Raise Significant Funds without asking for Money
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Odds and ends turned to funding
Originally printed on February 6, 2008
by Jennifer S. McDonald in the Rochester Post
Photo by Erin Sanchez
ROCHESTER HILLS - Looking for some items that range from unusual to useful? Or how about a way to get rid of those objects collecting dust? What if you want to donate to a favorite charity?
At least 50 charities have signed on to reap the benefits of Rochester Hills-based corporation Project12Baskets’ services. The company accepts donated items of every kind and enters them into different Internet auctions - truly turning someone’s trash into a charity’s treasure.
In the last quarter of 2007 alone, Project12Baskets raised more than $60,000, working with about 65 organizations in Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Ohio. Local organizations include Notre Dame Preparatory and St. John Lutheran Church and School. And they’re working on more. Their ultimate goal is to become a household name nationwide, President and founder Barry Olson said.
"We’ve created a new currency. The rewards have been unbelievable," Olson said.
Charities receive 70 percent of each auction’s profit, while donors experience a feeling of self-accomplishment and worth, Olson said. The name "Project12Baskets" is in reference to the Biblical miracle of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. In the account, Jesus came up with enough food to feed thousands, leaving 12 baskets of leftovers.
With that understanding, donating to Project12Baskets is not only a way to give back to what’s important, Olson said, but also to make an impact on the community. The beauty of it is that anyone wishing to donate to a specific church, school or charity can by specifying where they want the proceeds from their items to go.
"This is not like vague giving. This really nails it down," Olson said. "Whatever it is, you know exactly where it’s going. It’s something that’s really catching on with people."
So what do you give? The possibilities are endless.
"It’s the things you can’t just go to the store and buy," Olson said. "A lot of people ask what kind of things really sell. I tell them if you once held it valued in your life, it's probably valuable to someone else right now. The list ranges far and wide."
Recent big-ticket items include a collection of speeches by Winston Churchill that went for $711, a 1962 World’s Fair yo-yo that sold for $635 and eight vintage toy Indian men that netted $56. They never know what items are worth until they put them up for auction, Olson said.
Olson, a resident of Rochester Hills, said he and several other partners, including Executive Vice President Rob Grozenski, have been developing the project for years. They worked together at the Troy-based Chimes Inc. division of Computer Horizons Corp., which was sold last year to Axium International.
"For us it’s a great way to create jobs in Michigan, to create a whole new business, and make southeastern Michigan the giving capital of the world," Grozenski said. "We want people to know that Detroit people give. We always have."
Project12Baskets primarily runs on proprietary software, called AbundanceWeaver, developed by Olson’s son Ben, Grozenski said. The software organizes donations and connects to public electronic auction sites - like eBay and Craigslist - to increase each items’ price and optimize their value.
Grozenski said charities pay nothing to get involved with Project12Baskets until the item is sold and donors get a precise tax deduction for the sale price of their items.
With 92 percent of all the items sold it's a win-win situation for everyone, Grozenski added. Items that aren’t sold are donated to other charities like Goodwill or the Salvation Army.
"The beauty of it is that you can donate items and the money to a charity of your choice while cleaning out your storage space," Grozenski said. "We really have built an effective charity that gives back and gives them access to what they need. We built a system that works."