Agree very much about following the rules set by the donating companies (I did call Disney almost 2 years ago to verify that how our school PTA event was run "made us" eligible to apply.) The first year filling out that form takes the longest and it's easier in subsequent years.

I've also noticed several donors have periods (particularly at year end) where they are not accepting donation requests simply because they are inundated with requests and have reached their giving capacity for that time period.

Have any of you experienced prize winners getting upset at donors who don't want to honor gift certificates that have expired (meaning that the winner didn't use it during the allotted time period). Suggestions? Can be awkward to solicit at those places again.

I just applied for Disney on Sunday and it worked fine for me. Are you sure you are eligible to apply? They have specific requirements.

Anonymous wrote: The Disney tickets are supposed to be used in a silent or live auction. They have a very long application to fill out, and they are very specific with how they want it used. If they find out you have broken the rules, they will not donate to you again in the future. We get them every year and they do very well at auction. There are lots of places that specify their donations are to be used in an auction only. I am a rule follower and also I figure if they are going to give me product for free, I can go along with their plan

This is what the the Disney guidelines are:

Please review the criteria below; organizations must follow these guidelines to qualify for a theme park ticket contribution:
-- Ticket contributions must be made directly to a U.S. nonprofit charitable organization that has been granted tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code ("Code"), or a K-12 public school or school district, under Section 501(c)(3) or Section 170(c)(1) of the Code.
-- Ticket contributions must be mailed directly to the charitable organization; please do not submit additional delivery addresses or residential addresses.
-- Individuals or organizations raising funds on behalf of another benefitting group are not eligible and will not be considered.
-- Ticket contributions for families or individuals are not eligible.
-- Ticket contributions must be used for fundraising efforts only.
-- Ticket contributions may not be used in online auctions or broadcast promotions.
-- Activities or efforts such as competitions, recognition events, holiday parties, door prizes, give-aways, and rewards or other incentive programs are not eligible for a ticket contribution.
-- Sponsorships or donations for individuals or teams (for example, walk-a-thons, contests, pageants, scholarships, or ambassador programs) are not eligible.
- Requests must be received a minimum of 60 days, and no more than six months prior, to the event date.
- One request per charitable organization will be accepted within a 12-month period.

has anyone applied to Disney recently? I just went through the whole application & went to hit send and noticed they're not accepting applications right now ....

Hear you received about 10k last year.. I have a nutrition program and we have been trying to recieve funds. No luck. Maybe you can help. Thanks.

I've had good luck with calling the G.M.'s of Major hotels or resorts and asking them to help with putting together packages in their area. Persistence pays off!