Holding a bottle drive is an excellent way to raise money for your cause or non-profit organization. There are many people who prefer to skip the task of going to the bottle depot and are happy to give you their bottles to return and collect their refunds as a donation. Every home has empty drink containers of some kind, so it’s very likely that you’ll find donors as well.
When planning a bottle drive, whether it’s for the first time or you’re a seasoned pro at it, you’ll find that the support available from your local bottle depot will be invaluable to make it a success.
When Can You Hold A Bottle Drive?
A bottle drive can be held any time that is convenient for you and your volunteers, be there are certain times that will be more successful than others. Here are some common times to avoid:
- When the weather is expected to be very cold or very hot.
- During holidays that are common for traveling or family dinners (ie. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Canada Day). It is usually best to plan for right before or after these holidays since most people will have an influx of empty bottles and cans or will be trying to clean up before they have guests.
- During major school breaks such as spring break.
- Stampede. It’s a great time to plan for the week or two after Stampede wraps up.
Any time is a good time to hold a bottle drive, but you will be the most successful if you time it when most people are home and not entertaining.
How Much Money Does A Bottle Drive Usually Make?
The average bottle drive raises between $1000-$2000, though this amount can be greatly influenced by the size of the area you are covering, the number of volunteers you have and how prepared you are in advance.
Happy Can Bottle Depot is here to help you plan a successful bottle drive. Please read the information below and contact us with any questions you may have. We’re here to help!
How To Plan A Successful Bottle Drive
As mentioned above, the key to a successful bottle drive is planning ahead. Here are the most important things to consider:
- Choose a date that is convenient for your donors and volunteers.
- Determine the area you will collect bottles from.
- Map out your drop locations.
- Schedule the day to ensure the most efficient use of your volunteers’ time.
- How will you transport the bottles and cans collected to the bottle depot? (We can help!)
Once you have this information sorted out, you want to ensure that your supporters know about your bottle drive. Make a poster that you can print and distribute. It’s a good idea to go door to door ahead of your bottle drive to ask people to prepare their donations. You should also provide instructions on how to leave their donations for you, and alternate options such as dropping them off at your drop locations. Share these details in your newsletters, community bulletins and on social media as well.
Be sure to let people know What To Recycle so they can provide you all of the refundable empties they have, and none of the items that you cannot accept.
Ways Your Local Bottle Depot Can Help
As part of this planning process, it’s important to contact the bottle depot you will return the empty drink containers to. They can help you with poster templates including what to say on them and equipment you will need such as bag racks and large bins to collect the containers into. Some bottle depots like ours will also provide pick up options using a large cube van which allows for more bottles and cans to be taken to the bottle depot for counting at one time.
Another tip is that some bottle depots, including Happy Can Bottle Depot, offer an online bottle drive as well. This means you can register with us to receive donations all year round. Your supporters can request that their refunds be designated to you as a donation and we will provide those funds to you at regular intervals.
One of the most successful bottle drive approaches is to use the in-person drives to gather interest and build relationships with your supporters. Then you can inform them that they can continue to donate to your cause or organization all year. Dropping off a note as you do your bottle pick ups is a great way to share this information. You can also include it in newsletters and on social media to keep this top of mind as they need to return empty drink containers.
Contact us today to find out more information about how we can support your fundraising efforts with various bottle drive support options.
