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Frequently Asked Questions

Following are common questions asked by organizations about the donation drive process.

I want to organize a fundraiser. How do I get started?

We have great tools that can guide you through the entire process, from identifying how many donations you’ll need, to how-to suggestions on advertising your donation drive. A great place to start is our three-step process guide.

What promotional tools do you provide?

We have a number of great tools that you can customize to help ensure you achieve your goals. They include flyers, posters, and templates for emails, Twitter and Facebook. Once you schedule your first drive, you will have access to these tools.

How many donations will we need to reach our fundraising goal?

It’s easier to think about the number of bags you’ll need rather than the actual number of donations. Click here to see how many bags of donations you’ll need to reach your goal.

What is accepted during the donation drive?

We accept gently-used clothing, linens, jewelry, shoes, accessories (such as belts and purses), and small household goods.

Do we need to drop off donations or can you pick them up? Does this cost anything?

We recommend that you pre-collect donations and store them in a garage or other facility. On your event date, you can have team captains deliver the items to the store. We find that this option typically works best because it is more convenient for your donors to drop off their items at a more familiar location over a few weeks, rather than on one day at the store. You also have the opportunity to track your donations and share the progress with your team. Rental truck reimbursement is available for drop-offs meeting minimal requirements. You may also want to check with members of your group to see if they know of anyone with a box truck or folks with large SUVs who can deliver the items to the store in one big delivery.

Can we bring in donations multiple times before the event date?

Drop-off dates must be mutually agreed upon. Please reach out to your donation manager if you anticipate needing more than one drop-off date.

Can we store the donations at your location?

Unfortunately we don’t have the space to provide storage while you’re collecting your donations. However, we do have some suggestions that have been successful for other organizations:

Schools and Churches: Utilize dedicated space in the gymnasium, activity center or cafeteria. This is a great way to visually share how the pounds are growing! On the selected drop-off day have a caravan of trucks, cars and vans load up and drop off at the store.
Boy Scouts: Leaders and parents use their garages to store product and deliver on the drop off day.
Other methods:

Send an email to neighborhoods asking people to place their donation bags at the end of their driveways on a certain day and time. The organization then enlists volunteers to pick up the donations on the specified date and time.
Contact a storage company and ask for a “donation” of a storage unit for a set period of time.

Do you provide a tax receipt? (U.S. only)

Yes, customizable tax receipts are included in our toolkit; however, it is the responsibility of the fundraising group to distribute them to their donors.

Why do we have to sign an agreement and provide you with a W-9 (U.S. only)?

The agreement is to ensure all the details of our partnership are communicated clearly. The W-9 is necessary for Savers/Value Village to fulfill our federal end-of-year tax reporting requirements.

When will we receive payment for the donation drive?

Generally, payment will be made to the organization within 2-4 weeks after an event. Questions about the status of your payment can be directed to your primary contact.

Do you have additional program guidelines?

Yes. Click here to read the FUNDrive Philosophy Statement and Guidelines.

What if I still have questions?

We’re happy to help! Send us a note using the Contact form and you’ll hear from us soon.