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offcuts 8 years, 5 months ago.
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I know (obviously!) that morsbags are free and that we can’t ask for donations. But as my pod is growing and we’re producing more bags, our kitty is becoming insufficient for our label needs, and I’ve started paying for things like cone holders, and another pod member bought some cones of thread.
One of my pod members handed out bags at a local market, then came and gave me £5, that a stallholder had spontaneously insisted on giving her as a donation to help us produce more bags – what do I do with this money?
I really don’t want to be approaching local organisations asking for sponsorship, it’s really not what I started making morsbags for and makes me feel really uncomfortable. I’m also getting a bit of pressure from pod members, asking me why if money is proffered as a donation to help us make more bags, we can’t take it and use it to buy labels?
I know I should have a “pre-recorded” answer to this question, but honestly I don’t really see a problem with accepting spontaneous gifts, like the £5, and buying labels, because the person who’s happy to have been given a bag is choosing to spread the love, by helping us buy labels to make more bags.
I know this is a grey area, and I’m sure there are pods that just take proffered money andbuy labels, as long as it’s not asked for etc – so what do we do now?
Isn’t there someone else in the pod who might be up for finding sponsorship? There is money out there. I am saying no to sponsors now because I am very loyal to our sponsors, the Lions who have sponsored 35 000 labels for us so far. We have had offers from Rotary but I passed them on to Pol in case they can help any other areas. With sponsors you do have to go in with your eyes open because I have had offers where there has been a catch like supplying bags. The Lions have never made any conditions except having their logo on the label. Sponsors sometimes don’t even want that and are happy to buy normal labels.
Another thing, did you know the supermarkets have money available collected from their plastic bag charges which goes to environmental organisations. We heard that this is allocated at the end of the year.There is more info here
The main reason that we in Leics don’t accept donations is to do with the word of mouth/growth thing. If someone has a free morsbag we hope they will tell all their friends, family, people on the bus, supermarket queues that they had a free bag, and hopefully they will check the website, facebook, donate fabric, make bags etc. If they have given a donation I’m not sure this will happen.
The other reason is we are actually asking for free fabric donations which can be worth hundreds of pounds. I source fabric for Trusty Bags and they make about 200 morsbags per week and need 100 metres per week. They pay for their own labels.
However every pod is different and others might think differently. I also think giving a money donation is a bit of a cop out. People need to think about paying forward in kind, why we are making free bags, etc. Anyway thats me!
What does everyone else think?
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