What do you give the board member who has everything?
Question: “I work for a nonprofit Board of Directors (50 members). Every year, I give each board member a small token gift for our December meeting, and a little nicer gift for the annual meeting in June. I try to keep the budget to about $1.00 to $1.75 per gift (for the December gift) and a little more for the June gift. I’ve given coffee cups, clocks, pocket calendars, lunch Koozies, Slinky toys (as stress relievers) and even polo shirts. Does anyone have any suggestions for gift ideas that I could give this year? Any web sites would be helpful.” — Anonymous
See Comments below
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June 27, 2011 at 12:20 pm
There is very little that anyone might want that costs only a couple of dollars. A Starbucks gift card for $1.75 wouldn’t even tempt me to pull into the parking lot. I’d say just discontinue the practice.
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November 4, 2008 at 8:22 am
I’m really curious as to where you could purchase polo shirts for that price range.
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November 3, 2008 at 4:52 pm
I also like the others’ suggestions about making a donation to a food bank or other charity in their name. $1 to $2 per gift doesn’t get you much – unfortunately, it could almost end up being a “throwaway” gift. They might rather have you spend the money, all pooled together, and give a meaningful donation to a charity.
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October 31, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Call Jeff Sheeks at S Group Inc 330-535-2103 for promotional ideas large and small. My husband is extremely helpful giving you ideas and has excellent customer service.
I agree, this is a tight budget for a gift at that level of management, but he can direct you with the newest products. -
October 29, 2008 at 5:42 pm
I use Austin Ad Group. Great gift ideas at reasonable prices. The $1-$1.75 range might be tough to find but they are very helpful. Wouldn’t hurt to check it out at http://www.austinadgroup.com.
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October 28, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Especially with the economy being so bad this year, it would really be nice to give a donation on behalf of your board o your local food bank, or to Meals on Wheels, or Toys for Tots(or any charity appropriate for your group). Those of us who have jobs, have health insurance, have roofs over our heads – we have everything – while so many will have nothing for the upcoming holidays.
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October 28, 2008 at 6:26 pm
I like to give a donation to a charity on behalf of the group. I write/print a nice card with a thank you to the members and explain what I have done. This idea has always been appreciated.
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October 28, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Try http://www.beau-coup.com
We were looking for employee gifts for our Christmas party and I found a lot of nice things that don’t look cheap. Make sure you click on the different links for the different assortments.
Good Luck. -
October 27, 2008 at 10:33 am
I find a lot of good deal on the 4-Imprints website. They have alot of products. We have done lunch bag, coolers, etc. Things that most people will use and they have really inexpensive product available. You could also just cater a nice lunch/dinner for the meeting instead as a thank you for Christmas. And in June maybe a “survival kit” with gift cards for gas, coffee and resturant.
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October 27, 2008 at 9:30 am
I use Ad-Venture Promotions for alot of our give-a-ways. You can see their website at http://www.ad-venturepromotions.com
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October 24, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Thanks, I’ve actually done this once before also!
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October 24, 2008 at 2:14 pm
No specific idea suggestion; yet will offer ‘Big Lots’ and ‘Tuesday Morning’ as a couple of places to shop for quality gifts that are frugal. Given how they get their merchandise, it is best to purchase items as you see them and store until you need them since items may be of limited quantity or one of a kind.
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October 24, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I like postivepromotions.com for inexpensive group office gifts.
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October 24, 2008 at 2:12 pm
How about a couple scratch-and-win lottery tickets. For many people, they will walk away empty-handed. But some might get $5, $10, even $10,000. We have done this, and everyone has fun scratching away to see if they are the lucky winner.
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October 24, 2008 at 1:55 pm
How about not giving THEM the gift? Try making a donation to a local charity on behalf of the entire board. I’m sure they appreciate the small token gifts, but think of how good it would make them feel that you helped someone who REALLY needed it.
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October 24, 2008 at 1:54 pm
If cheap is what you are looking for, checkout the website for The Oriental Trading Company. I cannot guarantee they can match your $1-2 price range, but you can usually find something there. Unusual postits are another idea you can usually find just about anyplace.
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October 24, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Books are always a nice gift, try Walkthetalk.com. They have nice books at a reasonable cost.
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October 24, 2008 at 1:49 pm
If the person celebrates Christmas, a lovely Christmas ornament would be nice. You could also give one of those small boxes of chocolates (4 quality pieces, such as truffles).
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October 24, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I’ve done a lottery or scratch off ticket before too.
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October 21, 2008 at 11:37 am
That’s a very small per-person budget – what a challenge! How about something like Starbucks gift cards?
