Many nonprofit organizations find recycled inkjet cartridge fundraising to be a simple and lucrative way to raise money. Since ink jet printers are common in homes and offices, it's not difficult to find donors to share their empty cartridges with a nonprofit organization. After all, it's easy for anyone to recognize the benefit of recycling these plastic containers rather than allowing them to end up in landfills.
About Recycled Inkjet Cartridge Fundraising
If you choose to start an inkjet fundraiser, you'll need to put together a committee to manage the program. Committee members will need to be responsible for promoting the fundraiser, recruiting individuals and businesses to participate on an ongoing basis, and tracking the success of the program.
The key to getting people to participate with your inkjet recycling program is to make it easy for them to participate and to convince them of the value in doing so. Start out by soliciting support from your agency's employees, volunteers, donors, and then begin approaching other individuals and business throughout the community to request their assistance.
Make sure the people you are asking to help know that you aren't asking them for money, but that you are simply requesting that they help by recycling items that they would otherwise throw away. If participating is simple, it's likely that you'll be able to find plenty of people who are willing to contribute. If it is difficult or cumbersome in any way, however, your efforts at securing and keeping long term recycling program participants are not likely to be successful.
Consider the fact that people won't want to be placed in a situation where they have to store empty cartridges for a period of time before they can be donated to your organization. If that happens, they're likely to get frustrated and throw out the items before they can be recycled. It's up to you to set up your recycling fundraiser so that people are able to turn in cartridges for recycling in small quantities and in a manner that is convenient to them.
Once you have secured participants, you'll need to start tracking the success of the program and sharing the impact with the people who are saving printer cartridges on your behalf. Simply pay attention to the statistics provided by the company that is accepting the cartridges to that you are aware of how many cartridges you are collecting and how much money your charity is bringing in. When people know their efforts are making a positive impact, they are much more likely to continue to participate and to refer other potential participants to you as well.
Choosing an Inkjet Recycling Company
There are several companies you can choose among if you are interested in starting a recycled inkjet cartridge fundraising program. While many of the available programs are similar, they are certainly not identical. Carefully review the available options so that you can choose the one that is likely to be the most lucrative for your particular organization.
When selecting a company to work with, there are several factors you need to consider. Ideally, you want to choose a recycling provider that offers as many options as possible. First, look for an organization that provides prepaid shipping labels or envelopes at no cost to your organization and that is willing to accept small shipments of ink cartridges. This will allow you to make it easy for donors to ship cartridges on your behalf without hassle.
Ease of shipping is not the only important program detail to review. It's also important to consider what types of restrictions are placed on the recycling program. For example, some companies accept only certain types of cartridges. Others require that cartridges be collected and shipped in bulk. If you do not have much storage space and it would be better for you to allow participants to ship their own cartridges rather than having to deliver them to you, this type of program is not likely to be your best option.
Additionally, look closely at the financial aspects of each program before making a final decision. Some companies pay for cartridges as they are received, regardless of the amount due. Typically, these companies compensate participating organizations via PayPal. Others only make payment once a certain threshold has been reached, by either check or PayPal. Some companies don't pay in cash, instead providing points that can be redeemed for merchandise.
Recycling Companies to Consider
Some of the businesses you may want to evaluate if you are planning to start a recycled inkjet cartridge fundraising program include:
