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Essential Goods for Basic Needs

United Way of Westchester and Putnam facilitates donations of goods from businesses and retail partners to local nonprofits, who will then make these items available to those in need within the community. These include baby items, books, bedding, clothing, electronics, home goods, personal care items, school supplies, and toys.

 

If you’re a potential donor to the EGBN Program, please visit www.uwwp.org/egbn-donor

Once you become a member of the EGBN Program, your primary contact will occasionally receive emails about opportunities to pick up donations. If you agree to pick up the donation, you (not your client/customer) are responsible for picking up the donation on the scheduled day. Donors are not required to help move or transport their donations. United Way does not store or deliver donated items; we just help make the match.

In addition, nonprofits who are members of UWWP’s Essential Goods for Basic Needs Program can order donated items at a discount through our Good360 membership. These items (diapers, backpacks, mattresses, holiday gifts, etc.) will be available on a limited basis as per the Good360 marketplace. The ordering nonprofit is required to provide payment upfront. Orders will be shipped directly to the nonprofit agency.

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In order to become a member of the Essential Goods for Basic Needs Program, your organization must:

1. Be designated 501(c)3 status by the IRS, or a school, religious institution, or housing authority

2. Serve clients in Westchester and/or Putnam Counties

3. Apply to be a member of the Essential Goods for Basic Needs Program here: www.uwwp.org/egbn-application

1. Your agency or organization must submit proof of current 501(c)(3) status or other nonprofit status from the IRS.  

2. Your agency or organization may use donated goods only as direct charitable donations to people in need.  

3. Donations may not be distributed to other organizations unless they are a member of the EGBN Program.

4. Donations cannot be used for fundraisers, raffles, auctions, given to volunteers or staff members, or sold in retail stores, on websites, in flea markets, or in any other manner.   

5. Only sign up for donations that you are confident you can pick up. If you schedule a pickup with a donor, you are committing to that donation.  

6. UWWP has sole discretion for allocating donations, not the donor. All donation approval must go through UWWP.

7. Agency/organization representatives must be the one to contact a UWWP donor. A member’s client/customer is NEVER to be given a donor’s information. A member’s client/customer is never to go to a UWWP donor unaccompanied by a representative of the member’s agency. 

8. In the case of pickups outside of UWWP’s office, the paperwork given to you to be completed upon pickup must be faxed or emailed to us immediately after the pickup.   

9. Members must ensure they have appropriate transportation to accommodate the size of the donation.  

10. When accepting large and/or heavy donations it is the member’s responsibility to ensure the appropriate number of capable people are available to lift and transport the items.

11. Your agency or organization consents to a site visit to be scheduled at a later date.  

12. You are required to keep basic records of donations received and distributed.  

13. Your agency or organization agrees to submit impact stories related to the goods received.  

14. As an Essential Goods member, you are a partner with UWWP and we ask that you display our logo on your website. 

Good360 is the leading donor to the EGBN Program. Good360’s mission is to close the need gap. As the global leader in product philanthropy and purposeful giving, Good360 partners with some of the world’s largest corporations to source essential goods and distribute them through a network of diverse nonprofits, supporting people in need to open opportunity for all.

 

For more information on the Essential Goods for Basic Needs Program, please call at 914-997-6700 x743 or email essentialgoods@uwwp.org. 

FAQs

a. 501(c)3 nonprofit

b. Serve clients in Westchester and Putnam

Submit your application and proof of 501(c)3 status through our website uwwp.org/egbn-application.

a. Your agency or organization may use donated goods only as direct charitable donations to people in need.

 

b. Donations may not be distributed to other organizations unless approval by UWWP is obtained prior.

 

c. Donations cannot be used for fundraisers, raffles, auctions, given to volunteers or staff members, or sold in retail stores, on websites, in flea markets, or in any other manner.   

a. Typically, UWWP notifies members when donations are available. Members are able to sign up and schedule pickups through UWWP’s website.

b. UWWP confirms appointments with the donor and sends Outlook calendar invites to the recipient, including all necessary info and paperwork.

c. UWWP requests that partners limit to 2-3 pickups per month so that all partners have an opportunity to receive donations.

d. Partners are required to bring two copies of an authorization form to be completed at the pickup, one to be kept by the donor and one to be kept by the recipient organization and emailed back to UWWP.

e. UWWP has sole discretion for allocating donations, not the donor. All donation approval must go through UWWP.  

f. Only sign up for donations that you are confident you can pick up. If you schedule a pickup with a donor, you are committing to that donation.  

g. Agency/organization representatives must be the one to contact a UWWP donor. A member’s client/customer is NEVER to be given a donor’s information. A member’s client/customer is never to go to a UWWP donor unaccompanied by a representative of the member’s agency. 

a. In the case of pickups outside of UWWP’s office, the paperwork given to you to be completed upon pickup must be faxed or emailed to us immediately after the pickup.   

b. Members must ensure they have appropriate transportation to accommodate the size of the donation.  

c. When accepting large and/or heavy donations it is the member’s responsibility to ensure the appropriate number of capable people are available to lift and transport the items.

  1. Retail donations usually consist of surplus items moved out of inventory, returns, or seasonal items. We do not know the specific items in a donation ahead of time. You may be able to call the donor ahead of time to get an idea of what the donation contains, however, if you have scheduled a pickup, you are still committed to the donation, regardless of the items.

a. Your agency or organization consents to a site visit to be scheduled at a later date.  

b. You are required to keep basic records of donations received and distributed.  

c. Your agency or organization agrees to submit impact stories related to the goods they received.  

d. As an Essential Goods member, you are a partner with UWWP and we ask that you display our logo on your website. 

If an organization repeatedly violates the conditions of the program, UWWP reserves the right to remove organizations from the program. Violations include the following:

a. No paperwork when arriving at a pickup. 

b. Paperwork is not delivered to UWWP staff promptly, UWWP has to make repeated requests for paperwork to be returned.

c. Cancellation of a pickup without adequate notice. 

d. Not following donor’s rules.

e. Not taking all products in the donation.

f. Not bringing adequate transportation for donations.

g. Items are not to be sold or used for fundraising. 

h. Failing to submit reports.   

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