Requesting money for retirement gifts is one task that some member of the workplace needs to take responsibility for. If this onus in on you, you’re probably wondering how to go about it. Getting all your co-workers to contribute towards a common gift for their outgoing colleague is always a great idea. That’s because, you can defray the total cost of the gift and get a better retirement present for him. However, that doesn’t make asking your coworkers for money to buy the retirement gifts any easier!
The following are a few suggestions for how to raise money for your retirement gifts.
Requesting Money for Retirement Gifts Tip - Set a Contribution Amount
For starters, you may decide that there’s a simple donation amount that you’ll be requiring from everyone. This is usually a great place to start. Because you can ensure that everyone will donate equally to the retirement gift. This also helps to prevent uncomfortable conversations. Everyone knows what size donation is expected of them.
Chances are many people are already concerned about buying retirement gifts on their own. That's because nobody wants to be ‘out gifted.’ And nobody wants to seem like a cheapskate for setting a price limit. Everyone is also confounded by what to buy. Contributing a basic amount will prove to be a simple solution that everyone will be relieved to accept.
When collecting and requesting money for retirement gifts, you’ll need to keep track of who has given you their donation and who hasn’t. Be prepared to track down last-minute donations. Especially if your friends or coworkers aren’t a particularly timely bunch. Not everyone is comfortable asking their acquaintances to contribute retirement gift money. But, the retirement party or gift presentation is a group workplace event. This is where it can be helpful to have everyone chip in to purchase the retirement gift.
Requesting Money for Retirement Gifts Tip - Use Email or Text
How about if you could de-personalize the money raising process and use email or text? Email is great because it is matter-of-fact and you could also be anonymous. If you can set up a new email account with the sender “Committee on Retirement Gifts,” that would be even better. That’s because, it appears to the recipients that some faceless entity is telling them what to do. And, takes you personally out-of-the-loop.
You could also use an autoresponder to send a series of emails as reminders to those people who have not yet donated. Of course, you can also do the same manually. Each time someone gives their money for retirement gifts to be purchased, they come off the autoresponder list. That's so they do not get any further reminders. Most email systems have autoresponders built in. Or, there are plenty of other online sources.
Only, remember that people tend to be forgetful. And you might have to send reminders with “countdowns” at least once a week before the retirement party. Chances are you’ll receive the bulk of the contributions a day or two before you absolutely need to order the gift.
While you could accomplish the task of requesting money for the retirement gift using texts, there are a few downsides to the idea. It’s possible that you may not have everyone’s cell number, but you easily have their work email address. That makes emailing a better option. Secondly, you’ll be using your own phone and so remaining anonymous is impossible.
Set a Target Gift
It's possible you don’t want to set a fixed amount that everyone must contribute. In that case, work out a great gift idea, and let everyone know about the target amount you’re looking for. Say, for example, you pick out a bottle of vintage wine. And, you have it inscribed with the outgoing coworker’s name, date of entering the company, and date of retirement. Send out emails requesting money for the retirement gift. As you keep receiving the contributions, send out fresh emails. Let your colleagues know about the amount you already have and the balance you need. Let everyone contribute anonymously. You might feel that you’re running out of time and the retirement party is around the corner. So, ask your boss to chip in with the end amount needed.
Hold a Bake Sale or Some Other Fund Raising Activity
If you’re more interested in raising money for retirement gifts through other methods, you do have some options. First and foremost, you can begin by holding a bake sale or other similar fundraiser. In this case, everyone is getting something for the money they’ve put in. It isn’t the most altruistic idea, but it will get the money raised. You'll gather the necessary funds for the retiree’s gift. But also, to help defray the costs of the retirement party altogether. Let's hope, the employers is picking up the tab.
Work with the Party Committee
Of course, if your workplace already has a party committee, you may try working along with them. Figure out how to take care of requesting money for retirement gifts. The party committee will likely already have fundraising methods in place. And with your help, everyone can benefit from these methods. For both, the party and the retirement gifts for your outgoing coworker. In fact, you might make the suggestion that the employer contribute funds for the retirement gifts. That way you'll be getting off the hook for fundraising.
Retirement gifts can be some of the most confounding gifts to buy. Even more confounding is requesting money for the retirement gift. But remember that you may have to get a little creative when you’re trying to figure out how to collect the retirement gift money. You could go the simplest, most straightforward route of assigning a donation amount per person. Or, hold a bake sale and work with a party planning committee at your workplace. You’ll have to not only be creative – you’ll also have to be organized. Once you’ve got both of these skills down, you’re sure to be successful in raising the necessary money to buy and appropriate and personalized retirement gift.
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