Raise Significant Funds without asking for Money
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Online auctions benefiting charities
Originally printed on January 20, 2008
by Gina Damron in the Detroit Free Press
There's a vintage, unopened bottle of perfume going for $33.25 and a box of 77 assorted Matchbox Hot Wheels fetching at least $14.99. There's an antique lantern light post for $39.99, an air-conditioning unit for $399.99, and a bust of Franklin D. Roosevelt for $22.99.
All these items are up for auction on eBay. But these are not just for personal gain: Most of the proceeds are to go to charities -- an initiative by Project12Baskets, a Rochester Hills company. The company takes donations of stuff -- everything from furniture to toys to jewelry -- puts them up on Web sites like eBay and Craigslist and gives 70% of the profits to schools, churches and nonprofit organizations. The rest of the money goes to the company for operation expenses.
Project12Baskets, which started last February, is working with about 60 organizations and institutions in Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Ohio. In the last quarter of 2007, the company raised about $60,000 for its partner charities, a company official said. Barry Olson, president of the company, said that in addition to Rochester Hills, there are drop-off centers in Saginaw, Naperville, Ill., and Minneapolis. Schools like Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy in Pontiac have been the beneficiaries, getting more than $10,000 through the company since November. Parents of children at the school have donated furniture, an electric guitar, a PalmPilot, medical examination table and more. "People are concerned about job security, they're concerned about finances, they're concerned about bills," said Andy Guest, director of advancement for the school. "But this is a way they can still make a nice donation to a charity." He said donors still reap tax write-offs for their gifts.
Olson said anyone wishing to donate to a specific church, school or charity can do so by specifying where they want the proceeds from their merchandise to go. The four high schools with the Lutheran High School Association of Greater Detroit has received more than $20,000 in donations, which has gone toward tuition grants, faculty salaries, a new football scoreboard and other needs, said John Herzog, superintendent of the association. People still can support their favorite charities, he said, "even if you don't have the funds to do it."