Be the nonprofit known for the best auction items

Aka: "How to get in-kind donations you can actually use"

As a young nonprofiteer, Hanna Yang encountered her share of closed doors as she went from business to business asking for corporate donations in the form of gift cards, food, or auction and raffle items. In Hannah's words,

"You'd go to Chipotle, and they'd be like, 'Come back in three hours, our general manager isn't here.' You come back in three hours and they're like, 'He just left 15 minutes ago. Come back tomorrow.'"

Fast forward many years, and Hannah's the Founder and CEO of TheShareWay, a nationwide directory of companies that donate gift cards, food and drink, and raffle and auction items to nonprofits and schools.

As nonprofiteers, we all know how crucial events are to fundraising, and that for many event attendees, the swag, food, and prizes are a big reason to take time out to show up. But how do you break out of the boring donation rut?

In this conversation with Funraise CEO and Co-founder Justin Wheeler, Hannah shares some of TheShareWay's most interesting secrets, like where to look for new donation ideas, how to build can't-miss auction packages, and the importance of timing in making your in-kind ask.