How to Start a NICU Care Basket Program in Your Community

How we started

Helping Hands for NICU Moms grew out of our own family’s story. Our founders are two sisters, Tiffany and Alyssa. When Alyssa’s son, Maverick, was born and admitted to the NICU, the NICU became our second home. Through that season, and the PICU stay that came after, we learned that small gestures — a snack during a long shift, a warm blanket, a gift card for a quick meal, a note — carried her through. You can read the whole story here.

Our first year was small, simple, and deeply personal. It was just the two of us, reaching out to local businesses, sending messages, making phone calls, and explaining why this mattered. Little by little, businesses said yes, friends donated, and community members showed up. We organized donations in our homes, assembled each basket by hand, and delivered around 30 baskets to the hospital.

In year two, more businesses stepped forward, our family jumped in to help, and people started dropping off items and volunteering their time. That’s when we decided to become an official nonprofit, so we could build something sustainable.

You don’t need a big platform to start. We didn’t have one. You need a reason, a hospital that welcomes the idea, and a few people willing to help. Here’s the path we’d suggest.

1. Contact the hospital first

Before you buy anything or ask for a single donation, reach out to the hospital whose NICU you want to serve. Good places to start are the NICU nurse manager, the child life team, or the hospital’s volunteer or donations office (often run through the hospital foundation). Explain who you are, what you’d like to give, and ask how they’d like it to work.

Questions worth asking:

• Do you accept donated care baskets for NICU moms, and how many would be helpful?
• Is there a list of items you can and can’t accept?
• Who should we coordinate with, and how far ahead do you need to know?
• How should baskets be delivered, and who hands them to families?

Hospitals protect fragile babies and patient privacy, so their rules are there for good reasons. Many only take new items. Barnes-Jewish St. Peters and Progress West hospitals in Missouri, for example, say all donated items must be new with tags or in the original packaging, and used items cannot be given to patients. Some items aren’t allowed at all: St. Luke’s in Boise notes that, due to infection control policies, flowers are not allowed in some units, such as the NICU. Rules vary from hospital to hospital, so follow the one you’re working with, even if it differs from what you read here.

2. Decide what goes in a basket

Once you know the hospital’s guidelines, plan a basket around the mom herself. NICU days are long, and moms are often recovering from birth while spending every ounce of energy at the bedside. Our baskets have included items like cozy socks, blankets, toiletries, self-care products, snacks, drinks, journals, meal and coffee gift cards, preemie clothing, swaddles, pacifiers, and other essentials for moms and babies.

We’ve written up what we include and why in our NICU care package ideas. Whatever you choose, keep it practical and compact, and include a handwritten note. It’s often the part that means the most.

3. Ask local businesses

Local businesses made our first year possible. We didn’t have a big following. We had a story and a purpose, and we shared both honestly. A few things that help when you reach out:

• Lead with why. Tell them, briefly, why NICU moms matter to you.
• Make a specific ask. A set number of gift cards, a product for each basket, or sponsoring a basket.
• Be clear about timing. Let them know when you need items and when you’ll deliver.
• Follow up kindly. A phone call after a message often gets things moving.

4. Run donation drives

Friends, coworkers, churches, schools, and clubs can multiply what you’re able to collect. A drive works best with a short, specific wish list that matches the hospital’s rules, a clear drop-off spot, and an end date. We’ve put together a guide you can use: how to host a donation drive.

5. Assemble the baskets

For our first year, we spent weeks collecting items, organizing donations in our homes, and carefully assembling each basket by hand. Some tips:

• Sort donations by category as they arrive, so you can see what you still need.
• Keep items new and in their original packaging, as the hospital asks.
• Build one sample basket first, then assemble the rest to match.
• Turn assembly day into an event. Family and friends make it faster, and more joyful.
• Add the note last, so every basket gets one.

6. Plan delivery with the hospital

Never just show up with a car full of baskets. Agree on a date, time, and drop-off point with your hospital contact ahead of time, and ask how many baskets they can store. Ask your contact who will give the baskets to families, and follow their lead, even if you’d love to hand each basket over yourself.

Walking through those doors — not as a scared family this time, but carrying comfort for other moms — was one of the most emotional moments of our first year. Take a minute to let it sink in.

7. Thank your supporters

Everyone who helped deserves to hear what their gift did. Send thank-you notes to businesses and donors, share how many baskets you delivered, and tag your sponsors in a post if they’d like the recognition. Never share photos or details of NICU families without their permission and the hospital’s. In our second year, more businesses stepped forward and more people asked how they could help. Gratitude is how a one-time project becomes a tradition.

8. Becoming a 501(c)(3)

You don’t have to be a nonprofit to start. We weren’t in year one. But as a program grows, for us, becoming an official nonprofit was about reaching more companies, building stronger partnerships, and creating something that could serve NICU families for years to come. Here’s the general shape of it, based on the IRS’s own guidance. This isn’t legal or tax advice, so consider talking to an accountant or attorney.

• Organize under state law. The IRS lists steps to take before applying: determine whether you’re a trust, corporation, or association; gather your organizing documents; check your state’s registration requirements; and get an employer identification number (EIN). The IRS also notes that nonprofit status is a state law concept and does not automatically grant federal tax exemption.
• Form 1023. This is the standard application for recognition of exemption under section 501(c)(3). It must be filed electronically through Pay.gov.
• Form 1023-EZ. A streamlined application, also filed through Pay.gov. To find out whether you can use it, complete the eligibility worksheet in the Form 1023-EZ instructions. Among other questions, you’re not eligible if you project annual gross receipts over $50,000 in any of the next three years, had gross receipts over $50,000 in any of the past three years, or have total assets worth more than $250,000. Organizations that aren’t eligible file Form 1023.
• User fees. The IRS charges a user fee to apply. The Form 1023-EZ instructions point to the IRS user fee page for current amounts.

Questions? Email us.

We love hearing from people who want to bring this to their own community. We’re happy to share what has worked for us. Email us at nicubaskets1@gmail.com.

And if you’re in Idaho’s Treasure Valley and would rather join us than start your own, see ways to get involved.