If you've seen a teacher's classroom request get funded on DonorsChoose, you already know the idea behind Aid Registry. Instead of asking for money in general, the school asks for specific things. Donors fund those things, and the items are bought and shipped to the classroom. It's a simple idea, and it works because everyone can see exactly what a gift became. This page explains how that item-based giving works for nonprofits on Aid Registry: who buys and ships, what donors pay, and what happens if a campaign doesn't fully fund.
DonorsChoose for nonprofits: where the idea came from
DonorsChoose helps public school teachers get classroom materials funded,[1] and it's the reason Aid Registry exists. We watched it make giving concrete: a donor funds a set of books, and the teacher can post a photo of the class reading them.
DonorsChoose is built for teachers. Its eligibility rules cover full-time educators at public schools, public charter schools and Head Start programs. If you're one of them, it's where you should go for classroom supplies.
We built Aid Registry to bring the same kind of giving to other nonprofits: shelters, food banks, animal rescues, churches and faith groups, housing programs, PTAs and more.
How item-based giving works on Aid Registry
- A charity lists what it needs. It searches Amazon, Home Depot or Walmart, or pastes a link to any product, from socks to a commercial washer. Each item gets a quantity and a priority.
- It picks a campaign or an ongoing wishlist. A campaign has a goal and can have a deadline: good for a drive or a big purchase. An ongoing wishlist is for things the charity always needs, like diapers or pet food, and never ends.
- Donors fund the items. They pick specific items, or give any amount toward the list. Donors cover their share of shipping, sales tax and a 3% card processing fee, all itemized before they pay. Every donor gets an emailed tax acknowledgment.
- Aid Registry buys and ships them. A campaign is ordered once it's fully funded, or at its deadline if the charity chose to buy what was raised. A wishlist is ordered every two weeks, highest priority first. The items are shipped to the charity.
- The charity says thank you. It posts photos and a thank-you when a campaign is fulfilled, or when each wishlist order arrives, and the donors whose gifts paid for them are emailed.
Who buys and ships the items
Aid Registry does. Donations go to Aid Registry, Inc., a 501(c)(3), and we use them to buy the exact items on the list. Donors don't check out on a retailer's site, and the charity never has to handle the money and place the orders itself.
Because a campaign's items are ordered together, the charity gets them in one delivery instead of a box from every donor. (Here's why retail wish lists arrive in 40 boxes.) A wishlist arrives every two weeks instead. Each order comes with an email listing what we bought and what it cost, a typical delivery window, and an itemized in-kind statement the charity can use to record the donation in its books. If an item is out of stock, we check with the charity about an equivalent.
What happens if a campaign doesn't fully fund
The charity decides when it creates the campaign. At the deadline, Aid Registry can either:
- buy as much as the funds cover, starting with items donors picked, then in the charity's priority order, or
- extend the deadline to give the campaign more time.
A campaign can also run with no deadline. Either way, we email the charity a few days before any deadline, so there's time to change course.
Why fund items instead of giving cash
Unrestricted cash is still the most flexible gift a charity can get, and item-based giving isn't meant to replace it. It reaches donors who want to give something specific:
- Donors see what their gift became. A sleeping bag or a month of cat food is easier to picture, and to share, than a dollar amount.
- Charities get what they asked for. The items on the list, in the sizes and quantities the charity chose.
- The thank-you is real. A photo of the new beds says more than a receipt.
Charities that already use a retail wish list will recognize the appeal. We wrote about where an Amazon wish list falls short, and what item-based giving adds.
Who can use Aid Registry
IRS-verified nonprofits, from a two-person food pantry to a regional shelter network. We match each charity against IRS records, and a person on our team reviews it before its page goes public. It's free for charities: donors cover the item costs, their share of shipping and sales tax, and card processing. To start, register your charity, or read how to build a campaign first.
Aid Registry is an independent nonprofit. We aren't affiliated with or endorsed by DonorsChoose; we just admire what it built.
Sources
- About us | DonorsChoose, donorschoose.org
