Yarn Stores: Potential Charity Project Sponsors
How to approach your local yarn stores for help
Yarn stores are, and have been, huge supporters of community knitting and charity knitting projects. If you are a volunteer for charity knitting projects, and you have local yarn stores, you might want to approach them for their sponsorship or support.
APPROACHING LOCAL YARN STORES
Before you approach your local yarn stores, here are five pointers:
1. Be prepared before you go, with written background materials, brochures, photos, etc., of the charity project you're involved with. In a recent pitch to a local yarn store, I brought brochures from the non-profit association I was with, and a photo of a local minister accepting the knitted blankets we donated to his homeless facility.
2. Have a specific request in mind (and the reason you're requesting it) when you visit local yarn stores - for example, you might be happy to have donations of yarn and/or needles, or you might specifically want cash. Whatever you decide, make sure you're clear on it before you get there. On behalf of the organization making blankets for the homeless, I was simply looking for a storage space where we could store donations, and where knitters could drop them off.
3. Make an appointment in advance with the owner, manager or marketing manager. (That way you don't have to practice your 'spiel' for nothing, if one of them isn't in when you show up unannounced). Besides, you're better off to be talking directly to someone who has decision-making clout.
4. Know what you'll 'give' the local yarn stores in exchange for their support - whether it's advertising or public exposure of some other kind, most local yarn stores (rightfully) will be asking 'What's in it for me?' I was able to offer 'decal'-sized ads on our local charity knitters' website, which was getting lots of traffic.
5. Follow up with a thank-you card to any local yarn stores which do support your cause! If you need their ongoing support this is great 'PR,' or if you think you'll only need them once, they'll remember you fondly if you ever need to ask again.
Local yarn stores are often a great support for local knitters - you just need to know how to ask!