Donation Requests

We are incredibly blessed to have found a fun, productive career. Believe it or not, before Brian founded Pretty Funny Balloons and Banzi Balloons, he studied both ministry and philanthropic studies, so non-profits, their finances, and giving are important to this company. We once calculated that around 30 percent of our events are for non-profit organizations, so we realized early on that we couldn’t donate to every great cause that came our way or we wouldn’t be able to pay our crew a living wage and cover our mortgage. We decided to pick organizations in five areas that were particularly close to our heart that we can donate or offer reduced rates to:

  1. Organizations helping the homeless or most underprivileged communities – We want to help those most in need.
  2. Organizations supporting refugees – Those fleeing violence and oppression often face discrimination in their time of greatest need.
  3. Organizations supporting animal welfare and adoption – Christina has a soft spot for animals, which is why we have 3 cats, 2 dogs and chickens.
  4. Organizations supporting those with rare genetic diseases – We added this because Brian’s nephew has a very rare genetic disorder. Diseases that affect 1 in a million people don’t get much attention, walk-a-thons or big fundraisers so we want to support these small causes and make a difference. Since adding this as a focus, our own daughter, Anastasia, was diagnosed with KCNQ2, a rare genetic disorder, so these causes are now particularly close to our hearts.
  5. Organizations that are important to our crew – Occasionally we may empower our crew members to create décor for causes they care about. We’ll donate the balloons and they’ll donate their time to create something special.

Donation Guidelines

While we wish we could donate or discount décor for every organization, we simply don’t have the time or resources to contribute to everyone. When we can donate or offer a substantially discounted rate, we ask the following:

  1. Flexibility on setup times or pickup from the studio if possible.
  2. Teardown and return of supplies by volunteers.
  3. Professional photos of the décor, when possible. (If you’ve got a professional photographer, please send us the pictures after your event.)
  4. Promotion of Banzi Balloons at the event through signage, sponsorship, and/or social media mentions.
  5. Being part of a donation ecosystem, meaning that if we are asked for an outright donation, we know that the other vendors have also donated services, materials, time, etc. In other words, we’d rather not donate our time so the DJ and caterer can get paid full price.

How to be request a donation

Just send an email to sales@banzi.events to let us know about your event, what your organization does, and what sort of décor you’re looking for. We’ll read and reply to every donation request and if we’re not able to donate, we may be able to offer a discount or get you more information about purchasing décor for your event. Do us a favor, though. Work the word “gigantic” into the email so we know you’ve actually read this page. You’d be surprised how many organizations take a “shotgun” approach, asking hundreds of vendors for donations without any existing relationship or knowledge. 

Most importantly, keep doing the good work you’re doing! We can’t support every charity, but we’re proud to live in a community full of great people doing great things.