This is the first in a new series where we offer ways for donors to help fundraise for TWFF.
Declutter for a Good Cause
We recently had a donor (they wish to remain anonymous) who told us of a garage sale they held, specifically to yield donations for The White Feather Foundation. What began as their simple spring cleaning turned into a $150 donation for our charity.
Touched by their generosity, this gave us the idea to share how they were successful and offer ideas for ways to replicate their process if anyone in the community is inspired to do the same!
Read on for a step-by-step process of how to host your own garage or yard sale…
Organize Items
Gather up what you’re ready to part with and separate the items into categories:
- Clothing
- Electronics/gadgets
- Music
- Books
- Kitchen Items
- Artwork
- Toys
- Jewelry/accessories
- Holiday decorations
- Furniture
- Odds and Ends/Collectibles
Determine Fair Prices
The donor we spoke with made it very easy on themselves and just put up separate tables for each dollar amount, offering items for $1, $5, $10 and $20. Each amount had a colour and a dot sticker of that colour was placed on the item to label it for easy checkout. Furniture was the only exception, and they used masking tape to write the prices on a set of chairs and a table they offered.
Of course, if you want to be more specific you can write the amount on each sticker or piece of masking tape (and colour coding won’t be necessary).
Get Supplies Ready for the Day of Sale
Many people have a ritual of going to several yard sales in one day and they take large bills of cash out to do so, so you’ll want to have smaller bills available to make change for those types of shoppers and a secure contraption to store them in (fish tackle boxes are great and can be procured at most dollar stores). Your bank can provide small bills for you if you visit a teller in person.
You’ll also want to have tables or beach towels to display your items upon and empty grocery bags that you can offer to bag purchases in, as people check out.
Be sure to remember your own comfort (especially if your sale is all day) and have a lawn chair to sit in, a bottle of water and snacks as need be.
It’s also helpful to have friends and family pitch in so you can take breaks.
Choose a Date for Your Sale
Some people like to host sales throughout the weekend, but it’s perfectly okay just to choose one day as well. If possible, coordinate with neighbors and host on the same day to draw more visitors.
If you don’t own your home, be sure to ask your landlord if yard sales are permitted on their property.
If not, seek permission at a location in your community that will allow it, such as a place of worship, a community center parking lot or a neighborhood park. Never set up a sale in a location where you haven’t obtained written permission prior to the event.
Advertise Your Sale
The morning of the sale, go around your neighborhood and post signs with your address and the day(s)/hours of your sale as well as key categories of items you’ll offer. Signs can be made on old scrap cardboard, old boxes or poster board.
Prior to the morning of, list your sale on sites like:
We are also happy to help publicize your sale on our TWFF social media pages. Simply email the details to [email protected]
On Sale Day
Whether you donate all of the proceeds or even just a percentage of your sales to TWFF, be sure to let your community know that their purchases will benefit a good cause.
After the Sale
Donate items that didn’t sell to your local charity shop, total up your sales and deposit your earnings into your bank account.
From there you can either make an online donation at our website to the area of giving you prefer (you will get an immediate receipt emailed you if you use this method) or you can write us a check and mail it directly to our bank:
Enterprise Bank & Trust
Attn: Deposit
12845 Towne Center Drive
Cerritos, CA 90703 (USA)
Once we receive notice of your check deposit from our bank, we will issue a receipt.
Thanks to all who are motivated to host a sale to raise funds for us; if yard sales aren’t your vibe, stay tuned for more ideas in the coming weeks!
