How can your nonprofit or organization most effectively benefit from the support of enthusiastic donors and efficiently collect everything your constituents need? By creating a simple yet powerful donation Wish List.
Consider this: Charitable giving exceeds $400 billion* annually in the U.S., donations that come in many forms, including tangible gifts to toy drives, animal shelters, children’s hospitals, homeless shelters, school programs, and many other organizations that count on donor support to help them run smoothly.
A Wish List communicates an organization’s needs directly to donors who want to help.
How Does an Organization Wish List Work?
A Wish List is a curated list of gifts, operating supplies, and other items, plus funding opportunities, created by an organization to further its mission. While holiday toy drives are familiar seasonal initiatives, a Wish List can be used at any time of year, for any type of cause.
Those running a nonprofit are best positioned to know what its beneficiaries need, and donors are motivated to support a cause they believe in by knowing their gift will have a direct impact. A Wish List makes a match between need and gift, organization and donor, in which every contribution is targeted and valued.
That opportunity to target specific needs has made Wish Lists increasingly popular with smaller, locally run nonprofits and local chapters of national organizations, groups that work closely and personally with their beneficiaries and depend on donations to support that work.
So what types of organizations will benefit from a Wish List? The answer is as varied as the organizations themselves.
There are animal shelters and animal advocacy organizations like The Humane Society that collect food and animal care items. Children’s charities that operate toy drives, such as Toys for Tots, and children’s hospitals that collect toys and other items to create a homelike atmosphere. Homeless shelters and transitional housing facilities that collect clothing and personal care items to have available as new guests arrive. Teachers who collect for their own classrooms, and school supply drives and after-school programs like Head Start that work to ensure every student has the necessary resources. Food pantries that work to keep vulnerable members of their communities fed and cared for. And many more...
If an organization has needs that can be met in part or wholly by donors, a Wish List provides a platform to communicate those needs.
What Makes an Organization Wish List So Effective?
Several elements work together to make a MyRegistry Wish List a truly powerful donation tool for organizations.
MyRegistry’s “universal” feature lets users add any item from any retailer in the world, including specialty providers and sources that are not online. The process is seamless with our Add to MyRegistry.com Button and MyRegistry.com app.
If an organization has already set up a Wish List with Amazon or another major retailer, that list can be synced with a MyRegistry Wish List, creating one aggregated, easy-to-manage hub.
A Wish List can also include one or more Cash Gift Funds, an easy way for donors to give money to be used at the organization’s discretion, or to donate toward group gifting of larger items.
Together, these features allow a nonprofit to cater to the specific needs or requests of those it supports, be it with kid’s toys, teen gadgets, clothing, and home goods—even experiences. A local chapter of Make-A-Wish can respond to the kids it’s currently working with, a Ronald McDonald House can pay attention to the most-requested toys and video games, and a Salvation Army shelter can keep a supply of fresh clothing for visitors.
We also encourage organizations to personalize a Wish List with branded imagery and a Welcome page featuring additional information about its work and a link to its website. And because it’s digital, a Wish List can be easily communicated and accessed from anywhere, greatly increasing an organization’s reach.
We Want to Partner with Your Organization
MyRegistry is committed to supporting every organization that creates a Wish List. For more information about creating a Wish List or to get started, visit Create a Nonprofit/Organization Wish List or contact us at: nonprofits@myregistry.com.
*Source: Charity Navigator