Posts tagged as:

group donation

Football Party? Give Back, Everyone Wins!

by inlu blog patrol on January 31, 2011

Are you ready for some football? Heck yeah? Make it a super duper Super Bowl party by giving back to a cause!

Why not use those hours in front of the tube, eating chips and having fun for the greater good? Not that having fun isn’t a goal in itself (or should I say field goal…buddum-ching) but by giving back, everyone wins, no matter the final score. Send out an Inlu invitation and all your guests donations will be pooled together and sent in one sum. Score! You don’t have to collect checks and your guests can pitch in online. Done.

Wondering what to collect for? You could ask friends to pitch in and bring a can for the local food shelf. You could give as a group to a local community center where kids come together to play and be safe.

You can even give back to a football camp or nonprofit, like the ones below. If you’re a football enthusiast, this is a waaay cool way to party on with a cause in mind. Check out these charities or search for one in your area–> Kids and Pros or the Bayless Foundation

Other kickin’ ideas:

Group gift for the host & hostess: Fleming Jenkins 2007 Madden Ranch Syrah – with grapes from John Madden’s vineyards!

Treats for the Munchkins: Betty Crocker Brownies – Yummy.

For the ladies in the room, check out these (over age 21) temptations.

the TOUCHDOWN!

Classic Snack Attack: Chex Party Mix!

For a fabulous list of healthy but delicious options, visit Easting Well’s 25 Super Bowl recipes to make your game-day party delicious and healthier

Think it’s a cool idea?

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Big Lessons from a Little Gift Receipt

by inlu blog patrol on January 20, 2011

Ok, so I’m cleaning out my wallet and find a receipt from a birthday party my 5 year old daughter attended.  We had no idea what to give the birthday girl, but knew she loved princesses.  So, we do the mad dash to Kmart to pick up a grab-and-go gift… my daughter insists on getting a princess Barbie.  (She LOVES princess Barbies and so do her friends.)   Oh, and a gift bag… and a bow, because as usual, I’m running late and have to go from store to party.  Sound familiar?

So, lets have some fun with the math shall we? (This is one wild word problem. Stick with it! You’ll appreciate it, seriously.)
Above is the actual gift receipft from that party.

Check it out:

Gift = $10.99
Gift Bag = $1.89
Bow = $1.99
Total = $14.87

(26% of the expense was for the gift wrap)

Now, that was just our ONE single gift.  But at the party, there were 10 kids there who probably spent about the same.

Gift =  $109.90                        Wrap = $38.80

And that was just one party.  Surely there were at least 10 birthday parties across Vermont that day?

Gift = $1,099.00                        Wrap = $388.00

And surely if there were that many in Vermont, then there would have been that many in all the other 49 states, right?

Gift = $54,950.00                          Wrap = $19,400.00

Oh, and that’s just in one weekend.  Surely there must be just as many birthday parties in the other 51 weekends in the year, right?

Gift = $2,857,400.00                        Wrap =  $1,008,800.00

Oh, and that princess Barbie we bought?  Yeah… she already had that one.

So, we have as many as 260,000 princess Barbies… that yeah… they may already have.

Now picture this.

What if these party hosts use Inlu to let everyone know what’s really wanted? Imagine if everyone pitches in their contribution to a snazzy $100 gift (like maybe the princess Barbie castle to go with? ) in lieu of ten, $10 gifts (that yeah… she probably already has). It would reduce the sheer number of “things” without touching the feel good effects of giving and receiving something awesome.

And gee, in lieu of $1,008,800.00 spent on wrapping paper and bows, maybe they ask guests to pitch in for charities too.   Pretty cool to pitch in for wanted (and not currently owned) gifts, and over one million dollars go to benefit charities across the country, right?

Finally, lets expand this a bit, shall we?  This is not just about kids birthday gifts.  Every week across the US there are adults having celebrations for their special birthdays, baby showers for moms having number 2,3, even 4, and there are wedding showers for folks who don’t need more flatware.  There are all kinds of events happening every week where the old school grab-a-gift occurs.

So for the sake of argument, lets say that for every kid’s birthday party, there are two other gift generating parties every weekend, right?

Gift =  $8,572,200.00                                    Wrap =  $3,026,400.00

Wouldn’t if feel awesome if we (you, your friends and family, and us) all worked together to send over $3million in what would have gone to wrapping so many small gifts, instead to charitable organizations that really need the support? And to know that the gift recipients all got what they really wanted?  Awesome.

Having slight math geek tendencies, we ponder these calculations everyday.  It’s what keeps us going and determined to provide people with a smarter way to be the perfect party host…So that maybe, in lieu of a quarter of a million receipts looking like this… (for gifts they already have…) maybe people will give Inlu a try.

Be a host/hostess hero – make gifting easy for everyone, save the world, and make that special someone very very happy.

Post byMonica, aka Shoulderpads

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Birthday Idea: Harry Potter Theme Party for a Cause

by inlu blog patrol on November 16, 2010

….This is a big week for Harry Potter fans! To celebrate, we have a do-good birthday party idea.

For the party, let friends know it’s a Harry Potter theme and you’ll be going to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! If you’re up for the full theme experience, there are lots of simple or elaborate and crafty ideas on the web or you can try making your own magic wands with sticks, creating pipe-cleaner glasses, or making Hedwig Owls from cotton and craft supplies.

Sound like fun?

Simply create an Inlu Invitation. Include details and suggest, that in lieu of gifts, friends pitch in to save the spotted owl or any other kid-friendly cause. (SEE THE SAMPLE HERE).

Like that idea? Get started!

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Etiquette, a la Inlu (Part 3-of-5)

by inlu blog patrol on November 12, 2010

Monica chats etiquette surrounding asking friends to pitch in for a group gift or donation.

To get up to speed, visit previous posts #1 and #2. Don’t feel like clicking back in time? No prob…start right here!

Etiquette FAQ:

What if my guests want to contribute to an Inlu but don’t have credit cards or don’t want to pay online?

It is always a good idea to include the option to send funds via check, especially when you are using Inlu to raise funds from a larger group (like an entire classroom or school fundraising effort). Inlu contributions are always optional- guests can still RSVP even if they are not comfortable pitching in online. The goal of using Inlu to collect contributions for gifts and donations is to ultimately make life easier. By offering both online and in-the-mail options, your guests can decide however they’d like to participate.

CHECK OUT A PTO SAMPLE

For example, your Inlu message could read something like this:

“We’re hoping families can pitch in to raise funds for the field trip fund.  On average, the school spends about $50 per student across the year.  Whatever you can contribute – whether its $5 or $50 – to support this would be very much appreciated.

You can pitch in online with a credit card by clicking the “contribute” button, or if you would prefer to send a check please make it out to “School PTO” and send it in with your student.  Thank you.”

Again, the most important thing is to keep everyone informed of the Inlu goal and the various ways to participate– this will make everyone feel welcome!

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Inlu Explained (Like Totally)

by inlu blog patrol on October 11, 2010

Ok, so many people have asked “how did you come up with the idea for inlu.com?” and we say, well, it kind of found us. As busy moms we found ourselves in a trap. A trap that felt something like this:

TRAP 1: Receive invitation to party. Forget to RSVP on time. Run around at the last minute. Buy some plastic thing “just because.” Spend $5 on wrapping paper, bow and card. Add gift to pile. REPEAT.

Then, the roles would flip-flop and the trap would feel like this:

TRAP 2: Plan kids birthday party (or holiday party or mother’s bday or husband’s party or offce party, etc). Invite 20 friends. Prepare for 20 gifts to pile up. Get stressed over too much stuff. Feel bad throwing away all wrapping paper, bows and excess packaging etc. REPEAT.

The cycle had us caught in both directions! One day we decided to try and change that.

We thought, dang, if we created an invitation service that let you RSVP, contribute and leave a note on the spot, we’d make life SO much easier for everyone.

Plus, we thought that $5/per gift on wrapping paper (x20 people @$100 in wasted money) would surely be useful elsewhere- to a cause, charity or community effort. We wanted to offer an easier way that didn’t lose any of the meaningful experience. So, that’s how it started and here’s our low budget lowdown of what we do and how we got the idea:

If you could use some comedic timing, do not hesitate to see our investor pitch outtakes. This video is like, waaay stupid.

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