Let's be honest, traditional can drives are exhausting.
You rally the team. You organize the drop-off. You stuff everyone's minivan with bags of clanking cans. Then you spend your Saturday morning in line at the depot, counting and sorting while your coffee goes cold.
There's got to be a better way, right?
Good news: there is. 🎉
Welcome to doorstep fundraising, the kind where your community does the collecting, and you skip the depot entirely. No sorting. No driving. No weekend sacrificed to aluminum chaos.
Just cans. Cash. And a whole lot more free time.
What Is Doorstep Fundraising (And Why Should You Care)?
Doorstep fundraising flips the script on traditional recycling fundraisers. Instead of hauling bags to a depot, your supporters leave their cans out for pickup, right from their curb. A service like Empteez.ca swings by, collects the empties, and credits your team's account automatically.
You get the funds. Your supporters get convenience. Everyone wins.
Here's why it matters for your team or school:
- Zero logistics stress. No renting trucks or coordinating drop-offs.
- Higher participation. People are way more likely to help when it's effortless.
- Ongoing income. Unlike a one-day bottle drive, curbside pickup keeps the donations rolling in week after week.
- More time for what matters. You know, like actually coaching the team or planning school events!
The 5-Minute Setup: How to Launch Your Doorstep Fundraiser
Ready to get started? This is the part where we prove it really is that simple.
Step 1: Choose Your Curbside Pickup Partner (30 Seconds)
Find a curbside recycling pickup service that supports fundraising. In Guelph, that's Empteez.ca, the local crew that turns cans into cash without you lifting a finger.
Sign up your team or school as a fundraising group. You'll get a unique code that your supporters can use when they book their pickups.
Step 2: Spread the Word (2 Minutes)
Tell your community! Send an email. Post on social media. Drop flyers in the school newsletter.
Your message? "Support [Your Team Name] by recycling your cans, right from your doorstep!"
Include:
- Your unique fundraising code
- The pickup service link
- A quick note about how easy it is (seriously, it's their blue bin day, they're already out there!)
Step 3: Let Your Supporters Do Their Thing (Literally Zero Effort)
Here's where the magic happens. Your supporters:
- Collect their aluminum cans at home (beer cans, soda cans, sparkling water cans, you name it).
- Leave them out on blue bin day in a bag or bin.
- The Empteez crew picks them up and credits your fundraising account.
That's it. No sorting. No depot. Just regular life, but now their empties are funding your team's jerseys or the school's field trip.
Step 4: Watch the Donations Roll In (1 Minute to Check Your Dashboard)
Log into your fundraising dashboard and watch the numbers climb. Every can collected = cash for your cause. You'll see real-time updates, so you can celebrate milestones with your team and keep your supporters in the loop.
Pro tip: Share weekly updates! "We've collected 500 cans this month, halfway to our new equipment goal!" keeps everyone excited and engaged.
Step 5: Cash Out When You're Ready (1 Minute)
Hit your goal? Ready to make a purchase? Cash out your balance and put those funds to work. Easy, transparent, and way less painful than a traditional can drive.
Why Curbside Pickup Beats the Depot Every Time
Let's talk about the real difference between a traditional can drive and doorstep fundraising.
Traditional Can Drive:
- Organize a collection day 📅
- Find volunteers to staff it
- Convince families to drive over and drop off cans
- Load everything into vehicles
- Drive to the depot (probably 20+ minutes away)
- Wait in line
- Sort and count cans
- Get paid (finally!)
Time investment: 4–6 hours minimum. Plus gas money. Plus the stress of coordinating volunteers.
Doorstep Fundraising with Curbside Pickup:
- Set up your campaign (5 minutes)
- Share the link with your community
- Cans get picked up automatically on blue bin day
- Funds appear in your account
Time investment: Basically none. And your supporters never leave their houses.
The bottom line? Curbside pickup removes every single barrier that makes people say, "Eh, maybe next time." When it's this easy, "next time" becomes "every time." 💚
How to Maximize Your Doorstep Fundraiser
Want to turn your fundraiser into a runaway success? Here are some tips from teams and schools that have nailed it:
1. Make It a Challenge
Create friendly competition! Which grade raises the most? Which team collects the most cans? Leaderboards are shockingly motivating, even for recycling.
Check out how to run a successful can drive for more inspo!
2. Get the Kids Involved
When kids know they're helping earn funds, they become your best marketers. They'll remind parents, bug neighbors, and collect cans like it's a treasure hunt. Recycling for rewards? That's a win-win.
3. Time It Right
Launch your campaign around high-can seasons, think summer BBQ season, back-to-school, or right after the holidays. More empties = more funds.
4. Use Social Proof
Share photos of your pickup hauls. Post testimonials from supporters. Celebrate milestones publicly. When people see others participating, they want in too!
5. Keep It Going Year-Round
Here's the secret sauce: unlike a one-weekend bottle drive, curbside fundraising never has to end. Keep your campaign live and let donations trickle in consistently. It's passive income for your cause!
Real Talk: How Much Can You Actually Raise?
Let's get into the numbers.
A standard aluminum can is worth about 5–10 cents depending on your deposit system. Let's say you're getting 6 cents per can when supporters donate through your fundraising code.
If 50 families each contribute 100 cans per month, that's:
- 50 families × 100 cans = 5,000 cans/month
- 5,000 cans × $0.06 = $300/month
- Over a year? $3,600 for your team or school.
And that's a conservative estimate! Families hosting parties, local businesses, or engaged community members can easily contribute way more.
The best part? It's recurring. Once people sign up, they keep donating every time they put out their blue bin. No extra ask required.
Why This Matters Beyond the Money
Yeah, fundraising is about the cash. But doorstep recycling is also about something bigger: teaching your community (and especially your kids) that small actions add up.
Every can collected is:
✅ One less can in a landfill
✅ Aluminum recycled and reused (which saves 95% of the energy needed to make new aluminum!)
✅ A lesson in environmental responsibility
✅ Proof that doing good can be effortless
When your team or school runs a curbside recycling fundraiser, you're modeling what community support looks like in 2026. It's local. It's sustainable. And it actually works.
Want to see how Empteez tracks your impact? Check out the EZ Money guide to see how credits, donations, and leaderboards work!
Ready to Ditch the Depot for Good?
Look: fundraising doesn't have to feel like a second job.
You've got games to coach. Events to plan. Kids to wrangle. The last thing you need is to spend your weekend sorting cans at a recycling depot while your latte goes cold.
Doorstep fundraising gives you back your time while still hitting your goals. It's the kind of win-win that makes you wonder why anyone still does it the old way.
So here's your challenge: take 5 minutes today. Set up your campaign. Share it with your community. Then sit back and let the cans (and the cash!) come to you.
Your team's new jerseys are just a few blue bin days away. 🎉
👉 Get started with Empteez.ca and turn your next fundraiser into the easiest one you've ever run. No depot required.
