NEADS clients have always shown great dedication and commitment to fundraising for the organization, and often clients come up with amazingly creative, and unique, ideas that help them get to that seemingly elusive fundraising goal.

This month I’d like to share with you an idea that has not only helped several clients reach their fundraising goals this year, but helps the environment at the same time – recycle drives.

Organizing a can, bottle, or other recyclable material drive is an excellent way to bring in funds toward your fundraising campaign.  There are a couple of ways that you can run one of these drives.

Organize it yourself:

• Ask people to deliver their recyclable items to you. You can collect them over time and then drop them off at a local recycle center when you have a big batch.
• Offer to pick up recyclables from people’s homes yourself. You could also have a friend, family member, or neighbor do this for you.  Enlisting other people’s help is always a good idea.

Connect with a company that will provide assistance:

• Though there are many types of recycling fundraiser options, one of the most lucrative is ink cartridge recycling.  Below are links to some popular ink cartridge recycling companies.  Some also recycle other materials.  They may provide you with collection receptacle boxes that you can place in local businesses, office buildings, and business parks.

No matter how you choose to run your drive, you’ll want to put some thought into how you’re going to let people know about it.  Take a look at the Cram the Van flyer created by our own Sheila Harrington.  Sheila has had great results from her recycle drives.  Diane Bertolino, another NEADS client fundraiser, hung flyers around her town in grocery stores, post offices and local shops.  Diane says that she has been using bottle and can drives for many years to fundraise for lots of different organizations.  Sheila and Diane have both surpassed their fundraising goals, partly because of their very successful recycle drives.

Planet Green Recycle

Funding Factory

Empties 4 Cash

Recycling Fundraiser