Organisations helped to make their budgets go furtherIf you asked most fundraisers what their main priority is, the answer is more than likely to involve securing some sort of cash donation. But a growing number of voluntary organisations are realising the value of ‘in kind’ donations such as free office space, discounted venues for events or used computers. It has been estimated that these sorts of donations were worth more than £11 million to the voluntary sector, helping organisations maintain services in the face of funding cuts. Now, Reach is collaborating with a charity called In Kind Direct to make more organisations aware of the value of this different type of giving. It could be toys needed to run a nursery, toiletries for residents of a women’s refuge or stationery for a charity’s head office. Whatever the product, In Kind Direct provides goods to enable voluntary organisations run their operations and provide their services. All the products sourced by In Kind Direct are supplied by UK manufacturers and retailers. They are new products that are often end of lines, in damaged packaging or customer returns. And they are made available to In Kind Direct’s network of charities by an online catalogue. All that charities pay when ordering goods is a handling charge, which generally equates to between 10 to 30% of the normal retail price. This contributes to In Kind Direct’s costs, enabling them to source more goods and help even more charities. As a registered charity itself, In Kind Direct understands the importance of making budgets go further and aims to help organisations achieve that goal. |
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BME Concern, a charity that supports disadvantaged communities in the UK and in Africa, has been part of In Kind Direct’s charity network since 2005. It reckons that, as a result, it has saved well over £100,000.
[Left: BME Concern in Nigeria handing out Mothercare baby clothes sourced by In Kind Direct]
Anne Phillips, the charity’s founder, says: ‘Fundraising is getting so much more difficult and we wouldn’t be able to offer the services we do if it wasn’t for In Kind Direct. They have saved us so much money – cutting our costs by around 90%.’
And the benefits for charities do not stop there. Organisations can also use the difference between the handling charge and the retail value of the goods as ‘matched funding’ when applying for grants. This enables them to access pots of funding they might not otherwise have been able to obtain.
Dumfries Welfare Rights received lottery funding after demonstrating that they can make their funds go further through using In Kind Direct. Programme Coordinator, Fiona Buckley, explains: ‘The people we support are living in temporary accommodation, either because they have recently been released from prison or because they are living in a refuge after leaving domestic abuse situations. They have little or no money and cannot afford the very basic items they need, such as toothpaste and washing-up liquid. The starter packs, which we manage to make up through the goods we get from In Kind Direct, help us in our outreach work to break down the barriers people often put up.’
To order products from In Kind Direct, charities must first register online to join the In Kind Direct charity network. To register for free, visit www.inkinddirect.org