Donations decision

megandjay

So I went back and forth on doing favors or a donation, and I finally thought of a really cute idea and just wanted to share it!
Last year we adopted a cat from the shelter, he was friendly but has a bum ear (bent and looked bitten). Well, we thought it just made him more special and named him Evander Holycat. The people at the shelter said they were glad we were taking him, no one else had wanted him due to the bum ear and he had been there two weeks already (I guess they keep cats for 3 weeks and then put them down if they don't get adopted). And it turns out that he is the sweetest most loving cat ever!
Anyway, my idea is to do a donation to the Animal Rescue league and put up a cute picture of him explaining why we chose that charity. I hope people will understand and not be disappointed at not getting a favor!

october010bride

Love the idea.. super adorable and personal.

Most of the time I find wedding favors pointless and doing a donation IMO is such an amazing way of making that money count for something.

melpfaff

That is cute! Love his name, too!

LoveAdopted

This is  what we are doing, and I have also heard LOTS of other people who have similar ideas/situations. We might split the donations between our local shelter/MSPCA and the American Cancer Society, haven't decided yet.

I don't know what we will do to let guests know about our donation, but I thought of making dog bone shaped cookies wrapped up with a note explaining the significance. Last year my boss' niece had a display of papers rolled and tied up like scrolls that told about their donation.

maria2009

That is a very cute idea. I also agree that donations are a much better choice because a lot of the wedding favors you get are pointless.  I'm thinking about making a donation to the ASPCA and they actually provide you with cards to place at the table for each guest.

I love your cat's name.

megandjay

Thanks girls! I also thought of donating to the American Cancer Society because I work with cancer patients, so it was a hard decision of which charity to choose.

I was thinking of putting a picture and explanation of the donation at the escort card table, but the idea of scrolls is cute. I have seen people add it to the menus or put a note on the table.

Krystalynne21

Meg my cousin did that and put a pic of his dog Lola on the place setting.  I thought it was a great idea, and Lola looked so cute   We are doing donations as well....split between American Cancer Society and the Brain Injury Assocation (I work with TBI survivors). Like pp I find them more meaningful and beneficial than traditional favors.  But....I will say, I have heard some kickass favor ideas if you have the dough to dish out (like $10 pp)

Karen's MOH

My sister did that same thing and had cards with a picture of our dog, explaining how we got him. She ordered them super cheap from Vista print in the same pattern as her menu cards. I think it's a great idea.
I love the bone shaped cookie idea too, but I'd be worried people would think they are dog treats, not human cookies.

megandjay

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_massachusetts-boston_donations-decision?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:89Discussion:8b1b59bd-2947-4cab-b877-81e4c8d67068Post:faf63d3b-7219-4618-9c28-c1d02d188121">Re: Donations decision</a>:
[QUOTE]My sister did that same thing and had cards with a picture of our dog, explaining how we got him. She ordered them super cheap from Vista print in the same pattern as her menu cards. I think it's a great idea. I love the bone shaped cookie idea too, but I'd be worried people would think they are dog treats, not human cookies.
Posted by Karen's MOH[/QUOTE]

HAHA! This made me laugh, I can just imagine some of the older guests sitting there with a dog bone shaped cookie and looking so confused as to weather they should eat it or not!
I suppose you could easily get around this confusion with a label or tag explaining that it IS people food.

deborah2121

I think it's a great idea!  I love your personal connection to the charity and that you will explain this to guests. This is a much better idea than something that guests leave on the table.  And, like I said, it is so personal which is nice!  If I were a guest, I would apprecate your personal touch and be happy that instead of almonds, a donation was made. 

I'm thinking of donating to a Colon Cancer foundation since my dad is a surivor and one of my 30 year old good friends is battling it now, but, my dad's opinion is that my wedding is not the time to bring that up...any suggestions with how to word this?  Also, there is no need for knotties to specify how much is donated, but what is the average or how is it determined?  TIA

MandahGirly

I think donations are an amazing idea. My FI and I are doing one - We are donating to the Camp that I volunteer at every year - They have a brick walkway and you can purchase bricks so we are going to do that and write on it In Honor of our wedding guests - With our initials and wedding date.

We are going to do $250 because that is the cost of the brick

LoveAdopted

I had thought about that about the bone shaped cookies. Still need to work on how to make them look like human food if we go with that idea!

About the wording of the donation note, my boss's niece had something like this:

Dear friends and family,

After much careful thought and consideration, A and B have decided to make a donation to the American Cancer Society in lieu of traditional wedding favors. We have chosen the ACS in honor of

*grandmother's name
*uncles name

Thank you for sharing in this special time in our lives and in remembering the special people who were not able to be with us today.

Love, A and B

megandjay

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_massachusetts-boston_donations-decision?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:89Discussion:8b1b59bd-2947-4cab-b877-81e4c8d67068Post:fb5b382f-00c0-4fe5-af07-4b2e6eabec66">Re: Donations decision</a>:
[QUOTE]I had thought about that about the bone shaped cookies. Still need to work on how to make them look like human food if we go with that idea! About the wording of the donation note, my boss's niece had something like this: Dear friends and family, After much careful thought and consideration, A and B have decided to make a donation to the American Cancer Society in lieu of traditional wedding favors. We have chosen the ACS in honor of *grandmother's name *uncles name Thank you for sharing in this special time in our lives and in remembering the special people who were not able to be with us today. Love, A and B
Posted by LoveAdopted[/QUOTE]

Great note, thanks!

And I think you could easily make the bone shaped cookies work, just put a note or tag on them stating that they are human food!

StaceyC828

I love your idea; I think that is so sweet!!  We adopted our cat too, who had also been there for 2 weeks and no one wanted her.  She is the FRIENDLIEST cat we've ever seen...cuddles with us all the time, even when we play with her she likes to stop and rub up against us mid-play, hahaha. So cute. 

I wish I thought of this idea before I bought all the supplies for my favors

But kudos to you; I think that's an AMAZING favor, and I definitely think you should put your kitty's picture with whatever printed piece you use to tell about the favor.

You go girl!

Knottie6cd98948dcce890b

FI and I met at a charity event that I was running for a recovery house in my hometown and then had part of our first date at a benefit for the burn foundation (he's a fireman). We'll be giving donations to both those charities and explaining how we met on the back of the menus, kind of like a fairytale

raphninja

I was going to do donations to the ARL or the MSPCA, but I decided to simply donate to a local shelter instead.  That way, I know the money is going to local animals in need and I can go and visit to see who we're benefitting.  Donations are a fantastic idea, IMO.  We thought about doing the ASPCA because they have those popular orange bracelets you can buy for a dollar a piece to leave on everyone's plate, but then I thought I'd be sad if people didn't take them, so we're just giving to our local shelter. 

We'd planned to spend $1,000 on favors, so we're going to get Jordan Almonds and tulle (I'm Italian.  It's tradition), and make tiny cards to attach to them with ribbon saying, "In lieu of favors, a donation has been made to the Northeast Animal Shelter" and we'll give their email address on there, as well.  So whatever is left over from the almonds will be the donation amount.  Obviously the guests don't need to know how much is being donated.

MeaghanandMichael

We did a donation to an autism foundation as Mike's brother is autistic. It was very special to us and I love what you are doing as well.
Just to warn you, some people think that doing a donation is not a 'favor' to your guest and basically like patting yourself on the back for being good people. There are some other points people make to this nature and are more extensive, but I won't go into them now. Just know your crowd.

Personally, my crowd was thrilled to see money go to a good cause, new Mike's brother's situation, and could care less about recieving a piddly favor. That's why they are my friends and family and I am damn proud of them

october010bride

Like Meaghan, I totally agree.. it all depends on your crowd. I'll be doing a donation to the American Cancer Society and dedicating it to my mother who passed away from brain cancer when I was a baby.

I hate hate hate people who think donations are patting yourself on the back and should not be done as favors. I'm sorry, if I get another cheesey frame or a monogramed anything I am going to scream.

You've already treated your guests to a fantastic reception no need to give them pointless junk on top of it! Don't let anyone push you away from doing this.

megandjay

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_massachusetts-boston_donations-decision?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:89Discussion:8b1b59bd-2947-4cab-b877-81e4c8d67068Post:85fd22fc-5276-4550-9d85-65cc9976e585">Re: Donations decision</a>:
[QUOTE]We did a donation to an autism foundation as Mike's brother is autistic. It was very special to us and I love what you are doing as well. Just to warn you, some people think that doing a donation is not a 'favor' to your guest and basically like patting yourself on the back for being good people. There are some other points people make to this nature and are more extensive, but I won't go into them now. Just know your crowd. Personally, my crowd was thrilled to see money go to a good cause, new Mike's brother's situation, and could care less about recieving a piddly favor. That's why they are my friends and family and I am damn proud of them :)
Posted by MeaghanandMichael[/QUOTE]

I never thought of that!

I think our crowd will appreciate the donations idea (a bunch of Catholics), as long as we have open bar (Irish Catholics)! hehe, just kidding, well, sort of.

Blueyed228

I love this idea!  I definatly want to figure out a way to do this!  FI and I are huge pit-bull advocates.  We have one and LOVE them.  I am going to donate to Villalobos Rescue Center (they are the countrys largest pit-bull rescue center) and Best Friens (they took 22 of scumbag Michael Vicks dogs).  Such a great idea!

snoangel79

I used to work for the Jimmy Fund/Dana Farber and now work for National Marrow Donor Program /Dana Farber. I will probably be making a donation but also doing a food favor (chocolate covered brownies). It's really nice to do this and I'm sure no one will be "upset" if they don't get a coaster or candle.