Charity D-Day Toolkit
- What does D-Day mean to charities with shops?
- What is the idea behind D-Day?
- How can charities set up their own D-Day?
- What materials will charities need on their D-Day?
- Explaining D-Day to other people
- How to sell D-Day to a workforce
- How to run the D-Day itself
- Things to think about afterwards
What does ‘D-Day’ mean to charities with shops?
D-Day is a way of encouraging charities and businesses to foster links: local companies will have a workforce the shop can tap into, for both donors and maybe volunteers too. Hosting a collections drive is an inexpensive way for businesses to give to charity, help the environment, and to further their corporate social responsibility. With good quality stock becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, D-Day offers charities new opportunities to fill their shops.
What is the idea behind D-Day?
A company’s employees donate one good quality item each on a specific day. This could be a piece of clothing, a book or a record, depending on what the shop needs and what the employee has to give. There are several advantages to this way of working:
- The donation ought to be of good quality, as people are not being asked to part with a lot of things, or even to fill a bag which they might associate with a binbag.
- People are getting a taste for donation, seeing how easy it is to help others and clear out their wardrobes and shelves.
- As a lot of people are taking part, the charity receives a large number of donations.
How can charities set up their own D-Day?
There are three key steps to follow, in creating a link with a locally based company.
- Find the right business to approach. Think about the contacts you already have, through friends and family. Use your local newspaper for inspiration.
- Arrange a day for your charity representative[s] to visit the company and promote the idea to as many members of their staff as possible.
- Return to the company on your chosen D-Day, to make the collections.
What materials will charities need on their D-Day?
When visiting a business, charity representatives should:
- Be distinctive. Wear branded t-shirts or tabards, with your charity name and logo or the D-Day slogan ‘DONATE DON’T DUMP’.
- Be informative. Take along leaflets giving more information about your organisation, and a poster detailing when you will be back to make your collection. Download a poster template here.
If you wish to buy D-Day t-shirts, please contact the Association on 020 7255 4470, as we have some available for £5 + VAT + P&P each. If you wish to create your own materials, like t-shirts or posters, the font to use is Bodoni MT Black. Please note that the D-Day slogan is NOT copyrighted, and the charities are free to use it to promote their donation drives.
Explaining D-Day to other people
When you get in contact with your chosen business, you will need to explain to them what you are doing and why:
- tell them about your charity, and what money raised from the shops can help with
- stress the green message in donation, telling people about the environmental benefits of reuse
- get people to understand that they will not have a lot of extra work to do
- make people feel that this is an easy way to help your charity, the environment, and the community
How to sell D-Day to a workforce
When you go into the business to talk to their staff, you will need to be able to grab their attention. These pointers should help:
- be clear on what you want to say: drive home the need for good quality goods
- make your words relevant to them, bringing in things your audience can relate to or have experience of: reading the local news or their company newsletter may give you ideas
- think about the structure of your talk, and what you put at the beginning, middle and end
- start strong: get their attention and make an impact
- create a rapport with your audience: making eye-contact with people can really help
- find a style that suits you: do you want to be chatty like a friend, or attention-grabbing like a dynamic teacher?
- make sure you talk slowly and loudly, varying the tone, so everyone can follow what you are saying and are engaged by it
- keep your body-language confident and friendly
- be visual in your approach: posters, flyers, t-shirts and videos can all help to get your message across
- if you’re using a screen to illustrate your points, don’t turn your back on the audience to face it
- try not to pace around too much: pick a spot to stand in and stay there, moving deliberately to another place if you need to
How to run the D-Day itself
There are several things to remember when you go into the business to make the collections:
- take at least two charity representatives, to accept the goods, talk to people and help carry them to your vehicle
- thank everybody who makes a donation: people warm to the personal touch, and having someone there to talk to and hand things directly to will make a good impression
- get photos taken of donors (with their permission) and charity representatives, for both the charity’s newsletter and the company’s, if not local press
- if your charity does Gift Aid on donations, get people to make Gift Aid declarations
Things to think about afterwards
- send out a press release about your D-Day
- get back in touch with the company after the collection, thanking them and telling them how much money you have raised from their donations (if you know)
- see if you could make D-Day a regular occurrence at this business
- see what you have learned from this first event that could inform you trying it again