In
1998, Lisa Gautier of San Francisco founded Matter
of Trust.org (MofT) with the help of her husband, Patrice
Gautier (a director with Apple Computers, Inc.), and the support
of 35 friends and relatives. An ecological 501 (c)(3) public charity,
MofT concentrates on manmade surplus, natural surplus and social
programs. MofT's first manmade surplus project was Reuse of Society's
Abundance (ROSA) which developed into ExcessAccess.com.
It
all started when Lisa was given a new rug and wanted to donate
her old rug because it was still perfectly good. She found a school
that could use it in their library story-time area. While there,
she asked if they could use anything else and was given her first
"wish list". She was amazed by how many generous businesses
and households want to provide good surplus that's about to be
dumped. Everyone prefers to pass on items to those in need, they
are just stumped about how to do this conveniently.
But
more evoking is the other side of the coin. The harsh effects
of budget cuts, the scarcity of supplies in schools and nonprofits
here in the US and the shortages for international NGOs.
