Good 360

Good360 is a charitable online product donation marketplace. It has the distinction of being the seventh largest charitable organization in the United States and the world's largest online product donation marketplace. Good 360 receives donations in the form of goods and money from individuals, small companies as well as big corporates and distributes it among the community charities and nonprofits across the United States and other parts of the world.

The organization has been involved in philanthropy for over 28 years and is known to be among the top ten best managed charitable organizations according to the Forbes magazine ranking and it boasts of being capable of conducting its operations at less than 1.8 percent of the value of the donated products. Good 360 caters to a wide range of charities and organizations including various shelters for the homeless, schools which are in need of equipments and supplies, hospitals and other healthcare facilities, job training programs for creating employment opportunities, relief and relocation services after natural disasters and build churches and other clubs and organizations that are involved in philanthropy.

Good 360 makes use of the monetary donations made by the companies and individuals towards the shipping costs of the goods that need to be supplied across the world. There are many top brands and other fortune 500 companies which are a part of the Good 360 network and donate various products and merchandise for a good cause. Few of the big names include Microsoft Corp., DELL Inc., Hewlett Packard Company, Starbucks Coffee, International Business Machines, General Motors, 3M, Adobe Systems and many more.

The registered nonprofit organizations in need of any products from Good 360 can check the catalog online and then make a request depending upon the availability. The resources will be accessible all year round 24/7. By connecting with the donors and with other non-profits around the world, Good 360 has streamlined the flow of required products from the donors to charities based upon their requirements in a very effective way with the minimum possible expenditure.

Purpose

The mission of Gifts in Kind is to fulfill the needs of non-profit organizations with the help of donations from corporations. Products as well as money from individuals, small companies and big corporations are distributed to various registered charitable organizations all over the world.

The organization aims to fulfill the missions of non-profits by providing product resources. It also helps organizations by helping them give back to the society where they are based. It also aims to help individuals to increase the effect of cash contributions that can help send the donated products to the needy charities. The organization in a sense aims to create a win-win situation where both the donating corporations feel better by getting rid of their excess stock and non-profits gaining donated products that they need. This also helps keep the excess products from corporations to accumulate in landfills and instead gives them a second life by helping it reach where it is most urgently needed.

Good 360 allows the charities to register online and the donated products available at Good 360 can be viewed online and ordered by these organizations. The products will be available for free for the charitable organizations, but they will have to pay a service fee which will go towards shipping and handling of the products. The registered organizations can access Good 360's inventory list anytime for the available donations and order. The products will delivered within 2 days after ordering. The organizations can also partner with a local retail stores so that they can procure the goods without any delay and shipping costs.

Microsoft, Dell, Disney, Lego, Mattel, GM, JC Penny and Hilton are few among the numerous corporates who are a part of the Good 360 network. It is not always required for the charities to pay a service fee for the goods they order from Good 360, with sometimes the donor offering to take care of the shipping and handling charges as well. Apart from that, the individuals can also donate money or offer money volunteer for the organization. The money donated by individuals will also be utilized for shipping and handling of goods all over the world to the needy and to various charitable organizations.

History

Gifts In Kind International, presently known as Good 360 was started in the year 1983 and it was incorporated the following year. The first product distributed by this nonprofit was new office equipments worth $ 12 million donated by 3M Company. Gifts in Kind saw its product donations rise and by 1986 they had already distributed products worth $ 44 million to various qualified nonprofits. During the period, their donations also included around 80,000 vacuum cleaners which were channeled to numerous nonprofits, after school programs and senior centers.

Within 3 years of its inception, Gifts In Kind's logistics included 10 warehouses. It was renamed as Gifts In Kind America in 1987 and went on to become the fastest growing and the most efficient charitable organization in the United States. Gifts In Kind America made a significant contribution to the victims of Hurricane Hugo and earthquake victims in California.

During the span of four years from 1991to 1994 the organization reached various milestones which included a major grant by the well-known Pew Charitable Trusts for the Housing, Community Services and Technology Programs run by Goods In Kind America, distribution of donated software programs to more than 5000 charities and many more. A new Retail Donation Partner Program introduced by the organization went on to become an important program for the organization. Through this program, local charities were able to partner with the retail stores in the communities.

Gifts In Kind America was rechristened as Gifts In Kind International in 1996 and it assisted Federal Emergency Management Agency during various disasters. The Retail Donation Partner Program had more than a dozen retailers in it within 2-3 years of its inception.

More than 40 percent of the Fortune 500 companies began working with Gifts In Kind International by 2002 and the organization is recognized for the services rendered to the federal agencies during the September 11 disaster recovery efforts. The organization extends it services to various other nations and it was recently named as Good 360 to signify the evolution of the field of product philanthropy.

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