volunteer opportunities or learn more about volunteering with us, please visit our website or contact our volunteer coordinator.
Why Help? The Faces of Hunger May Surprise You Hunger is a very real issue in the Rocky Mountains. 1 in 8 Coloradoans suffer from hunger and worry where their next meal will come from. Did you know: Nearly half of those receiving our food are children Over half of households receiving food have at least one adult working full time. Nearly half of the households must choose between paying for food and paying for necessities such as rent, utilities, medicine, medical care and transportation By helping Food Bank of the Rockies, you ll help our neighbors in need and the relief programs that serve them food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters. Every dollar, every can, every hour donated makes a huge difference. Thank you for taking the first step to learn more. Now, let s get everyone involved!
How to Engage the Executive Management Team: Discuss how your corporation s values and FBR s mission complement each other. Communicate the Who, What, Where, When and Why of Food Bank of the Rockies (FBR) If you require a presentation or food bank tour for your decision makers, please contact us we are happy to provide a tour or speak at your meeting. Discuss the opportunity to conduct an In-house Fundraising Campaign. Many Ways Your Organization Can Partner with FBR: Corporate Matching Gift Programs Determine size of Company Match i.e., $.25 on the dollar, $.50 on the dollar (Consider creating a stair-step fundraising approach i.e., if the employees reach a certain pre-established donation giving goal the company s match will increase). Create a Feeding Hope Fund - customized donation page for you or your company available on FBR s website. (Note: If you expect to raise over $10,000 please contact us to create a customized donation form.) Send out information on FBR s Gift Card Purchase Program. Inform the potential purchaser that depending on the type of Gift-Card purchased, 2-8% of the amount purchased will be donated to FBR) Hold a Virtual Food Drive to benefit FBR. Encourage employees to commit to a Monthly Recurring Gift Example: a $10/month donation = $120 per year = 480 Meals Suggest employees add Food Bank to their Facebook and/or MySpace Pages and follow FBR on Twitter. If your company participates in the Mile-High United Way Campaign, please inform your employees that they can direct their giving to Food Bank of the Rockies. FBR s United Way Charity number is #40787. Special Events are a blast and don t need to break the bank! See the following page for fun ideas to help us fight hunger and feed hope.
Examples of Simple Events: Food Fundraisers consider making or purchasing items for sale and donate the funds. Hold a tasting competition, charge an entry fee and reward the winner. Ideas include: breakfast burritos, pot luck lunches, bake sales, root beer float and sundae day, chili cook-off, dessert sale. Office Sports Fundraisers create your own playing field (or use the real thing if facilities are available.) Hold team, department or individual competitions. Charge teams an entry fee and determine a prize for the winner. Ideas include: Office Miniature Golf (create your own home made golf holes using plastic cups, office supplies etc.), hallway bowling, table top paper clip soccer or football All in Good Fun- Want a chance to see the boss in a new light? If employees raise $xxx, they can throw pies in the boss s face, dunk him/her, shave his mustache, etc. Reprimand buckets contribute $ every time you complain, run late to a meeting, etc Reward buckets - the company contributes $ for extra friendly service, no errors, etc Eat Together Hold potluck lunches and donate the money you save from eating out to the charity. Create a lunch dining club and round up each check - donations add up over time. Casual for a Cause Have employees pay $5 to wear jeans, sports logo wear, etc and donate the money.
Other Ideas Hold auctions or drawings for tickets to sporting events, movies, restaurants etc. Hold a Monthly Cartoon Caption Contest charge an entry fee for charity and provide a prize to the winner (could be a posting on the company intranet, special recognition in an employee newsletter, a portion of the cash raised, etc ). Employee Weight Loss Contest (for every pound a participant loses they will donate $1 and the company will match) Professional Massages $1/for 1 minute (check with local massage schools who often provide discounted services.) Ask company executives to donate frequent flyer miles, dinners at their home, an afternoon of golf, etc.. and hold an employee auction or drawing for the experience. Sell gift wrapping services during the holiday season. Hold a skip a meal for the hungry day where employees donate money they would usually spend on lunch to FBR. Every organization is different! We encourage you to take these ideas and create a way to help that generates excitement, compassion and/or teambuilding whatever is most important for your group.
Checklist for a Successful Campaign: Determine the time frame of giving, be specific Maximize the importance of the giving period. We recommend limiting it to one month or less to maintain excitement. Announce the Corporate Partnership with Food Bank of the Rockies utilizing: Hold a company-wide kick-off meeting Present the company s commitment to the community through partnership with FBR Place announcement in the corporations internal and/or external newsletter. Send employee e-mail blasts. Attach employee memo mail to paychecks. Post signs on employee bulletin boards located throughout the workplace. Administrative Elements to Holding a Successful Campaign Work with your accounting department to decide the best system for tracking and distributing donations. FBR staff can assist in tracking funds and reporting if a Feeding Hope Fund is used. If it s a competition, decide on how winners will be determined and rewarded. Recruit volunteers to help and delegate tasks to each member or committee. If needed, decide who will be the liaison to work with FBR staff. Update the status of your fundraising campaign regularly to staff and executive members. Updates keep the excitement building. Celebrate your success at the closing of the campaign and let everyone know how important their efforts were. Create a big check and bring it to FBR or invite us to come pick it up at a staff meeting or closing celebration. Contact FBR if someone deserves extra special recognition from us for their participation and efforts.
Would you like an FBR representative to address your organization? Need more ideas? Have questions? Please contact: Rich Chirco Manager of Corporate and Sponsorship Sales Food Bank of the Rockies 10700 E. 45TH Avenue Denver, Colorado 80239 Direct Line 303-375-5863 E-mail:rchirco@foodbankrockies.org