by Loretta M. DeLuca, CEO, DelCor (Silver Spring, MD)
DelCor started the .org Community Food Drive nine years ago because we wanted to increase our community impact. That first year, we collected a ton of food.
Last year, our 8th, we decided to give our participants another way to support the Capital Area Food Bank. Many of our association partners work downtown and aren’t comfortable lugging food on the Metro. So, we accepted monetary donations to the food bank – and increased our collection to nearly 14 tons.
Heading into this year, our 9th, we were looking for additional ways to give, and our timing was incredibly fortuitous. With the tireless help of Food Resources Coordinator Molly McGlinchy, we launched our first “virtual” food drive – in fact, the food bank’s first – to complement our existing food and monetary donations.
The results were absolutely astounding.
For the second year in a row, we experienced a 68 percent increase in donations. The online contributions alone netted nearly 12 tons – nearly half of our 23-ton haul this year! In nine years, we’ve collected nearly 60 tons of food to help feed our neighbors throughout the region.
More than half of the 38 organizations participating in our 9th Annual .org Community Food Drive used the online donation tool to increase their collections. One contributor summed it up nicely:
“The online system made it easy. I had no idea each dollar could provide so many meals! I guess it makes sense though. I just gave money since the people who know how to make it stretch further are the experts and they can feed far more than my bag of groceries ever could.”
It really is true. A pound of food equals one meal. But a dollar – whether given in person or online – equals three meals. In the two years we’ve accepted monetary donations to the food bank through our food drive, we’ve nearly tripled our impact. That’s due largely to the ability to give online.
Still, we recognize that the act of selecting, purchasing, and even lugging food donations is very important to some. The physical act of giving can be especially meaningful. It’s important for us to include and appreciate everyone who gives, however they give, because it’s only all together that we are able to make so much difference to the food bank and the hundreds of thousands of people they serve. We are humbled to contribute each year through our drive.
There are so many ways to support the food bank, and we embrace them all. We are glad to continue our support, and to extend it through the new online tools (especially since we’re a technology company). If you’re thinking about running your own food drive, give it a try and increase your impact, too!
Are you interested in coordinating a food drive, but don’t have the time? Try a virtual food drive! This fast, easy, fun (and environmentally friendly) alternative to traditional food drives is now available! If you are interested, please click here for more information!