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Frequently Asked Questions
The success of our work together depends on an efficient and productive relationship between K.I.D.S., our donor companies and our agency partners. The following Q&A will help agencies understand how to process donations properly, distribute products to children in need and work with us to share the news of these donations. If you have any additional questions, please contact Dennie Hughes at 212-279-5493 ext. 208 or dhughes@kidsdonations.org
Q. How do I become a recipient agency?
A. Recipient agencies are chosen from a long list of partners we have developed relationships with over the years, from recommendations of other agencies, suggestions from foundations or through the application on our web site. All agencies must also provide the following before their application can be processed:
- Copy of the organization’s letter certifying IRS 501 (c)(3) tax exempt status
- A roster of your board of directors including names, and if appropriate, their professional affiliation and title
- Any copies of your agency newsletter or brochure or other informational materials on your organization and its programs
Q. What are the requirements or standards an agency must meet?
A. All partner agencies must:
- Be a 501(c)(3) certified non-profit organization and have appropriate documentation from the Internal Revenue Service
- Be registered with their appropriate state agencies
- Meet all processing requirements for K.I.D.S. distribution
Submitting an application or request does not guarantee that your organization will receive products from K.I.D.S.
Q. When products are available, how does the process start?
A. K.I.D.S. will contact the recipient agency when a donation becomes available and, at that time, coordinate the delivery time and date. Although we strive to meet the needs of all of our recipient agencies, we cannot guarantee the delivery of any particular product and we cannot promise that donations will be delivered on a certain date. We will pass on donations to your organization when we receive them from the donating company.
Q. How large are the shipments, and what’s the agency’s responsibility for receiving and processing the donations?
A. Generally a company will contact our office when the product donor has accumulated a reasonable amount of product that they want to donate. It may be as little as a few boxes or as large as enough pallets to fill a full semi-truck.
Be aware that the amount of storage space you have and the number of volunteers you have to help unload and process the donation will affect our decisions on which agency will receive the product.
The recipient agency is required to remove all paper tags (hangtags) or other indicators (e.g. stickers, stamps) that denote the price, bar code, manufacturer, and/or company on both the outside and inside of the product so that merchandise cannot be resold or returned to a local retailer.
Q. What are the agency’s responsibilities for distributing products?
A. Each agency can use its own process to distribute the donation based on how it best serves the local community. But there are some guidelines that the recipient agency must follow. The recipient agency must agree to NEVER SELL any product donations or to distribute it to any agency that intends to sell the product. The Internal Revenue Service federal tax code states, donations cannot be ”sold, bartered, or used for fundraising purposes.” If the product is sold, then the agency will be liable to the fullest extent of the law.
Q. How do we help K.I.D.S. collect photos or stories about these donations?
A. We encourage all our agency partners to help K.I.D.S. with photos, stories and special thank you letters that would be ideal for printed materials, newsletters, the K.I.D.S. website and reports back to our donor companies. We advise agencies to take photos during the processing, sorting and distribution of the donation.
Q. What kind of reports does the agency need to fill out and return?
A. After the product has been received and distributed, the recipient agency is responsible for keeping record of the distribution of the donated product given. All necessary information and materials required will be given to K.I.D.S. a minimum of three weeks before the donor company’s report(s) due date. K.I.D.S. will prepare all reports required by the donor company.
