The appeal of collection boxes gets a shake-up due to Covid

Our old friend the collection box isn't going anywhere. In fact, with the public's desire to handle coins at an all-time low, now is a perfect time to make sure you're getting the most out of your bright plastic pals.

With the challenges of Covid-19 clear for all to see it can be hard to find great fundraising opportunities. But perhaps an old way of raising funds is destined for a resurgence: The humble collection box.

"We manufacture collection boxes and have our contact number on the seal for ease of ordering replacement", says David Stott from ECL Plastics, "Since we have been out of full lockdown we have had hundreds of calls every week from shops and stores asking for the boxes to be emptied because they are full to capacity."

But why the sudden eagerness to give in these challenging times? It's simple when you think about it: people are reluctant to touch grubby coins.

"Apparently more and more people are leaving the loose change rather than handling it themselves."

Of course! Makes perfect sense. So there's no time like the present to have a think about how you organise your various collection boxes. Here are five good questions to ask yourself and your team:

1. Are the opportunities to place more on-counter collection boxes?

2. How do we record where our collection boxes are?

3. Who is responsible for emptying them? Are they still emptying them?

4. How do we track how much cash each collection box is generating?

5. Are we claiming Gift Aid on those donations using the small donations scheme?

We have been told from many stores who have contacted us that customers are much more likely to leave change rather than handle it themselves

It's important to make sure you have your information about collection boxes, and money collected from them, in a simple and shareable space so that they can be updated regularly by your team. This can be in an online spreadsheet like a Google Sheet or, ideally, within your CRM.

It's really easy to manage your collection boxes in Beacon. We've put together this handy guide to help you.

Thanks to David Stott from ECL Plastics for the insight.