One of the most iconic programs during the holidays is the toy drive. Whether donors are picking up an extra toy at the store, or purchasing a gift from a nonprofit’s online wishlist, donors love to buy toys for kids during the holidays! In this post, we are highlighting two successful toy drives on Roonga – so if you are looking for tips on how to run a toy drive, check out these examples below!
Heart West Michigan United Way’s Stuff the Sled Program
The Heart of West Michigan United Way is working towards a vision of a thriving community in Kent County. They fight poverty by uniting resources from donors, workplaces, and grant funders to empower people to build toward self-sufficiency. Their mission is ultimately to reduce or eliminate poverty in West Michigan.
One of the ways they provide for the community is with their annual Stuff the Sled Toy Drive. In 2021, donors on Roonga provided the gifts to make more than 1,500 holiday gift bags for local children enrolled in Head Start for Kent County. Each bundle contained an age-appropriate toy, a game to play as a family, a book, and a set of winter hats & gloves. A team of volunteers gathered to package the gifts into holiday gift bags that were then delivered to the Head Start locations around Kent County.
How did HWMUW meet their goal? The Team Drives is a feature of the Roonga Collection Drives that promotes strong community engagement, allowing you to expand your footprint and amplify your efforts. Team drives are set up by a drive organizer within a company, church, or service group who promotes and motivates members of the group to participate. A goal is set up so that the group has a specific visible goal – either by total number of items to be donate, or the dollar amount of the drive. These team drives operate within the main drive, so the organization had control over the items being donate, and they offer the opportunity for friendly competitive challenges between teams!
HWMUW registered an incredible 42 teams who worked towards the common goal of providing Head Start children with their gifts. Here are a couple of examples of team drives that stepped up to the challenge:
- Nolan Transportation Group had a goal of 466 items and had a 96% success rate: https://www.roonga.com/ntggrr
- The Grand Rapids Community Foundation set a goal to donate 96 items and achieved its goal: https://www.roonga.com/teamgrcf
By recruiting teams to promote their drive, HWMUW delegated some of the promotion of the drive to their groups. The drive leaders were excited and motivated to reach their goals individually, and as a whole, HWMUW was very successful in their drive. If you are looking to start your toy drive, considering recruiting team drives to help supplement your own outreach efforts.
Orange County Mayor’s Office
Mayor Jerry Demings was sworn in on Dec. 4, 2018, as the 5th elected Mayor of Orange County and is the first African-American to serve in the role. His goal is to make Orange County the “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” by creating a community culture of innovation, collaboration, and inclusiveness. Mayor Demings and his staff have a passion for working with organizations that support children and volunteers with several non-profit agencies. This is especially true in the efforts of Mayor Demings and his staff for their Annual Holiday Toy Drive on Roonga’s Website, which benefits Orange County children in need.
The Orange County Government’s Annual Toy Drive had a banner year for its 11th Annual Holiday Toy Drive in 2021. The members of the mayor’s team put great thought into selecting a wide variety of toys for children of all ages and interests – but not TOO many that the list would be overwhelming. The toys ranged from play sets for their littlest recipients, such as a baby fitness piano mat to a mini-scooter or books for children, to gifts for the tween and teens, typically one of the most challenging groups to shop for. These gifts included sports balls, winter hats, wireless speakers, a variety of board games, and more. A range of items a different prices also made it affordable to a wide range of budgets.
Selecting great toys is only half of the effort. In addition to the variety of toys on their drive, the Mayor’s Office did a great job publicizing their campaign. The positive publicity garnered by this toy drive contributed greatly to its success. The mayor made television appearances, encouraging his constituents to participate in the toy drive. There were articles in the local newspaper, stories on the television news, and postings on websites. The presence of the mayor and the consistency of the messages certainly made a difference. Below is an example of an article – scroll down in order to watch a Fox32 news story on the 2021 Mayor’s Annual Toy Fund Drive:
https://newsroom.ocfl.net/2021/11/2021-orange-county-mayors-toy-drive-ready-for-lift-off/
Need Help Launching a Toy Drive?
The holidays are quickly approaching! Looking for more sources of inspiration? Check out these other holiday donation drives below:
- Toys for Tots Toy Drive: https://www.roonga.com/9fcorange
- Robin Hood’s Gift Card Drive: https://www.roonga.com/robinhoodgiftcard
- United Way of the Piedmont’s Winter Warmth Drive: https://www.roonga.com/winterwarmthuwp
If you would like to learn more about how to organize a toy drive, reach out to us at hello@roonga.com. Happy planning!