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Fifty Five Ways to Repurpose a Material Donation

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If you find you have a collection of material and are unable to find an organization with interest to accept the material, here are some ideas for turning the materials into a monetary donation.  The CIDI helps donors identify organizations working in a disaster area with to which they are philosophically and fundamentally comfortable making a monetary donation.


1. Hold a garage sale, sell the goods and donate the proceeds.
2. Host a bazaar at a school or place of worship, sell goods, donate proceeds.
3. Donate the items to a local charity.
4. Donate the items to a local women’s shelter.
5. Donate the items to a local homeless shelter.
6. Donate clothes, jewelry, props and costumes that can be used in a play to a local school’s drama department.
7. Create hacky sacks, rice bag warmers and other unique gifts with used clothing: www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/09/green-cleaning-37-reuses_n_165129.html
8. Research charities online, pick one and donate the items: www.charityfocus.org/vol/guide.php?s=donate_goods
9. As part of a disaster awareness event, use the donations as a model of good intentions that can backfire (and send photos to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
10. Organize a cook-off to use donated canned goods in unique recipes.
11. Hold a live auction of the goods.
12. Donate canned food and bottled water to local food banks.
13. Donate bottled water to local sports teams.
14. Hold a sculpture contest for artwork created from the goods (and send a photo of the sculptures to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
15. Auction the goods online. Find online vendors at: www.online-auction-sites.toptenreviews.com
16. Buy a donated can of food as a voucher to wear jeans to work or school.
17. Buy a donated can of food as a voucher to wear a crazy hat to work or school.
18. Turn donated items into artwork and host an art exhibit (and send photos to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
19. Host a lottery of the goods. Sell tickets, donate proceeds.
20. Sponsor a fashion show where viewers buy the clothes off the models.
21. Use items as door prizes at a fundraising event.
22. Hold tower-building contests with the goods (and send photos to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
23. Hold a benefit dinner serving cuisine made from donated food items.
24. Use donated goods as props in a benefit play, sell pieces as tickets.
25. Hold a Best Outfit contest using only donated clothes and accessories.
26. Decorate cans for use as pencil holders, planters, pots, etc.
     As a class project
     To be given as gifts
     For sale or auction
27. Sell water bottles at sporting events, donate them to a shelter or give them as needed to thirsty people.
28. Repurpose and sell blankets as car seat covers, shams, towels, baby blankets, etc.
29. Donate toys to local daycare facilities, shelters or schools.
30. Use donated food items to make meals for the homeless at a local shelter.
31. Host a silent auction www.ehow.com/how_5962615_hold-silent-auction-classroom.html
32. Use donated items for a Guess the Weight or Guess the Transportation Cost contest. Correct guess wins the items.
33. Organize a Free Store. Like a swap meet, in a free store, people give the store what they do not want while taking something they do want.
34. Cut off a plastic bottle bottom; the bottle becomes a funnel, the cut-off part can hold paper clips, paint for touch-ups or be a seed starter.
35. Make plastic bottle terreriums.  Layer soil, then seeds, then a little more soil.  Water gently through the opening, add a little sunshine and watch it grow!
36. Donate goods as appropriate to local animal shelters.
37. Use soft donated goods to make a ball pit for a local school or daycare.
38. Offer clothes to consignment stores.
39. Create and sell pillows and shams made from clothes.
40. Create and sell wreaths made from clothing scraps: tearosehome.blogspot.com/2010/02/tutorialvalentines-wreath.html
41. Make and sell dolls and other toys from goods.
42. Weave and sell rugs out of clothing scraps: www.ehow.com/how_7717132_weave-rugs-fabric-scraps.html
43. Sew and sell quilts from clothes: quiltbug.com/articles/Tshirt-quilts.htm
44. Make and sell fabric roses from strips of donated clothing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnGdX7_5Rds
45. Make lava bottles! video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?p=how+to+make+a+lava+lamp+out+of+a+bottle
46. Use bottle caps to create checkers and sell checker sets.
47. Create and sell jewelry made from donated goods.
48. Make and sell Christmas tree ornaments from donated goods.
49. Make lanterns out of cans: www.ehow.com/how_3431_make-tin-can.html
50. Turn empty bottles into bird feeders (search the internet for your preferred style).
51. Make a very warm, no-sew wool blanket from donated blankets: www.ehow.com/how_7835420_keep-warm-hammock-sewing.html
52. Decorate metal cans and use to collect donation money.
53. Use old T-shirts and other clothing items such as towels for a relief car wash.
54. Give unusable clothing donations to a textile recycler. Check the internet for one nearest you.
55. Cut a slot below the cap of a bottle, decorate the bottle and use as a bottle bank to collect money for disaster relief.