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FAQ p.3 - Sign up Help
(FAQ p.1 - General and donor-specific questions)
(FAQ p.2 - Recipient-specific questions)

Descriptions under headings will help you find which profile fits your situation (Individual, Nonprofit or Business) and click on top heading to sign up. Remember the "Account Name" will be on the tax deductible receipt.

If you have a gift certificate, you still sign up according to your profile and in the payment section there will be a field to enter your gift certificate #. For special programs please scroll down for titles in bold and instructions.



INDIVIDUAL (to donate household items and materials and / or browse the left-overs raffle):

Households - To date, and we started in 1998, we have never had an incident, but we do recommend that you read our safety hints. In general, we are delighted to find that our members are generous, good hearted people who are trying to help others. However, our good friends at Craigslist have seen problems on rare occasions and so all reuse programs are providing guidelines for their users.

Dorm rooms
College students are also welcome to sign up and post what they have to donate. We find that it works better if each student or group of roommates signs up separately and lists what they have for matching with nearby wishes. Later building managers may want to post "general household goods" for all that remains. But often there is a lot that goes to waste and never gets picked up if building managers only do the only posting.

Sign up as a NONPROFIT RECIPIENT (can also donate) if you are:

501(c)(3) Public Charities - Post any surplus donations and all your wishes for your offices, your programs and for those you help. Often large organizations have several people sign up for multiple accounts within one building. This makes for better detailed wish postings and matching. For donations, the closer the registrant is to the donated item, the more accurate the descriptions and the faster the matching. You will know better than an office or building manager if your monitor works or where the keys are to your filing cabinet lock, etc.

Grassroots organizations - Our favorites - get your offices furnished through donations and use your funding for your vital programs!

Charitable Religious Entities - Post your surplus as donations and post all your wishes for your offices, your programs and for those you help. We also LOVE working with religious networks of ALL denominations during efforts for EMERGENCY RELIEF and NATURAL DISASTERS. We find you to be the best at reaching households, getting accurate wish lists and distributing donated goods as lives start to rebuild! You don't get as much public recognition as some other groups, but we here know that you are on the ground in forgotten areas and deserve the Kudos!

Programs with fiscal agents - If you don't have nonprofit status yet, you can still sign up and provide the Federal ID # of your fiscal sponsor in the field provided.

Programs without fiscal agents & one time projects - You can still sign up as a nonprofit recipient and make wishes. Make sure to click on the box that says Need Umbrella during sign up. Upon review of your description, our charity may be able to cover you for in-kind donations through this system. We reserve the right to refuse payment and refuse application. Or, you can always choose to sign up as individuals and browse the left-overs raffle.

Schools - Often teachers sign up classroom by classroom for supplies, furniture etc. and many make wishes for their low income students who need shoes and coats...)

Government Entities - We'd rather you recycle your surplus than dump it and we're truly delighted when you make wishes for furniture instead of spending tax dollars. Also, you can email us for bulk registrations to create city-wide department-by-department sign-ups for donation / wishing systems.

501(a) - Political organizations... can also sign up to post surplus items. Upon review of your description our charity may umbrella you for receiving in-kind donations through this system. On rare occasions, we reserve the right to refuse payment and refuse application. Also, feel free to browse the left-overs raffle.

Foundations - You can sign up to post your surplus items. Also, we have a special outreach program through foundations who want to include our educational inserts about the benefits of reuse and how in-kind donations can stretch the funding dollars of your grant applicants. Do you do mailouts of acceptance / rejection letters? If you wish to receive a packet of our tasteful flyers to go inside those letters, please email us.

Hospitals, Clinics & Vetrinarians - You often have lots surplus items that go to waste. Also, you can post wishes for your offices, waiting rooms (sofas, magazines), kennels (old toys for puppies to play with) and for volunteers...

International NGOs - Please email us first. We work with international groups on a case by case basis.

Daycares - You can sign up to make wishes or post your surplus items. Upon review of your description in the sign up, our charity may umbrella you for in-kind donations through this system. We reserve the right to refuse payment and refuse application. You can also choose to sign up under businesses and browse the left-overs raffle.

Recyclers & Scrap - Even though you're not nonprofits, you can sign up and make wishes, you are defining our environmental cause and some donations are really broken and should be scrap. Also, you can check out our left-overs raffle for goods that aren't moving.

Individuals in shelters or in difficult situations - If you're looking for donations, you might want to see if your shelters can sign up as a nonprofit and make a wish list. Also, check with your community center or church, temple, mosque... OR sign up as an individual above. Remember that as a recipient of items through wishes or in the left-overs raffle you are responsible for pick-ups. May we also suggest our friends at CraigsList.com and Freecycle.com - since you don't need tax receipts or tracking. They're both free and excellent resources!

Sign up as a BUSINESS (also see our rapid advantage option) if you are:

Large & medium sized - Often we see several people sign up for multiple accounts within one building. The closer the registrant is to the item, the more accurate the descriptions and the faster the matching. You will know better than an office or building manager if your monitor works or where the keys are to your filing cabinet lock, etc.

Also, please note that we match by zip codes and if you have items in multiple locations, each address needs its own account. Our system doesn't work well if you sign up once as a home office in New York but your desks are in warehouses all over the Midwest. For HUGE ship container size donations that you need to move quickly and all at once, may we also suggest our friends at InKindEx.com, this is really their specialty.

Small Businesses - Our favorite, when we match your donations with nearby charities, it is community building and you often have quantities that match what grassroots groups can handle.

Sole Proprietorships - We recommend signing up as a business instead of as an individual if you'd like to promote your services or need your business name on the tax deductible receipts. We reach a lot of people in a variety of fields. Often we get emailed for green business referrals and we like to promote our philanthropic members.

Movers - We are ALWAYS being asked for mover referrals. Especially if there is a large donation with multiple recipients. The movers can make one pick-up and multiple drop-offs to charities. This way the movers get more business with less travel and if the charities can split the costs everybody wins. Please email us if you would like your contact info to show up as a by-line on matching emails going out to those in your area, for an affordable additional P/R fee.

Corporate Volunteers We often get requests for volunteers and there are few better team building or horizon broadening experiences than serving lunch in a homeless shelter or cleaning up a beach. May we also suggest iyr friends at VolunteerMatch.com. This is really their specialty.

Green Businesses - We are very connected to the ecological community and the current tidal wave of green businesses. Please give us a detailed description of what you do during sign up. We do a lot of connecting of like minded people and the inspired results from these link ups are often further reaching than we can even imagine!

CPAs and Tax Preparers - Along with regular donations of surplus furniture, supplies, etc., we also have a special outreach program for accountants who want to include our educational insert on reuse, recycling and the tax benefits of in-kind giving. Do you do mailouts for tax preparation and final tax returns? If you wish to receive a packet of our flyers to provide to your customers, please email us.

Hair Salons - Along with regular donations of surplus furniture, supplies, etc., we also have a special program for donating hair clippings to make mats that clean up oil spills. You have to check this out. It is WILD! Hair salons get to sign up for free, by clicking on the hair salon option during sign up. However, if you would like the 3 posters and start up kit, that costs $15 including the shipping. If you choose the free option click on hair salon in the payment section. If you want the posters, enter a payment method. Hair salons do not need to post every time then send in hair. We track each box at our end.

Restaurants - Along with regular donations of surplus furniture, supplies, etc., we also have a special outreach program for extra food for community kitchens and your fryer grease to biodiesel producers. And if you want to post this surplus as available every day or every week, please email us so that we can provide special receipts for the recurring donations.

As you can see, the more the merrier. The great thing about in-kind donations, is you don't have to worry about fraud as much. It's not like concerns you can have with what will happen to money after it's donated. Chances are, if a chair is being donated, it's going to be used for sitting.

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FAQ p.1 - General and donor-specific questions

FAQ p.2 - Recipient-specific questions

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Excess Access is the on-line matching database system which was developed for the
Reuse Of Society's Abundance (ROSA) program at our mother organization MatterOfTrust.org