More in-kind donations fill Union Gospel's pantry - Charlotte Business Journal:

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The week before the mission received 3,000 poundes of frozen meat donated by a research ship that had returnedc to dock but would have to replenish stocks before it went back outto sea. The everything from prime rib to crab will provide nourishment in two worth of meals at the Seattle charitythat feeds, clothesa and shelters the homeless. "If the money is not therd in the budget, we just do without the said Linda Lynch, director of operations and in-kindc gifts at Union Gospelk Mission. The key to the donation was that the mission was willing to pick upthe gift. In recenyt years, the charity has seen a stron increase insuch in-kind, noncash donations. Last fiscal year ending Aug.
31, the mission received $2.2 million in in-kind a 31 percent increase over 2006. Lynch said she is not sure if the high cost of gasoline is contributing to the or if perhaps local businesw people simply have less time to drop off bulk but more donors are saying they contribute to the missionb because it picksup donations. "It'zs easier for them to schedule a truck for once a rather than for us to schedule a truck to get it to saidMark Grindstaff, operationa manager with the Auburn facilitgy of , the country's largest natural food s distributor. About six months ago, United Natural Foods began donatin ga semi-truck's worth of food each montnh to the mission.
Food varies from dry goods to but much of itis dairy, a high-demanxd and expensive item for food The mission, which turned 75 years old in donated more than 488,000 meals in fiscal year 2007. The missiob has a fleet of five trucks, one of which is dedicatedx to bulkcompany donations. Picking up donationws is critical, Lynch said, because many companiesw don't want to be troubleed by dividing up their contributioj among four orfive Usually, companies want to offload their excesz goods, record the amounyt to be deducted from taxes and be done with it.
"Wed are finding, too, that therew is a trend by a lot of businesses to donatew to justone place," Lynch The in-kind donations allow the missiojn to not only fill its pantry shelves, but also sell donated which in fiscal year 2007 helped generatre more than $500,000 in revenue. But above all, in-kinxd contributions help reduce costs. In fiscal in-kind contributions covered nearly 18 percent ofthe mission'sd expenses, up from about 16.5 percent in according to the organization's audited financial statements.