Gifts in Kind Program Truly is a Gift

One of the under-utilized services provided by Valley United Way is our Gifts in Kind Program which combines the power of a large international source of product donations with a local, personal touch for the benefit of area nonprofits. Valley United Way is the local sponsor of Gifts in Kind International. Gifts In Kind describes itself as "the largest charity in the world that focuses on new product donations from corporations. We, in turn, provide these new products to 150,000 community charities in America and throughout the world. Gifts In Kind partners with thousands of companies, including nearly half of the Fortune 100 consumer and retail product corporations. IBM, Mattel, Gap, Avon, Office Depot, HP, Adobe, Bed Bath & Beyond, Dell, Nike, RadioShack, Hanesbrands, and Talbots. Many more leading corporations make their in-kind donations through Gifts In Kind International."

Because we are the local sponsor of the program, any Valley nonprofit organization can receive products through this program. Much of the software that we use here at Valley United Way has come through the Gifts in Kind program as well as another that I will describe later. Agencies who want to take advantage of the program should simply visit the Gifts in Kind website to see what is available. If they find something that they need, they can contact us and we can provide them with our local ID which will allow them to obtain their needed products. There is usually a small handling fee, but it is minimal in comparison to the value of the donated products. You can view a sample catalog of products by clicking here.

We have also been successful in developing our own local version of the program using our network of Valley nonprofits linked to the Valley Council for Health & Human Services. We often get calls from people and companies looking to donate surplus products. Though we do not have the ability to warehouse such items, we can see if there is an agency that has a need and match them with the donor to complete a match. Furniture and computer equipment have been popular items, but we've had some unusual items including an 800 pound safe that were donated through this program.

I should also point out that our Volunteer Solutions website offers agencies an opportunity to post a wish list of items that they need and also for donors to list items that they are looking to donate. We'll post more about that in another blog.

Finally, I want to point out another tremendous source of computer software products for nonprofits to access. TechSoup.org has been around for years, and is simply unbeatable for software donations. We have the latest Microsoft Office products on all our machines at United Way because we were able to purchase the licenses through TechSoup. The license fees cost us only $20 per computer! I am also on the board of directors at the Derby Neck Library, and when the new computer center in the building addition was opened, we saved thousands of dollars using the Microsoft program. At that time, it was available through Gifts in Kind, but is now administered by Tech Soup.

At any time, Gifts in Kind is an incredible resource for the nonprofit community. During difficult economic times like we are in now, it is a necessity that should not be overlooked.

UPDATE: Ironically, five minutes after this blog was posted, a Shelton woman called to donate an electric stove as she had purchased a new one, and didn't want the old one to go waste because it is still in good condition. We'll update you if we get a new home for the stove!