Raise Significant Funds without asking for Money
This content requires the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player
Company makes giving a little easier
Originally printed on January 30, 2008
by Laurel Walker in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Think of it as tossing your no-longer-used exercise equipment, china pieces or vintage clothing into the church collection basket or charity's return fund-raising envelope. Let somebody else fold in the savvy of the eBay or Craigslist online auction world, where some buyer out there will pay hard cash for your things. It's money you didn't have on hand to give but, thanks to you, will still end up with your favorite charity.
That's the idea behind a new fund-raising approach, Project12Baskets, started a year ago by four partners and their Michigan-based company with the software technology to pull it off. Man, I could use this idea to clear out my life's clutter. "We're just a seed in the ground right now," says Rob Grozenski, a cofounder and executive vice president. His company just shipped checks totaling $60,000 to 38 charitable organizations, including three in Wisconsin, for items sold online in the last quarter of 2007. Divine Redeemer Lutheran Church and School in Hartland is hoping it is fertile ground for the Project12Baskets germinating seed. Other participants in the area are First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Cedarburg and Martin Luther High School in Greendale. For every $50 in items sold, about $43 is left after auction expenses. About $30 is sent to the charity, and Project12Baskets keeps just under $13.
Sue Schmidt of Lisbon, a "volunteer mom" at Divine Redeemer, is the unpaid project leader who said she'll also help other organizations that want to give it a try. "I don't see a downside," she said. "To me it seems like a no-brainer." It sure sounds easier than mega garage sales or gala fund-raisers. And though you can now donate your leftovers to thrift-store charities such as Goodwill or St. Vincent De Paul, this lets you target your non-cash giving even more.
You don't have to be eBay-conversant to get involved. Charitable organizations don't have to pay for the software, and they can let Project12Baskets representatives do as little or as much of the prep work - screening the donated items, taking digital pictures, writing up descriptions, storing them, shipping them - as they choose. Schmidt said the more volunteers can do locally, the more merchandise they can move and the quicker the cash will add up. The biggest task, she said, is getting your community to regularly donate. Project12Baskets will even handle estates.
Donors can follow along by computer and watch their list of donated items go on the bidding block. When it's all done, they can get a printout of what their tax-deductible donations amounted to. With each sold item shipped, there's a nice touch - a thank-you note from Project12Baskets enclosed that identifies the charity helped by that buyer's purchase.
If you know your loaves-and-fishes Bible story, you probably have guessed the meaning behind the Project12Baskets name. Jesus fed the multitudes with just five loaves and two fishes, and when everyone was done eating, there were another 12 baskets full of food left over. True enough, there is an abundance - no, an overabundance - of stuff in my home, and maybe in yours, too. If this idea catches on with charities, we'll have a new way to spread the wealth.