Streamlining donations to nonprofits as giving falters

As the number of people living in New Jersey needing assistance with food and basic necessities climbs, one Mendham-based website hopes to make giving to food banks, soup kitchens and animal shelters more efficient.

As the number of people living in New Jersey needing assistance with food and basic necessities climbs, one Mendham-based website hopes to make giving to food banks, soup kitchens and animal shelters more efficient.

YouGiveGoods.com launched in September, providing technology to make food and supply drives easier and more successful.

“We hope that we’re wrong … but it seems like we’re going to be stuck in the mud for a while,” said Patrick O’Neil, co-founder and head of operations for the site. There is a rising need for charitable services, but less giving, as private donations have fallen and government budgets cut, creating what O’Neil called “a mismatch at a big-picture level.”

People interested in running a food drive register their designated nonprofit on the website and send notifications to people through e-mails and social media posts. Those wishing to donate to the drive can then purchase goods from the site that will be delivered directly to the nonprofit.

O’Neil said the website already has more than 50 food and supply drives registered, and the first round of delivered items occurred last weekend.

“We place a lot of value on the idea that people will be more charitable if they know exactly what’s happening with their good intention,” O’Neil said.

O’Neil said the business model works because the goods purchased from the site are sold at grocery store prices, but YouGiveGoods.com procures the items at wholesale prices. And because one delivery trip is made, the site reduces the carbon footprint of food drives, he said.

“Food pantries open up in the morning and they don’t know during the day who is going to show up with a bag of food that’s going to be donated, or if somebody who will show up with a carload of food — it shows up when it shows up,” he said.

O’Neil said the one-time delivery also assists pantries by cutting down on the amount of time needed to sort through the goods. Everything is newly produced, not foraged from the backs of cupboards, and is organized into crates and cases of goods. The items available to purchase through the site were researched and approved as items generally needed by pantries and shelters.

“We’re able to contact them several days in advance to let them know we’re making a delivery to them. We’re able to let them know what they’re going to be getting,” O’Neil said. “They like the fact that there’s some predictability to what they’re getting.”

O’Neil said the website employs a dozen people, including consultants helping to expand its offerings. He said he hopes the site will be able to support toy, clothing and other types of drives by next year’s Christmas season.