Have you ever dropped off an item to Good Will and wondered, where is my donation going? Does the charity really need this? Is someone really going to use my item?
Chicago startup Zealous Good answers those questions with its donor/charity connection service that directly links places in need with people looking to give items. Charities can create profiles on Zealous Good's website and list the exact items they need. Donors fill out a form describing what they have, and Zealous good responds with an email containing several charities in need of that item. The donor then picks the charity he or she wishes to give to, and Zealous good makes the introduction.
"We believe people can help each other and they should be able to find each other," Zealous Good CEO Brittany Graunke said. "We make it as simple as possible for people to find each other and connect."
Zealous Good launched three years ago, starting out with only four charities. Today, the company has worked with more than 400 Chicago nonprofits and 4,000 donors. It has matched over $1 million worth of goods to area charities, and beginning later this year it is expanding to Dallas, where Graunke is originally from.
"We're super excited," she said. "We really can't wait. We've had demand from over 30 cities across the country (for Zealous good)." Graunke said the plan is to open in a few cities each year and ultimately expand Zealous good to cities all over the U.S.
Nonprofits pay Zealous Good a fee for brokering the transaction. It can range from $5 to $10 for a one-time introduction, or between $15 to $30 per month for its subscription service. Prices depend upon scale, she said.
"There's been no marketplace for nonprofits to find stuff that they need donated," she said. "You think of Craigslist ... where people can post their stuff, but there's no guarantee it's free. There's no aspect of a tax receipt you can receive for donating.
"On the nonprofit side, we make it so much more simple than anything else out there. And for the donor, we make it so much more meaningful. You're adding real, true value to another organization."
