Over the past twenty years, our community of buyers and sellers on eBay have raised over $600 million for charity. These include non-profits big and small, global and local.
Here, three charities share their perspective on how their relationship with eBay has helped them to offer more services and reach new clients.
Age UK Richmond upon Thames
Age UK Richmond upon Thames is a charity working with local residents within the Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest social welfare voluntary organization in the Borough working specifically with older people and offering a wide range of services and activities at a local level. Headquartered in East Sheen, London, it operates across the Borough.
Age UK organizations across the UK have used eBay for Charity to help raise over 130,000GBP in 2015 to fund their invaluable local activities helping others.
What We Do: We support people to remain independent and provide companionship as well as practical services, such as housework, gardening or just changing a light bulb. These can be so difficult for an older person and can make such a difference.
Based: Richmond upon Thames, London, England
Founded: 1965
Operating Budget: In this current year (2015-16) we must find £1.4m to cover our costs of delivering services and activities.
Our Impact: Age UK Richmond upon Thames has received over 39,000 calls to our Information Helpline and supported over 7,000 individuals on a 1:1 basis in the last 12-month period.
Relationship with eBay:
Dating back to 2009, eBay has supported us in a variety of ways such as:
- Donating equipment for our Social Centre members in Richmond
- Providing gifts / goody bags (approx. 250 goody bags) for individual members. These have been distributed at our annual Christmas parties since 2009
- Giving their time to join us at many events including our annual volunteer events, Christmas parties, and organisational events open to the public
- Teaching our older clients how to use technology, i.e. tablets and mobile phones
- Providing meeting space to us in the Richmond UK office
eBay staff are always so willing to give their time and energy whenever we ask – we are very fortunate. We just wish that more large companies would do the same.
Our Most Memorable eBay Moment: A particular memory for all of my staff members is the first Christmas Event that eBay staff attended. The members were served Christmas lunch by lots of very beautiful young people, all very chatty and then they all joined in the dancing with our members after lunch. A wonderful sight to see! All of our members had such a wonderful day with lots of memories to take home with them. Little did we realize that this was to be the start of a very special relationship.
- Sandra Morrison, Chief Officer, Age UK
Blind Cats Rescue Sanctuary
Blind Cats Rescue Sanctuary’s mission is to give people who are unable to continue caring for their blind cat, and who have been unable to place these animals with friends, relatives, or no-kill adoption groups a sanctuary where their animals will receive a lifetime of love and care.
Thanks to their outreach to their donors about the eBay for Charity program, over 13,500 sellers have sold items and donated a portion of the proceeds to Blind Cats, and another 23,000 buyers have supported them through Checkout Donations. This support of eBay buyers and sellers has resulted in over $100,000 in funds raised for Blind Cats in 2015 alone. If you like this charity, you can add them as one of your favorites on eBay now.
What We Do: We are a lifetime rescue sanctuary for blind, FIV, and leukemia foster cats. We also support a strong spayed/neuter program, preventing thousands of unwanted homeless animals. We also provide a heat sensor and quick release for canine police officers to make sure the dog in the car is OK in case the air conditioning fails.
Based: St Pauls, North Carolina
Founded: 2005
Presence on eBay: 8 years.
Relationship with eBay: We were included in an eBay Featured for charities. Based on the kindness of thousands of sellers and buyers, we were able to raise the money we needed to construct two buildings – in cash. It was amazing.Being able to construct those buildings allowed us to save more lives and create more clinics. It allowed us to free up funds to focus on other activities. Those are things we couldn’t have done without the community of eBay users supporting us through their buying and selling activities on eBay.
- Alana Miller, Founder, Blind Cats Sanctuary
Mercy Corps
Thanks to a grant provided by eBay Foundation, Mercy Corps was able to deepen its understanding of the economic, social, and psychological impacts of the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in Liberia. Here, a Mercy Corps community educator gets young people involved during social mobilization activities. Photo Credit: Sean Sheridan for Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a leading global humanitarian agency saving and improving lives in the world’s toughest places. In more than 40 countries, Mercy Corps partners with local people to put bold ideas into action, help them overcome adversity and build stronger communities.
Thanks to their outreach to their donors about the eBay for Charity program, almost 1,000 sellers have sold items and donated a portion of the proceeds to Mercy Corps raising over $20,000 in 2015 alone. If you like this charity, you can add them as one of your favorites on eBay now.
What We Do: Mercy Corps empowers people to recover from crisis, build better lives and transform their communities for good. We believe by working together we can connect people to the resources they need to survive and help their communities thrive.
Based: Portland, Oregon
Founded: 1979
Amount raised on eBay to Date: $326,050.64
Our Impact: For more than three decades, we’ve learned and grown alongside extraordinary people—more than 190 million individuals who understand their own needs better than anyone else. This year alone we have made a difference in the lives of 25 million individuals around the world.
Presence on eBay: Since 2006 – 9 years.
Relationship with eBay:
Our relationship began with a grant from eBay Foundation for Mercy Corps’ MicroMentor program, an online platform that matches entrepreneurs with skilled business mentors to help small businesses thrive. Together with eBay employees, eBay Charity and the eBay Foundation, we’re partnering to address urgent humanitarian needs in times of disaster as well as to unlock economic opportunity for individuals around the world.
Time and again, eBay employees have provided critically needed funds to support Mercy Corps’ humanitarian response efforts, including to the China Ya’an earthquake in 2013, Philippines Typhoon Haiyan in 2014, and the Nepal earthquake in 2015. Employees have also advised Mercy Corps staff in the field on technology and business strategy.
- Graham Craft, Vice President, Corporate and Foundation Partnerships, Mercy Corps
During this month of gifting AND giving, we’ll be sharing how eBay makes a huge impact by enabling charities, buyers, sellers, celebrities, and its employees to support the causes they care about. Stay tuned for more stories over the next couple of weeks.