Donating Materials

Mercy Corps arranged for youth in the isolated mountain town of Tavildara, Tajikistan, to receive athletic wear and sports balls from Nike. Photo: Jason Sangster for Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps' Material Aid Department receives donations of product ("gifts in-kind") from corporations, other non-profits and, less frequently, the general public. We work closely with Mercy Corps field teams and carefully selected external organizations to integrate donated materials into aid and development programs. Our primary objective is to use these valuable resources in ways that help achieve positive social change, while minimizing potential harm to existing communities.

Just a few recent examples of this work are:

• In Kosovo, youth sport teams received donated sports apparel, footwear and equipment in an interethnic summer peace-building camp, in which 440 Serb & Albanian youth participated in friendly sport matches.
• In El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Liberia and Mongolia schools and community centers are establishing public computer centers with donated computers. These centers provide youth with basic IT training critical to employment, and, in some cases, access to the Internet for the first time.
• In Zimbabwe, schools are creating libraries with donated textbooks.
• In response to extreme flooding, Mercy Corps provided desperately needed donated pharmaceuticals to North Korean clinics and hospitals, which used them to treat waterborne diseases such as dysentery.
• In Colombia, internally displaced people are receiving donations of new clothing and footwear as incentives for participation in trainings on health, income generation, and water and sanitation.

Donations by Category
In FY 2008, Mercy Corps received gifts of donated product valued at nearly $56 million. Most products we accept fall under the following categories:

• Apparel (new clothing, shoes, etc.)
• Building Materials (latex paint, steel rebar, etc.)
• Education and IT (computers, textbooks, scientific calculators, etc.)
• Medical (pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, etc.)
• Miscellaneous (includes cars and other assets that we can sell to support our programs)
• Sport (uniforms, equipment, etc.)
• Relief Supplies (dynamo flashlights, hygiene kits, solar radios, etc.)

Important Facts

• We only accept materials we can appropriately and responsibly use in programs.
• We do not accept product if it may negatively impact a local economy.
• We only accept large donations of NEW product, generally truckloads or more (except for computers).
• We generally ship directly from the source.
• We do not accept donations of used clothing, household items (e.g. furniture/electronics), expired product, or donations of pharmaceuticals from the general public.

Contact Us
If you are interested in donating materials to Mercy Corps, please email materialaid@mercycorps.org or call 1-800-292-3355 extension 250.

We will work closely with you to ensure that your donation of product impacts recipients' lives in a responsible, meaningful and respectful way.