When you should say “Yes”, “No”, and “Maybe”

by National Santa™ Tim Connaghan

This article is about Charitable and Non-Profit events and how to handle them.  It includes some information on how to decide if the event is something to donate your time to, or something where you should get paid.

Every Santa and Mrs. Claus, that I know, gives or donates their time to local charities.  Some have even chosen to do only charitable work, and for this they deserve our utmost respect, and admiration.

However, the rest of us do have to work, and often cannot afford to donate our services to some of the non-profit groups that call. 

Many of us started with donating our time to be Santa for a child or grandchild’s school.  Maybe someone at our church invited us to appear.  And, maybe it was a neighbor or two. 

And then, there are the charities that we are personally connected to.

Throughout the year we are also approached by people who see us and ask us to donate.  How often has someone approached you, while you were shopping or dining, and asked, “Are you a Santa?”   

They then immediately add, “I teach first grade at the local school.  Could you come and visit the children?”  And of course, they are assuming that your services are free.

You may also, sometime, be contacted by a company, asking you to appear, or spend a day, at a media event, community promotion or toy drive in support of a well-known charity.    And they too, want your services for free.

But, how do you decide which events are truly charitable and which events should be a paid appearance?

Here are a variety of scenarios and my suggestions on how you might handle them:

• If the request is for a special medically related visit, Make-a-wish, Children’s Hospital, etc., I generally consider this a charitable event and will try to appear for them.  This often can easily be scheduled as generally you can control the day and time of your visit.  And you can schedule it before, after or in-between your other paid events.

I have quite a few of these on my calendar.  These are the events that tug at your heart-strings and remind us what it is all about.

Should I not be available to appear, I try to locate or find a fellow Santa and/or Mrs. Claus to appear  

• If the charitable event is totally managed by the non-profit organization, and it is not a major fund raiser, but rather a social event for the children and families, I consider it a likely charitable event that I could possibly do.  And if I am not available, I may tell the client that I will try to locate another Santa and/or Mrs. Claus for them. 

And, since I do have to pay for gas, liability insurance (yes you should have liability insurance even for charitable events), and cleaning my wardrobe, I may ask for a small stipend.  Often a charity will have a small budget.

(Note:   You cannot deduct the value of your appearance.  However, you can deduct any costs you incur in appearing at an event.  This can include, travel costs, dry cleaning, the costs of items you give away, etc.)

• If the event is a fund raiser, or a media event, to promote donations, or possibly the event is on a peak day, like weekends, or in the evenings, then I will consider the event, but usually will ask for a fee and maybe I will offer a discount.  Once in a while I really like the event and I may only ask for a stipend to cover my appearance.
  

• If the event is for a non-profit school or a paid day-care facility and the visit is just for the children and/or families, I do not always consider it a charitable event, even though most schools come under the category of non-profits.   For these events, I generally find that the PTA or PTO have social funds for parties. And, in these cases, I feel the I should be paid.  

Some Santas, have set up special, minimum, two or three-hour packages for a discounted rate, (25% to 50% off) if done weekday mornings (These are usually time slots when you have no work.)

• I recommend that you handle your charitable visits in a very business-like manner.  Send them some form of invoice or agreement, detailing the time, location, what you will be doing and, most importantly, the rate you would normally charge for an event like this.  As this is just a donation, I recommend using your highest rate. 

Doing this accomplishes two things. 

First, the client or charity immediately knows your prime value.  You are not a “0” or no value. You want them to know that you are as valuable as an attorney or other professional.

This will also give any of the donors or others attending the event, information on what you would charge for a regular event.  Sometimes doing a charitable event will lead to some paid bookings.

Secondly, your invoice will be used by the charity to include in their annual reports for “in-kind services” or donations other than money.

The first group, on my list of charities and non-profit groups, are generally Make-a-Wish, Toys for Tots, Wounded Warriors, Military units and Rehabilitation facilities. 

Next comes other non-profits that may have some budget, but still would like a donation.  These include Schools, Churches and Non-profit Employee events, i.e., Hospital Employee dinners, etc.

And the last group is the For-Profit companies and Corporations that are hosting media events, or sales promotions that sell products and promote their company and, in the end, may benefit a charity.  This last group should be a “Paid” event, but they are asking for a donation.

If the event is a major fund raiser sponsored by a company or corporation, it should be a paid event for Santa.  These events include: gala $$$$-per-plate dinners, with entertainment and dancing; Concerts; and community events or media events where the key element or attraction is Santa’s appearance. 

These are sponsored by corporations or companies and are where the company gets lots of publicity and promotes or sells their products.  Often, they collect toys or donate some of the sales to the charity.

This should be a paid job. Unless it is your favorite charity, and you wish to donate your time.  Otherwise, in this case, I charge my normal fees.

There is a simple phrase you should remember when a company is asking you to donate. It was told to me by Mary Faktor, an entertainment talent agent, who attended one of my schools.  She said, “If Money is to be Made . . . The Talent gets Paid!”

If I cannot handle the event, or if the person requesting is strongly asking for a donation, even though it should be a paid event, I direct them to a special web site. 

It was set up to help connect Charities and Non-Profits, requesting a donated appearance, to Santas and Mrs. Claus.  It contains some instructions and guidelines for the client requesting a visit or appearance from Santa.

Now, should someone ask you to donate your time and you are not available, but think they could use some help, refer them to www.SantaCares.US .

This is also a good web site to refer those individuals who are just trying to save money and get a Santa to donate, instead of paying for the work.  It can save you a lot of headaches and even if you can’t or do not want to do the job, it will make you look like a nice person for referring them to the site.

Good Luck in your charitable work.