Guidance for Business In-Kind Donations to Nonprofits

A resource for corporations & other businesses

that want to make a commitment to social responsibility
by Jayne Cravens
via coyotecommunications.com & coyoteboard.com (same web site)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR):

Guidance for In-Kind Donations

This page, and all the pages in this section of my web site, are based on my my philosophy about CSR, which is quite different than the advice of other consultants.

In-kind donations mean a corporation or small business donating items to a nonprofit, charity, school or other mission-driven agency. These can be new or used items: furniture, computers, office supplies, leftover items from a corporate-sponsored event (bags, mugs, t-shirts, etc.), toys, canned goods, clothes, products the company makes and more. It can also mean a company donating a meeting room or part of its offices for a nonprofit to use.

In-kind donations can be a wonderful thing for a nonprofit or school - or a big pain in the elbow for such.

When in-kind donations are wonderful, they are things or services that the nonprofit, school or other agency wants and has told you, explicitly, "Yes, we want that. We need that. We are going to put that to use and here's how..."

When in-kind donations are annoying to a nonprofit, school or other mission-based agency, it's because:

The agency didn't know in advance that a company was donating these items; the agency was never contacted by the company to make sure these were items they needed and wanted, could be stored, could be distributed by them, etc.
The items are broken, outdated, or otherwise not what the agency was expecting
The items won't work with what the agency has (the computers aren't compatible with or the software won't work on their systems)
The items require upkeep and support the agency doesn't have the resources for
The agency has certain standards that do not allow them to accept such a donation (toy drives, for instance, must have items still in their original wrapping; items that aren't new have to be thrown away)
The terms of delivery or use of the items was never put in writing and explicitly agreed to by all parties
The agency does not want in-kind donations, for whatever reason

Let's be frank: mission-based organizations are NOT dumping grounds for businesses and corporate stuff! Do not assume that any items a business has laying around would be welcomed at a homeless shelter, for instance - they may not need nor want those 100 coffee mugs featuring a company's old logo. Or they may absolutely need such - but the company needs to ASK.

Many nonprofits, NGOs and schools are afraid to say no to any in-kind donation from a corporation or business, despite the fact that they don't have computers that can use the company's software, don't have any space for the desks a business wants to donate, and have no need for several boxes of three-ringed binders. The more details a company get from a nonprofit about how donations will be stored, distributed and/or used, the more likely that company will know if the nonprofit is saying yes just to try to please the corporation or if it's something they truly need. Talk with a representative of the organization you want to donate to - not a quick call or short email, but an actual conversation - about what you want to donate and ask questions about how they would use the donation, to ensure they aren't just saying yes because they are too afraid to say no. And if they say no, for whatever reason, respect that - harbor no ill will to them when they submit a funding proposal merely because they said no to your in-kind request.

Also, note that most nonprofits cannot pick up donated items. Most nonprofits lack the equipment, the staff, the cars or trucks and the money for gas or postage to transport donated items. Be willing to deliver the in-kind donation if at all possible.

I would love to help your company prepare your own policies and forms for these kinds of donations.

Donating your own products (new/unused)

If your company makes or offers something for the general public to purchase - computers, software, furniture, cars, dishes, lumber, bread, pizza, theater tickets, movie theater space, whatever - you may want to donate what you make or offer to a nonprofit, charity, school, a youth program at a state park, or some other mission-based initiative.

Before you do so, however, you need to set a policy for everyone at your company regarding such donations: what can be donated, to whom, and how, and you need to communicate it to staff - and communicate it more than once. Employees should be reminded of the policy at least once a year in your in-house employee newsletter and via an in-house memo sent to all employees (also post that memo in employee break rooms).

Also, one person needs to be in charge of approving donations of your organization's products, and that approval needs to be IN WRITING. How to obtain this approval needs to be in your written policies. In addition, you may need a supervisor to verify in writing that each item has been documented in terms of its expense or depreciated value (reasonable estimates are usually acceptable). Items to be donated and their value, along with the written verification that they are not needed elsewhere in the company, are kept on file at the company, often with an accounting manager.

Have a way for employees to say if they have a particular non-profit organization in mind already for a product donation, and a way to verify that group meets your requirements - usually, that's that the organization is a registered 501 (c)(3) and has a letter from the IRS proving such. Many company's require the organization to provide its mission statement, its tax ID number and a brief description of its programs on its official company letterhead, and noting how the company's donation will be used.

If you have items to donate and don't have an idea of an organization to donate it to, you can circulate a memo and ask employees for recommendations. You can also contact the nearest association of nonprofits, such as a nonprofit support center. Suggestions on where to donate items comes later on this page.

You also need to communicate to nonprofits as to whether or not you feel it is acceptable for them to give away or resell the items you donate. For instance, donated items to Goodwill are resold through its thrift shops, which raise money for their employment training programs. Also, many organizations like to use donated items that are new in auctions they host to raise money for their programs.

I would love to help your company prepare your own policies and forms for these kinds of donations.

Donating items your organization has branded

Some organizations would really love to have your outdated bags, pens, t-shirts, flying discs, coffee mugs, mouse pads and other swag with old logos on them or from conferences and events from years past - and others do not want such at all. Good places to contact and ask about donating such items:

tech4good programs like computer recycling/refurbishing centers, girls' or youth STEM programs, or hackathons for good
domestic violence shelters
organizations that mobilize volunteers to cleanup parks or beaches (your items can make nice same-day thank you gifts)

I don't recommend donating clothing items with your logo to homeless shelters or Goodwill unless you are absolutely comfortable with the clients from homeless shelters or drug rehabilitation centers, or any customers of Goodwill thrift shops, wearing products with your logo on it in public.

Most of the guidelines for donating products that a company produces also apply to these kinds of donations. A company's marketing department may want to be involved in creating guidelines regarding who should, or should not, receive donations of items with the company logo on it. That said, know that once a company has donated the items, those items are out of that company's hands and that company has NO control of them anymore - and shouldn't try to.

Donating used items from your company

When a company upgrades its software, furniture or office decor, it may want to donate the software or furniture it was using. A company may also be phasing out the use of some office equipment, such as three ring binders, paper trays, old computers and other hardware, etc.

However, as noted earlier, nonprofits, schools, charities and other mission-based organizations are NOT your dumping ground! Do not assume these used items would be welcomed - the organization may like its current furniture, or feel your furniture isn't appropriate - they have an image to maintain, just as you do. The computers you want to donate may need upgrading and the organization may not have the resources to do this. They may think your motivational posters are cheesy. It's wonderful to offer these items - but respect a "No, thank you" for any reason.

Make sure the items are all clean and in great working order. There should be no broken or worn items among what you are donating. Furniture you want to donate should look new. Used computers or smartphones should be as upgraded as possible and clean of all company files. Nonprofits - even NGOs in developing countries - are serious about their work and, just like you, their image serves as an important message to customers (clients).

The organization may not need nor want your software. They may not have the computers to run it. They may have software they prefer. They may feel the software has too many expenses associated with it, even though you are donating it: they may need support, training and upgrades to run it, all of which they have no money for.

Most of the guidelines for donating products your organization makes also apply to these kinds of donations. Again, know that once you have donated the items, those items are out of your hands and you have no control of them anymore.

What about food? For non-perishable, unopened items (dry pasta in unopened boxes, canned goods, and anything else that does not need to be refrigerated and has a long shelf life - but has not yet gone past the expiration date) the local food bank will probably be happy to take those items off of your hands. Find your local pantry by typing in the name of your city and state, and the phrase food pantry into Google, or call your local United Way or your county's department of health and human services and ask.

But what about unserved, cooked food from a gala event and conference? That's much trickier - food banks will NOT accept such food items. If the unserved food can be immediately packed up appropriately and delivered somewhere, you might find that a local domestic violence shelter, a local temporary (cold weather) shelter in a church or a drop-in youth homeless shelter may take the food, but only if you can deliver it immediately. Call your local United Way or your county's department of health and human services to find these - but call at least the day before the food will be served at your event and get permission first - calling a week in advance would be better. A fire station with onsite staff might also take it but, again, always call first - don't just show up. You can, of course, also give the food to staff - you may have staff members who really need that food but would be afraid to say so without your offering it to them.

Donating space at your company

Nonprofits and charities are often in dire need of meeting or event spaces, but cannot afford to rent such spaces. They may have an all-day conference for 40 people and need a space that provides Internet access and a screen for slide show presentations. They may have an evening event for 100 people where they will present awards to volunteers and need a sound system for the microphone. They may need a meeting room for 15 people and a large table in the middle of it for a board meeting each month.

Communicate with your marketing staff, human resources staff, receptionist(s) and senior staff regarding how they should direct requests from nonprofits about donated space at your company. It's best if one person is in charge of managing requests for meeting space. If you want to put the call out that your company will donate space for special events, contact your local United Way and library - they frequently get calls from organizations looking for donated space.

You also need guidelines for what type of organizations are eligible for donated space. Would this be any nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization based in your city or county? Would you limit it to nonprofits under a certain budget size? Would you limit it to only certain kinds of nonprofits? Would you prohibit anyone under 18 from attending? Would you allow children onsite, with parental supervision?

Some things to keep in mind if you want to donate space at your company to a mission-based organization:

You need a written document that says exactly what times the nonprofit needs the space, what date, what will happen in the space and how many people
That document should detail what your company is willing to provide in association with such a space donation (audio visual equipment? wifi? the wifi password?)
The document should also note if there is a requirement for attendees to sign-in or out, go through security, use only one particular elevator, etc.
Note in writing if a staff member from your company will be there to provide technical support
Note in writing if you are providing parking passes and where attendees should park
Note any restrictions regarding photography and filming at your company
Note any restrictions regarding food or drink in the room
Note any restrictions regarding the organization putting up signs outside your company, in the lobby, etc. to direct attendees
Be clear about where attendees can access restrooms
Note if you will set up the tables and chairs, or if the nonprofit needs to (and if they need to return them to a particular position afterwards)
Security staff should know this event is happening and how to accommodate attendees - written confirmation is best

If you have secure, weather-proof storage space, contact your nearest Girl Scouts of the USA council office and let them know you would be willing to allow the Girl Scout troops in your area use the space to store their camping supplies, dutch ovens, camping ovens, arts and crafts, posters, tables and other items. You can sign prepare and sign paperwork to say that you will not be held responsible for the items, that you want only one or two people to have access to the storage (as opposed to various people), that you have to be called each time someone wants access to the space, and that the offer is good for only one year, with renewal to be discussed within 60 days of the end of your agreement.

Employees gathering items from home to donate

Campaigns for employees to gather food, toys and clothes from their homes for "the needy" are very popular. However, many of these campaigns are misguided: the nonprofit wasn't contacted first about the donations and has no use for the items, for instance. Or the guidelines for donations weren't well-communicated and people gathered inappropriate items the nonprofit cannot use.

It cannot be emphasized enough: before any campaign to have employees donate something, your business needs to be in direct contact with a nonprofit organization and have explicit confirmation, in writing, that they want these donations and written guidelines on how the items will be picked up or should be delivered. Seeing something on the news or on Facebook isn't enough - direct contact is mandatory to ensure these items really are needed and wanted.

You also need to communicate with staff why organizations have restrictions on what can be donated.

For instance, toy drives usually require new toys in their original package. This is to ensure that the items are in perfect working condition and will make children feel just like any child, not someone worthy of only the castoff of others. Same for coat drives, shoe drives, pajama drives, etc.

Your business or corporation can encourage staff to undertake a campaign for these items to be brought in from their homes and donated by your company, as appropriate, or you can simply educate your employees about how to donate items on their own.

Recipients of in-kind donations from employees

Food donations, including pet food donations, must be in packaging that has never been opened, and food must not be unexpired. These can be donated to food banks. Communicate to your employees which food banks are in their area or which banks your company will send all donations to.

See if your community is served by an affiliate of AmpleHarvest.org, which allows you to share fresh produce that employees have grown in their own gardens. Affiliates are usually local food banks.

Human medicine can never be donated. The potential risk and liability from used food or medicine is just too great - and it may even be illegal in your state as well.

Some veterinarian offices will take the remainder of unused pet medicine if it is still in its original packaging and they are the ones that you bought such from, to give to pet owners who absolutely cannot afford medicine for their pets.

Unopened toiletries from hotels might be welcomed by a homeless shelter or domestic violence shelter, but opened items are a no-no. Again, the potential risk and liability from used items is just too great.

Clothing drives are more and more rare, because the price of clothing is relatively inexpensive and many people want the pride of wearing new clothes. In developing countries, donations of used clothing are being refused by a growing number of communities, both because of the incredible expense of shipping and storage and because local shops that sell clothes are undermined by such donations. Used, clean, completely-stain-free business clothes for women might be welcomed at a woman's career closet. You can find these throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Call your local YWCA, United Way and Goodwill to find a career closet for women in in your area (note that your area may not have such). Local college or university drama departments may accept clean hats, clean scarves, clean men's suits, and vintage clothes, as well as period-looking furniture, carpets, lamps and other home furnishings.

Cell phones, smart phones, tablets and other personal electronics are fine to gather up for a recycling drive, however, make it clear to employees what condition these items need to be in and that they are responsible for clearing the memory on the items.

There are some tech4good initiatives that refurbish computers for low-income communities, such as FreeGeek in Portland, Oregon. A search on the Internet with appropriate keywords and your city name will find these if you have such in your area. The Help Kenya Project accepts donated computer systems and ships them to Kenya, where they are donated to qualifying schools. You will need to pay for the shipping of any computer equipment you want to send to the organization, which is based in New York. You can also donate used computer equipment to Goodwill. Again, make it clear to employees what condition these items need to be in and that they are responsible for clearing the memory on the items, and you need to be in direct contact with a nonprofit organization and ensure they have given you up-to-the minute confirmation they want these donations, that they can provide explicit guidelines on how the items will be picked up, etc.

After a disaster, do NOT start any donation drive unless you have been in direct contact with a nonprofit organization and they have given you up-to-the minute confirmation they need donations and they can provide explicit guidelines on what they want and how they want it. Here's much more about making donations and providing other help during emergency appeals / after disasters. Before your company starts a clothing drive to help hurricane victims, sending employees into neighborhoods or sending money to the first disaster-aid organization that comes to mind, read this advice.

One of the best places to donate new or clean used clothes, clean used toys, clean dishes and cookware, electronics (VCRs, TVs, stereos, CD players, computers) and clean used furniture is Goodwill, which uses its store both to train people who are entering or re-entering the workforce and to raise money for its programs. By giving to Goodwill, you are helping to train people who want to work but need training and experience in order to get a job, you are helping the organization raise money for their programs, and you are better ensuring your items will get to someone who really wants them. Note the emphasis on clean items - please do NOT donate dirty, soiled or worn clothes, nor broken electronics, to Goodwill.

Books can be donated to your local library, which will use them either as part of their lending collection or to sell and raise money to make purchases for its collection (libraries subscribe to several periodicals, databases and academic journals, and these subscriptions are VERY expensive!). Your local Goodwill also accepts books.

There may be a bicycle recycling initiative in your area that would welcome used bicycle donations. Find out by typing in the name of your city and state, and the phrase bicycle donation, then again with the phrase bicycle recycle, into Google, or call your local United Way and ask.

Your staff can donate used braces, crutches or a prosthetic to PIPO Missions, which refurbishes donated items and then custom-fits and delivers them to people in need in rural Mexico.

Your staff can donate used eye glasses to Lions Club International. Volunteers at Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centers (LERCs) clean, sort by prescription strength and package the glasses. Most of the recycled glasses are distributed to people in need in developing countries where they will have the greatest impact.

Donate CDs, DVDs, iPods and MP3 players to US troops based overseas via Tunes4thetroops.

Donate a musical instrument to the Roots of Music, for children in the Gulf Coast, or call your local elementary school, middle school or high school and ask if they accept donations for students who cannot afford such. Your local Kiwanis Club may have a program to donate musical instruments as well.

Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program collects old, worn-out athletic shoes for recycling, transforming them into a material used in creating athletic and playground surfaces as well as select Nike products. You can drop off athletic shoes of any brand for recycling. Sandals, flip-flops, dress shoes, boots and other types of shoes are not accepted. Shoes containing metal such as cleats or spikes also cannot be accepted. You can also recycle LIVESTRONG wristbands from the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Bring up to 10 pairs of shoes to any Reuse-A-Shoe collection location, which can be found at all U.S. Nike retail stores as well as some global Nike locations, as well as places like universities, athletic clubs, special events and community recycling centers.

Clean, gently used shoes that are NOT in need of any repairs whatsoever can be donated to Goodwill or Soles4Souls or Donate Your Old Shoes.

If you are in Los Angeles, lightly-used car seats, strollers, clean baby clothes and toys can be donated to A New Way of Life, helping formerly incarcerated women and their children. Otherwise, these might be able to go to Goodwill (all items should be clean and fully-functional). A search on Google or Bing will find any initiatives in your area that accept these donations.

Adventure 16's Donate-A-Pack Foundation exists to benefit at-risk, low income, or disabled youth in Southern California by enabling them to partake in an outdoor wilderness experience. The foundation accepts all types of outdoor gear in usable condition, in addition to backpacks. The most needed items are sleeping bags, pads, tents and backpacks, but we also accept cook sets, stoves, water filters, footwear, apparel and more. Unless an item is badly damaged or falling apart, you can bring the item to one of the Adventure 16 stores in Southern California (they also accept shipped items - see the web site for details.

You can usually donate a car to your local public radio station or your local public television station. Goodwill will also often accept donation of used cars, even cars that do not operate anymore.

Home-made sewn or knitted items can go to a variety of places:

Afghans for Afghans

Mother Bear Project, provides crocheted and knit bears to children with HIV/AIDS

Binky Patrol is an all volunteer, national, non-profit organization making and distributing homemade blankets to children born HIV+, drug-addicted, infected with AIDS or other chronic & terminal illnesses, those who are abused, in foster care or experiencing trauma of any kind. A binky is a homemade blanket that can be sewn, knitted, crocheted or quilted. the blankets range in size from three feet square up to twin bed size.

Project Linus, making blankets and crafts for sick children

Quilts of Valor (QOVs), making quilts for soldiers.

Adopt a Soldier, allows volunteers to send letters and items to soldiers.

Shawl Ministry (Christian volunteering)

I would love to help your company prepare your own campaigns, policies and forms for in-kind donations.

Return to my index of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) resources & advice for ethics, strategies & operations.

I'm Jayne Cravens. I'm a consultant regarding communications and community engagement, primarily for nonprofits, NGOs and other mission-based organizations. I have many years of experience working with corporations, governments, foundations and other donors, and for two years, I ran a corporate philanthropy program at a Fortune 500 company. I created these corporate social responsibility (CSR) pages on my web site out of frustration of the continuing disconnect between what mission-based organizations, including schools, are trying to accomplish and what corporations and other businesses want to fund and volunteer for. Most advice for CSR comes from people in the for-profit world who have never worked for a nonprofit, charity, public school, etc., and often has a paternal approach to working with mission-based organizations. My approach is different: I am urging the business world to be partners, not dictators, when it comes to the third sector.

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