House in a Box. A Fresh Start When Disaster Strikes CASE STUDY

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1 House in a Box A Fresh Start When Disaster Strikes CASE STUDY

2 When homeowners are left standing in the rubble, St. Vincent de Paul is there with all the essentials they need to go home again.

3 Overview Challenge: To get hundreds of families the supplies they need, SVDP has to get a mountain of products on the ground, fast. But the time it takes to build an efficient supply chain is time the charity can t afford to waste. Solution: SVDP took advantage of bulk discounts available through 121Giving s ecommerce marketplace to purchase products for Superstorm Sandy survivors in New Jersey; then used the site s intuitive crowdfunding platform to secure goods for tornado survivors in Oklahoma. Benefit: Sourcing products through 121Giving allows SVDP to quickly and efficiently find the goods their clients need, on demand, with reliable discounts and free shipping.

4 The goods to start over St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) Disaster Services Division supports disaster recovery operations across 20 states, often helping 300 or more families after events like Hurricane Katrina, Superstorm Sandy, Texas floods, Oklahoma tornadoes and Colorado wildfires. Their innovative House in a Box program gives people the essential items they need to furnish a new home after disaster, including cooking and cleaning supplies, furniture, bedding, towels and more.

5 When a supply chain is a lifeline While SVDP can pinpoint the items families need most, getting those items on the ground on short notice is a new challenge every time. In the past, SVDP volunteers and staffers wasted countless hours negotiating discounts with local vendors and searching for donated items. They often found that the fastest solution was buying goods from online retailers, but these companies don t cater to the bulk needs of charities, making shipping costs prohibitively high.

6 Strength in numbers While a charity operating alone can have difficulty finding and purchasing goods, charities as a group buy enough products and services for their programs to have huge purchasing power. According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics of the Urban Institute, nonprofits contributed $1.6 billion in expenses and $1.64 trillion in revenue to the U.S. economy in 2012 alone. EXPENSES $1.6 BILLION REVENUE $1.64 TRILLION Nonprofits contribution to the U.S. economy in 2012

7 In 2014, only 25% of nonprofits received discounts of 15% or less from retailers. That kind of purchasing power should have the undivided attention of retailers and should give charities the power to ask for discounts, negotiate for goods and services, pursue bulk buying procedures, or leverage the participation of their supporters to get the best possible prices. However, in a 2014 survey by 121Giving & Social Media for Nonprofits, 54% of nonprofits said they just don t ask retailers for these discounts. Of those who do, 25% received discounts of 15% or less.

8 Harnessing the power of nonprofits Happily, in the words of the Austin chapter of SVDP, charity is infinitely inventive. That s where 121Giving comes in. 121Giving levels the buying field for charities by harnessing their collective buying power to drive prices down to near-wholesale levels. The first dedicated ecommerce sales channel for charities, 121Giving offers consistent deals from a broad range of suppliers, so charities can get the products they need, at prices that work for their budgets.

9 The site also provides easy-to-use, efficient crowdfunding tools so charities can tell their stories directly to donors and raise money for specific products as they re needed. Charities shop on the site, choose whether to purchase or crowdfund goods, and get products delivered directly to them. The 121 team handles shipping and logistics and works with charities on the ground to make sure everything arrives on time and in good condition. 121Giving makes sourcing products for our House in a Box program easy, so we can focus on our mission. - Elizabeth Disco-Shearer, COO

10 Making a difference, making donor dollars go further. In 2015 SVDP has purchased all the bulk items they need directly on 121Giving.com. That includes over 6,000 products that provided House in a Box for more than 100 BULK DISCOUNTS PRODUCTS families in 5 cities including Brick, New Jersey after Superstorm Sandy. These products would have been sourced from at least seven different vendors in the past, and required the efforts of a full-time volunteer. Instead, SVDP purchased them in one convenient place and received free shipping and bulk discounts that saved the organization 40%.. FREE SHIPPING 40% SAVINGS YEAR OVER YEAR

11 House In A Box TM In April 2015, SVDP launched their first crowdfunding campaign on 121Giving in order to provide House In A Box kits for tornado survivors in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Donor dollars given to this campaign become store credit used to buy all the essentials of house: a dining room table and chairs, a full set of kitchen supplies, new beds and warm comforters.

12 A marketplace for good, driven by demand Year after year, national studies show that the demand for nonprofit services far exceeds the resources and capacity that charities have to provide them. 121Giving expands those resources by providing consistent discounts on the products charities need in order to effectively manage their organizations and strategically deploy programs on the ground. There are no fees for charities to join. No bidding or bartering for items, just good deals all day long. Join free and find out what 121Giving can give your organization.

13 Thank you.