You won't get anything for free, or at a discount, unless you ask. Businesses want their generosity to be publicized, so be sure to acknowledge their gifts in your newsletter and annual report, at your benefit events, in your news releases, and any other way you can. Like challenge grants, in-kind contributions are another opportunity to show community support for your work. Many funding agencies will allow you to use in-kind donations to fulfill a percentage of your matching grant requirements. Appropriate non-cash contributions can include outside gifts, such as free consulting services, or donations from within your organization, like supervisory staff time not funded by grant money.
Most groups do a poor job keeping track of their non-cash gifts.
If you take time to itemize and tally the value of all in-kind donations, your group will benefit in several ways. By putting a cash value on these contributions, you will impress your members, donors, and foundation prospects. This, in turn, will help you secure additional in-kind gifts, cash donations, and grants. Volunteers are often taken for granted. Most of us immediately understand the value of donated legal fees or accounting support, but the people who stuff envelopes are worth a lot, too.