Steps to Create Your Own ASG Program

You don’t need to plan for the future.  Sometimes it's best to just start and figure things out as you go.   By now you already know the basic idea; ask a friend or neighbor to leave a bag outside and you'll pick it up and take it somewhere.     

Porch2Plate’s primary focus is on scale;  the current ‘Home Food Donation’ programs are only available 1% of Americans.   We want to get this to at least 70% in the next 5 years, hoping about 8-12% of people within those areas participate.    That type of scale requires careful planning and an organized execution.   This site’s primary purpose is to help Programs that are seeking this type of scale.   

Some important questions to consider;

TERRITORY:   What is the territory you wish to cover?    Perhaps it’s a city or county, or maybe it’s just a neighborhood in a city. You may not even have a territory in mind, some clubs just open it up to their members and extended families wherever they live.      

• A local church may wish to just operate under the Church name and not claim a territory.   It may just want to serve their congregation or neighborhood.   But there are enough people that some type of Operating System is helpful.

• A big club, like Rotary or Lions, may wish to operate city wide.   

• An organization that is backed by a branding partner, like a large retail chain with many locations throughout an area may want to target a county, or in some cases many counties.  

The larger your territory the more likely you'll need an Operating System to save you time.   We can't say exactly when that is, but you will find that once you get above 200 or 300 donors and 10 or so drivers things start to get pretty hectic.   

EXISTING PROGRAM or START YOUR OWN:    There are three national programs that you could team up with.   Each of them would provide you a suite of tools to make the steps easier.   We directly support “A Simple Gesture” but you can use our Operating Software for any program, even your own. 

STRUCTURE:   You can operate without any formal structure.  However, there are valid reasons to first set up a company (LLC or Incorporation).    Read this article to learn more or do your own research.    Our advice is to Incorporate with your State as a non-profit and then file a 501(c)(3) with the Federal Government.    A 501(c)(3) gives you tax exempt status allowing your funding sources to make their donations  tax deductible. Many founders will require you to be a 501(c)(3).   

CLICK HERE to read more about how to create your legal entity.   We will also walk you through all the steps to file for a 501(c)(3).   

BUDGET and GROWTH:  These two go hand-in-hand.   You can start with friends and neighbors and a simple spreadsheet without any costs.   You don't need to use high-visibility reusable bags.   Everyone has an extra grocery bag in their pantry.   

The advantage of having a budget is to grow and create sustainability.   If you've read our Home Page you know we are after a high volume of donors.   For this reason we also encourage the programs using our site to find a BRAND PARTNER, to fund your operating expenses.   

We believe there are 3 key elements ;  

• Carve out your territory, and build a plan to get 8-12% of those households to participate.   

• We believe thee key elements are;  arge groups to bring in lots of donors.  This can require money for advertising, irencentive fee's, and high visibility reusable bags.

• Turn those high visibility reusable bags into an advertising platform that your Brand Partner is excited about.  Show them they are not only a great charitable partner but also a good business partner.  

This is the big effort and the hardest part.    We have some great ways to go about it, but they all require time and effort.    The best tip we can give you is a pre-step;  Form a Team!    This is not essential, many programs start up and continue lead by one person.   But our experience is you will have more fun and a better chance to sustain what you are building for years to come if you bring others in early on.    

CLICK HERE for more information about building your team.   

The donor is the piece of gold that makes it all work.   A typical donor will donate an average of 15 pounds per event and will participate about 70% of the time, over a span that will average more than 5 years.    The value of that food will of course vary, the average we used is $2.80 (although this number needs more study).   We use 360 pounds at a value of $1008 to represent the result of signing up one donor.   

These numbers are important because they justify the time and cost of actively recruiting donors.   Some of the programs we suggest are only possible with funding, and therefore we emphasize the importance of finding a Brand Partner early on.    Most non-profits go after smaller sums from a lot of sources, we promote the idea of ‘Exclusive Brand Partner” because it’s a good business decision for the right type of partner.   CLICK HERE to read more about obtaining a BRAND PARTNER.  

Below you'll find a list of programs that have hyperlinks, covering them in more detail.

INCENTIVE CAMPAIGN:    Our favorite because it's the easiest way to bring a high volume of donors to your program.    This approach uses a 3rd party's network of contacts, where they spread the word to ask their contacts to join your program.  In exchange, you provide them an incentive for their effort and support.    Click the title for more details.  

"Join Your Neighbor" Event:  This is great way to add donors to your already growing event.   You utilize your current donors as your 'credibility validation' by placing door hangers or brown bags on the neighbors surrounding your current donor's address.    The best way is to put the name of your current donor, asking them to "join in".    If they have questions they might ask your current donor.  Meanwhile, you inform your current donor that you've reached out to their neighbors, encouraging them to go over and explain the program.  

Brown Bag Event and Door Hangers: for door to door canvassing (no direct solicitation) 

Tabletops:  in front of grocery stores

Speaking at Clubs, Church's, and other Organizations:

• Booth at Fairs and Festivals
• Media, paid and free
• Word-of-mouth

Please share your experiences with us so we can add those to our site.   

You can decide to run your event monthly or every other month.   Most programs are every-other-month, although some might say the monthly programs have a higher participating percent because they are used the frequency.   

To learn more how to set up an event, go to the "P2P Event Manager".   Once you’re there you’ll need to register your chapter or program to get access.    From there you can click the “HELP GUIDE” to get everything you need to set up and run events.