The Furniture Donation Network model is revitalising the third sector at a time when charities are desperate for support.

The current economic climate is making life difficult for many not-for-profit organisations in the UK. Government funding for charities continues to be cut - according to the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, the cuts total approximately £3 billion - and individuals have less disposable income available to make donations. For many good causes this has led to severe cutbacks and redundancies. Indeed, for Evesham-based charity Noah’s Ark Trust, this has meant alterations in the way it operates. The charity, which supports children who are coping with bereavement, can now only offer help to children who have lost an immediate family member, as they no longer have the budget to provide support for children who have lost a friend or grand-parent.

And, because of the fragile UK economy, there have been several cases of smaller charities having to merge with large ones in order to stay afloat. Recently, charity No Smoking Day - which has had £250k of its funding cut from 2012 - announced it is to merge with large (and fantastic!) charity British Heart Foundation so it can continue to operate. While a merger is a very effective way of enabling a smaller charity to be taken under the wing of a larger good cause, not every charity in the UK is able to instigate such an operation, due to cost and time-constraints. Therefore, there needs to be another solution for small not-for-profit and voluntary organisations that are desperate for funds.

This is where the Furniture Donation Network model comes in. Furniture Donation Network is one of a number of ‘Community Dotcoms’ - schemes that enable individuals across the UK to support the third sector by booking a valuable service via an online portal. This innovative model, created by award-winning recycler Recycling Lives, delivers a charity-driven, ethical service to households while generating business and employment opportunities for a network of UK charities.

Furniture Donation Network enables households, businesses, schools or local authorities - anybody, in fact! - to donate their very good or excellent quality furniture to charity. All it takes is a few clicks using the straight-forward online booking system and we’ll come and collect items from your property. If we’re unable to make the collection ourselves, one of our charity partners will make the collection on our behalf.

For example, small charity give2give carries out Furniture Donation Network collections booked in South London. The charity uses the funds generated by its shops to support the Bromley community. In the past, it has provided over 20 organisations with free minibus transport and offered a free holiday on the south coast to 80 families in need. Furniture Donation Network helps the charity raise more money by enabling it collect great quality furniture and sell it on at one of its shops. If it is unable to do so, the charity recycles the items. In a typical year, give2give reuses and recycles 12,000 items!

So, just by donating your furniture to charity through Furniture Donation Network, you are helping to support the many charities across the UK which are struggling through tough economic times.

Donate your furniture here!

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