T-Shirts to the Rescue: How Branded Tees Helps This Charity Spread the Love

With your annual fundraising event just around the corner, you need maximum exposure to ensure a large turnout, and turn crowds into donors. There's no shortage of advertising and marketing options out there, from TV and radio commercials to social media and eBlasts. But as with all not-for-profits, your budget is tight, and you need to maximize "bang-for-your-buck." Unfortunately, direct mailing is extremely expensive, social media campaigns may not reach your targeted audience (or reach only people in your existing network), and TV technology is allowing viewers to fast forward through commercials.

What if, however, you had hundreds of billboards, not sitting passively on the side of a road, but moving through crowded public spaces, exposing your logo and sharing your message with thousands of people who may have not previously known about your charity? What if these billboards cost a fraction of what you'd pay for other marketing assets? Would you be interested? If the answer is yes, then your charity should consider branded T-shirts and other wearables.

As Cameron Herold, the former CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? writes in this article, T-shirts are essentially "walking billboards" that are "...cheap, effective and create a tribe of devoted fans and employees who become brand ambassadors…"

Conversation Starters

Herold adds that shirts, hats, and jackets start conversations, attract talent, and are always working.

But can branded wearables offer the same benefits to a not-for-profit? NonProfitPro calls them a "secret weapon," citing a study that shows "...85% of promotional-product recipients remember the name of the advertiser that provided the item, and that consumers prefer promotional products over all other forms of advertising—including Internet, mobile and television ads. It also found that 52% of recipients had a more favorable opinion of the advertiser after receiving an item."

Now that we've established the effectiveness of promotional wearables, what print shop can be counted on to provide fast turnaround while getting orders perfect, every time? According to Community Living Toronto, the answer is TorontoTees!

Community Living Toronto is a local charity that “support thousands of individuals with an intellectual disability searching for accessible and meaningful ways to live in the community.”

Several years ago, the organization needed 100 T-shirts for their "Annual Day at Duncan’s Farm,” an event to benefit disabled children. T-shirts are integral because the event features an oil painting competition, contested by disabled children from the area. Participants pick their favorite, and the winning painting is featured on next year's event T-shirt as a prize. The T-shirts themselves are used as giveaways for people who donate to the charity, as well as event participants.

Unfortunately, another print shop made a mistake with the order processing, leaving the Community Living Toronto with no shirts two days before the event. While other shops refused to take on the last minute order, Toronto Tees accepted the challenge and has been providing shirts to the Farm Day event since.

In addition to great service, Community Living Toronto loves that TorontoTees often waives bulk order fees charged to non-charity organizations. “Best t-shirt to date!" said event organizers about the 2017 version. "They looked amazing!"