Who we serve / Nonprofits and schools
Thank-you gifts worth keeping and merchandise worth selling.
We work with development offices, event teams, membership staff, school stores and alumni committees. Our clients include health and social service organizations, advocacy groups, research institutes, foundations, associations and independent schools. Many run more than one merchandise program at once. A gala gift, a volunteer T-shirt and a store’s best seller each have a different job, and we treat them that way.
Jump to: Donor gifts · Events and campaigns · Nonprofit stores · Schools and alumni
For development
A thank-you gift has a tax consequence.
When a donor receives something in return for a gift, its value can come off their deduction. Above certain amounts, you also owe them a written disclosure. The IRS sets token-gift limits each year, and a modest logo item kept under them generally leaves the deduction intact. We know where those lines sit, and we help you match the right object to each giving level.
We’ll also tell you when a premium isn’t worth it. Offering a gift in exchange for a donation tends to do less than people hope.
A well-chosen thank-you that arrives afterward, tied to what the money did, usually does more than any premium.
Events and campaigns
Merchandise for events, campaigns and the people who show up.
Walk and run T-shirts, awareness pins, volunteer appreciation, conference materials, and awards for the members an association wants to honor. Event dates rarely move, so we plan backward from yours and confirm timing before anything is ordered.
For one professional association we have reordered the same custom award year after year, so each new one matches those already on members’ shelves.
Planning a gala, a walk or a campaign? Start a project. A rough idea is enough.
For the store
Some nonprofits run a store too.
A research institute’s gift shop and a school’s campus store have more in common than it seems. Whoever runs them is usually measured on revenue and margin, and answers to a finance office that reads the monthly numbers.
We bring the same thinking we use with museum stores: a short list of products tied to the mission, priced to carry real margin, in quantities you can sell through.
Schools and alumni
Schools, alumni and the families around them.
An independent school buys for students, parents, teams, prospective families, alumni and donors, sometimes in the same month. We worked with one independent school for seventeen years, on everything from game-day pennants and foam fingers to team gifts and blankets. For a university reunion class, we made medallions, neck ribbons and maracas, timed to the weekend. Class-year designs can’t be reused, so we help committees order close to the number who will actually come.
Spirit wear and the school store bring the same pressures as any retail shop. Parents notice quality and timing first, so we confirm both before the order goes in.
Planning spirit wear or a reunion? Start a project. A rough idea is enough.
What we bring
- Knowledge of how nonprofit gifts are judged, by donors and by the IRS
- Products chosen for the mission and the budget, and an honest answer when merchandise isn’t the right spend
- Planning that works backward from your event date
- One point of contact from the first idea to delivery, with a proof on every order
From field notes
What we’ve been noticing in development.
Donor recognition, stewardship gifts, giving levels and the work of thanking people well.
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Stores, members and donors: the same people
A Seattle news nonprofit’s beanie, a public radio tumbler and what store filings show: why a cultural institution’s store, membership…
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The four calendars
Fifteen cultural institutions whose public filings we examined close their fiscal years in five different months. The Metropolitan Museum of…
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The second order
A quote describes one order. For an institution that will need merchandise again next year, and the year after, the…
Common questions
Questions we get asked.
Can you help us stay within the IRS rules for donor gifts?
Yes. We’ll ask which giving level a gift is tied to and keep its cost in line with the token-gift limits when that’s the goal. For a question about a specific donor’s deduction, your tax adviser has the final word.
What are the minimums?
They come with the product and the way it is decorated. Some items start in the dozens and others in the hundreds. We’ll tell you up front and suggest something else if the numbers don’t fit.
How far ahead should we start?
It depends on how complicated the order is. A simple reorder can ship in as little as 24 hours, many orders take about two weeks from approved artwork, and custom pieces take months. For a gala, a campaign launch or a reunion, starting two months out leaves room for proofs and a backup plan.
We’re a small organization. Is our order big enough?
Yes. We take one-off orders as seriously as recurring ones, and many of our longest relationships started with a single project.
Tell us what you’re working on.
A rough idea is enough to start.