Cell Phone Collection Ideas
With over thousands of participating organizations in the Shelter Alliance program, we can't avoid hearing about the many creative ways to collect used cell phones. We are certain that you will also develop new collection ideas and we hope that you will share these strategies with us. In our experience, the difference in the effort invested in a very successful collection and a not very successful one is negligible, yet the disparity in the net result ($1,500 vs. $150) could be tremendous.
We encourage you to utilize your resources in the best way that you see fit, and we also encourage you to be as creative as possible in your collection strategy. After all, you certainly know your territory and the people in your community better than we do. But the one thing that makes a difference between success and failure, in our opinion, is the level of participation from all of the members of your organization in one common goal: To raise funds through the collection of used cell phones.
Most importantly, this fundraising program does not conflict or take away from other concurrent fundraising activities. After all, all that is asked of your community is to hand over their old, used cell phones.
We know that you will come up with new ideas. Please tell us about them so that we can share them with the other participants throughout the country.
Recommended Steps |
| 1 |
ADOPT THE PROGRAM
Adoption of the Shelter Alliance program as an alternative source for raising funds by your organization is essential in order to be successful. We recommend that your decision to adopt an ongoing "cell phone collection" be communicated to every employee through the message board, employee newsletter, etc. |
| 2. |
APPOINT A COORDINATOR
Now that you have an exact idea of what you want to accomplish it is important to appoint someone to coordinate all of the efforts and to review all of the various collection ideas that will be presented by other members of your organization. This responsibility of the "cell phone collection coordinator" requires between two to eight hours per week depending on the population density of your location and your pre-determined goals. |
| 3. |
PLACE DROP BOXES AROUND THE COMMUNITY
The use of collection boxes at locations where people go repeatedly is a recommended strategy. Examples: banks, barber shops, beauty salons, churches, coffee shops, grocery, libraries, hospitals, gas stations, restaurants, etc. |
| 4. |
CONTACT LOCAL BUSINESSES & ORGANIZATIONS
Local businesses and organizations can play a vital role in the success of your collection. Many of our participants direct local businesses to our Cell Phone Donations section of this website. Under this program, your local community members can ship cell phones DIRECTLY TO SHELTER ALLIANCE ON YOUR BEHALF (and you will receive payment within two weeks.)
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Shelter Alliance also offers “letter templates” for you to contact businesses directly. You can either download the above “Letter to Local Businesses and Organizations” or contact Shelter Alliance for “ready-to-mail” packages. Please call us at 866-744-1003 for more details. |
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UTILIZE OUR “COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS” PROGRAM.
Many students are willing to collect cell phones for their graduation/merit community service projects. We encourage our participants to enlist these local students for help with these efforts. You can simply refer students to the community service section of this website, where they will establish an account directly with Shelter Alliance. All phones collected by your student “helpers” will be shipped directly to Shelter Alliance by the student. You will receive a check directly from us, along with an acknowledgement of the student’s participation.
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| 6. |
CONTACT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The local chamber of commerce must be notified of your collection program. They will help you spread the word and offer convenient databases of corporations to contact. Feel free to use the “Letter to Chamber of Commerce” and “Press Release” document on this page as a template for your own public announcement. |
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CONTACT THE MEDIA
It is essential that the local media learns of your collection program. Many news organizations will offer free advertising in "community affairs" or "actionline" sections of their publications or shows. This communication can be handled easily using our sample “Press Release” template on this page. |
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