A charitable home for unwanted gifts

02 January 2011

Consumers were busy offloading their unwanted Christmas presents last week, and a website which raises funds for charity by selling unwanted items had a 78 per cent increase in traffic.

Giveandbuy.ie, which was launched last October by Dublin based entrepreneur Aidan Corless, allows people to list items for sale online, with proceeds going directly to one of 12 charities.

Corless decided to set up the website after he noticed it was becoming increasingly difficult to raise funds for a charity he was involved with, Friends of Kitui, which supports the education of orphaned children in Kenya’s Kitui province.

‘‘For the last two years, we had been finding it hard to raise funds," Corless said. ‘‘At the same time, I was noticing my wife going off with bags of things to the charity shop."

Corless said that charity shops could not always accept certain types of items, such as electrical goods.

So he decided that an alternative sales platform would be a good way to raise money for charity, at no cost to the donor or the charity.

The website does not charge sellers for listing the item for sale, and charities receive 100 per cent of the sale proceeds. Currently,12 charities - including Peter McVerry Trust, Trócaire, the Irish Cancer Society and Special Olympics Ireland - are availing of the website’s service, with Corless saying a further 12 were interested in joining up.

Some people and businesses also offer their time, expertise or a specific service for sale on the website, with the proceeds going directly to a charity. Corless said the average sale, including items and services, was €40.

Giveandbuy.ie is also planning to run an auction before the end of January, with 12 donated celebrity items going under the hammer.

The online event features signed jerseys from the Leinster rugby team, the Tipperary All-Ireland winning hurling team and other sport stars and other celebrity prizes. Each item will be auctioned for a specific charity. The website is run by volunteers, and a number of sponsors, including Deloitte, have donated their time to provide graphic design, auditing, legal and other services.

Corless said that Giveandbuy.ie was looking for corporate sponsorship to help market itself and become a household name throughout Ireland.

‘‘If each of the 1.5 million households in Ireland sold a €10 surplus item on the website this year, that would generate €15 million for Irish charities in 2011," he said.