Drop In & Decorate, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Rhode Island and founded by food writer Lydia Walshin, hosts Drop In & Decorate® cookies-for-donation events and provides financial and technical support to events hosted by individuals and organizations around the country. We are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Our mission is to build bridges of caring and respect between groups within their own communities. We do that with cookies, and we work to make cookies-for-donation events easy and affordable for any individual or group who would like to decorate and donate cookies to a nonprofit agency serving basic human needs in their own community.
Drop In & Decorate is a simple concept: bake some cookies, invite friends or family (or neighbors, or co-workers) to stop in and help decorate, then donate your cookies to a local food pantry, emergency shelter, senior center, lunch program, or other community agency. (Or, sell your cookies at a bake sale, and donate the proceeds to a community agency.)
Drop In & Decorate® parties have become a wonderful tradition for many friends and families — a way to "give back" and have fun, too. If you would like to host an event and need advice or support, please let us know.
To start your own tradition, download our free "How to Host Your Own Cookie Decorating Party" Guide. Includes recipes, supply sources, and how to donate.
What is (and is not) a Drop In & Decorate® event?
In order to use the name Drop In & Decorate for your event, your event must decorate cookies. Not cupcakes, not cakes, not trees, not T-shirts.
Your event must donate cookies to agencies serving basic human needs (food, shelter, medical care) in your community. (See this list of agencies that have received cookies, and you'll see a whole range of possibilities.) If you cannot find an agency to accept your cookies, you may host a bake sale and donate the proceeds of that sale to the agency. Some agencies, like food banks, cannot take gifts of homemade food. However, smaller agencies in the community usually will be delighted to accept your cookies.
Wherever you are located, we can help you find a recipient agency. And wherever possible, we hope you will donate the cookies. Money is great, but cookies are something really special.
You may not use the Drop In & Decorate name or logo if the purpose of your event is to thank police, fire or rescue workers, or to send cookies to military personnel. All of those are wonderful things to do -- it is just not what we do. There are many agencies you can work with, including Fisher House Foundation and the USO, who look after the needs of military personnel, and we urge you to work with them if donating your cookies to soldiers is what you'd like to do.
Drop In & Decorate® cookies for donation events are protected by trademark. If you are not sure whether the event you're planning can be called a Drop In & Decorate® event, please email to lydia AT ninecooks DOT com or call 401-567-4460 for information.
