— ORGANIZE A DRIVE: FOOD AND FUND DRIVES—

Plan for a Successful Drive | Promote! | Corporate Drives | School Drives | Congregation Drives

Organize a drive with friends and family, at your place of business, school, or congregation, any time of the year and have a direct impact on the people in need in our community. There are a number of Seasonal Food & Fund Drives you can participate in, or you can run a drive any time of the year. Take action and become the Food and Fund Drive Coordinator for your group.

Plan for a Successful Drive

Set Dates

Determine the length of your drive. It can be two days or two months, but most drives last one to two weeks.

Set Goals

Setting goals is a great way to increase results for both food collection and funds. To set goals follow these steps:

• Decide upon a reasonable amount of food and money for each participant to contribute
• Multiply that by the number of participants (employees, students, congregants, members)
• Announce that the organization's goal is based on 100% participation. Every contribution touches someone in need.

Creating teams within your group is optional but helps spark competition and keep participants interested and engaged.

Select Supplies

The Food Bank will provide all of the basic supplies you will need for your drive. The following promotional supplies and materials may be picked up at our warehouse in Grass Valley or can be delivered to you at no cost.

Barrels

The Food Bank can deliver food collection barrels for your drive.
Full barrels can be picked up and the food donations are weighed and recorded by Food Bank staff. Barrels can also be picked up and dropped off at our warehouse in Grass Valley.

How Many Barrels Should I Order?
One barrel holds approximately 150 pounds of food. We suggest you take your food poundage goal and divide it by 150 to determine the number of barrels you will need.

Banners

The Food Bank of Nevada County has several large size banners to use during your drive. Place banners in high-traffic areas at your organization.

Donation Envelopes

The Food Bank of Nevada County can provide envelopes to distribute to participants to collect donations. Envelopes can be mailed directly to the Food Bank or collected by the drive coordinator and delivered to our office. (go to top)

Promote!

Have a Kick-off Event

Kick-off your drive with a great event to announce drive dates and goals. Let each participant know what is expected of them to reach your goals and get them fired up! Remind them that their enthusiasm around the drive is going to help feed hungry children, adults and seniors in our community.

Incentives

Offer a prize to the team or individual that demonstrates the most spirit: free dress day, reserved parking, certificates or any special recognition can add the fire your drive needs. (go to top)

Celebrate

Celebrate your success by announcing your final results, the number of meals provided, and Awards achieved. Thank everyone for their participation and remind them that helping those in need can be a life changing experience for the giver as well as the recipient.

Corporate Drive Ideas

Through the many years of hosting Holiday Food and Fund Drives, corporations have discovered creative ways of promoting and running successful drives. Outlined below are some examples to help inspire your group!

• Hold a raffle with fun prizes such as having the CEO or manager act as the winner’s assistant for a day!
• Host an event and donate the admission fees to the Food Bank. Organize an auction with creative prizes. At one live auction, the CEO sold the shirt off his back!
• Sell treats, such as baked goods, sandwiches, or coffee drinks. Managers should be encouraged to prepare treats!
• Hold competitions among staff, departments, building, or management teams.
• Some of the most successful events held by corporations are races. It’s a fun team building event that both spectators and racers can get involved in and it’s a great fundraising tool. (go to top)

School Drive Ideas

• Teach a unit on nutrition and hunger and encourage students to educate their peers, neighbors and families on the effects of malnutrition. This is a great way for youth to understand the disadvantages that low-income students have when it comes to food choices and healthy eating behaviors.
• Find out how much the average student’s lunch costs and consider donating that amount to The Food Bank of Nevada County.
• Have a food collection or food drive competition between classes or clubs and reward the winners with a party.
• Create and sell a cookbook with low cost and healthy meals - donate the proceeds to The Food Bank of Nevada County.
• Hold a “penny war” between classes and donate the funds collect to The Food Bank of Nevada County. Provide incentives or prizes to the winning class.
• Host a bake sale or a yard sale and donate the proceeds to The Food Bank of Nevada County.

Congregation Drive Ideas

• Promote a fast. As you fast, remember those for whom hunger is not a choice, but a fact of life. Donate the money you would have spent on a meal to The Food Bank of Nevada County. If you prefer, collect a special offering instead of sponsoring a fast.
• Take up a second collection during services.
• If your congregation hosts bingo, consider holding a game where all of the proceeds are donated to The Food Bank of Nevada County. Everybody wins!
• Set up an area with information about local hunger and a coin can for people to make free will donations during coffee hour.
• Challenge your youth group to make a difference! Youth groups can host car washes, pancake breakfasts, bake sales, simple soup suppers or any other fundraising events to help alleviate local hunger today! (go to top)

530-272-3796   530-272-7085 fax   foodbanknc@att.net   Warehouse: 8 am–2 pm   Office: 8:30 am–3 pm

Physical Address: 12048 Charles Dr. #9, Grass Valley, CA 95945
Mailing Address:578 Sutton Way #187, Grass Valley, CA 95945

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