Charity Works

Give hope usa program in 2010, Charity Works launched a wellness-medical aid program called give hope usa. It was designed to provide temporary relief and wellness aid to the economically disadvantaged and health-stressed families and individuals through local servicing nonprofit agencies and schools. The goal is to strengthen the outreach efforts of others who are responsible for implementing programs and structured activities that promote health, hope and happiness. Each wellness-medical aid pack contains various products in up to three categories--food supplements, personal hygiene products and over-the- counter medicines. It may contain literature about how to maintain a healthy diet, a list of humanitarian assistance centers such as food banks, emergency shelters and free clinics, and other types of basic needs information such as transportation options, discount programs for consumers, coupons, etc. Distributions of packs and kits are customizable based on nonprofit clients' needs. In 2012, the give hope usa program began distributing cash and special gifts such as clothes, toys and other basic necessities during the holiday season. This program was formerly part of our holiday gift giving fund ("holiday fund") which was established in 2007 to: 1) encourage people to give during the holiday season, 2) leverage charitable gifts purchased for underprivileged children, 3) strengthen relationships between local retailers and children's charities, and 4) promote volunteerism during the holiday season. In 2021, seventeen (17) nonprofit entities received in total a value of 285,914 in various distributions of free personal hygiene products, comfort gifts and cash. Distributions to these entities included dental kits, daily necessities, school supplies, kn95 masks, lighting equipment, and other special request gifts from the give hope usa program. One benefit to Charity Works is the opportunity to transition these nonprofits as active participants in our cooperative purchasing initiatives and the can purchasing program. With donor support during the covid-19 pandemic, program volunteers helped to distribute facial masks (kn95) to benefit 3,000 recipients. During the christmas holiday, a 12-day community outreach event was held in clearwater, Florida to support the community by providing hope and inspiration through gift giving and fun activities. Program volunteers assisted 750 recipients in the distribution of comfort gifts including plush toys, flannel pillows and meal cards. To expand the give hope usa program, Charity Works will continue to encourage manufacturers, distributors and retailers to participate and benefit from in-kind donations, product placement, branding and other social and marketing considerations.

Caringperks program Charity Works is developing a fringe benefit and customer loyalty program called caringperks. The merchant discounts and rewards program promotes the goods and services offered by businesses to charities, nonprofits and schools. The purpose is to encourage more youths and adults to become "active" volunteers in the support of charitable and educational causes within their respective communities. The program provides special recognition, incentives and rewards for people who are actively committed and dedicated to providing voluntary community service to one or more nonprofits. Program testing involves the selection of participating retailers that agree to recognize volunteers as vip customers that are eligible for preferred status, discount privileges and/or other types of incentives. A technology solution is vital to an effective and successful statewide or larger area program launch. The rewards program was put on hold in 2020 due to covid-19 and remained so throughout 2021. The caringperks program remains in the development stage.

Can purchasing program Charity Works provides charities, other non-profit entities and schools (nonprofits) with access to significantly discounted prices on a broad range of products and services through its purchasing program called charitable alliance network (can). Through the development of beneficial networks and strategic alliances, people enjoy collaborative action that helps create value and reduce operating costs. The can program directly benefits nonprofits by providing the following purchasing advisory services: "matching needs with product specifications/service requirements "locating qualified vendors/suppliers "negotiating contract terms "purchasing consultation the outcome of the can program is a collaborative process whereby the public and private sectors work more effectively and efficiently together in serving humanitarian causes and thus relieve government of administrative burden. In 2021, seventeen (17) nonprofit entities in Florida received direct benefits from purchasing services rendered under the can resource finder program. Acquisitions services rendered concentrated on the consumable product needs of local nonprofits and schools. Purchasing advisory services were also provided to funders of nonprofits throughout the year but are not counted in the direct benefits total. School supplies and comfort goods became important product groups for many of our program's clients during the covid pandemic. Soliciting and negotiating efforts were more challenging as businesses were slow to emerge out of the pandemic and return to normal operations. Logistics and inventory availability were more important factors than the price for goods and services. Enhancements in vendor relationships that support the organization's most- favorable- customer status goal for nonprofits offer long-term direct and indirect benefits that are challenging to measure on an ongoing basis. In 2022, the can program will continue to concentrate on expanding vendor trading relationships primarily for acquiring consumable products and secondarily on capital equipment needed by nonprofits. Purchasing advisory services will be offered primarily to those nonprofits that have offices in the state of Florida. Market conditions such as economic uncertainty, inflation, and new covid-19 variants that could extend the duration of the pandemic may continue to negatively impact the organization's overall operations

Common ground project: Charity Works promotes a project called "common ground" that involves cooperative purchasing initiatives between government agencies and qualified nonprofit entities. The project is based on the theory that "charities" are instrumentalities of government and, as such, should be eligible to access competitively bid purchasing contracts that are negotiated and managed by federal, state, and/or local government agencies. Numerous nonprofits in the united states receive funding either in whole or part from one or more government agencies. And many government officials agree that it would make sense to allow these and other qualified nonprofits to participate in the government's purchasing systems. However, few laws exist that permit this practice. Thus, nonprofits are forced to spend resources to attempt to duplicate the favorable results of these governmental-based purchasing programs such as cost savings and vendor leverage that government agencies already have established through taxpayer funding. Common ground is designed to leverage the purchasing power of irs approved nonprofits throughout the united states. At stake each year are billions of dollars that could be gained in annual savings for the nonprofit sector. This project establishes Charity Works as a facilitating administrative organization to help unite the common trading interests among and between government agencies, nonprofits, and vendors. One objective is to establish government-pricing parity and buying privileges for charities to use and get recognized as eligible under the united states general services administration's federal supply service multiple award schedules program. Charity Works' goal is to engage all levels of government in supporting cooperative purchasing through statutory law changes that will effectively reduce the duplicative administrative functions and related expenses that each incur when contracting with vendors to acquire the same types of products and services. Charity Works' vision in Florida is to help make it the first state in the country to legally recognize its qualified nonprofits as eligible users of state, county and city purchasing contracts. Of course, vendors may offer charities a most-favored-customer status that could include larger discounts and preferential contract terms than those offered to governmental agencies. Also, the common ground project will establish and promote standards for responsible spending by nonprofits. By creating a base-line price ceiling derived from all levels of government-vendor contracts, nonprofits will be able to compare and gauge the effectiveness of their actual spending. Nonprofit trustees and directors in exercising their fiduciary duties could use these standards to reasonably measure nonprofit spending. This project is designed to increase the trust factor for donors, thereby strengthening the financial viability of the nonprofit sector due to the renewed confidence in charitable spending. Teach and reach program the teach and reach program was designed to provide job training services and job placement for people that are displaced from the workforce. Charity Works' venture initially focused on serving the community by re-training displaced workers, especially those with physical or emotional challenges as well as the areas senior citizens. The vocational program also involved the active participation of local volunteers and student interns. Today, many candidates are simply referred to other nonprofits that have training programs and staff to better match individual needs. The teach and reach program establishes partnerships with local colleges and other nonprofits to provide Charity Works with a diverse group of candidates whose various backgrounds and talents enrich the unique learning environment. The business cycle is the core focus of the experience. From buying products to warehousing, selling and preparing invoices, it provides candidates with the opportunity to learn new skills and apply individual abilities in a live business setting. Since 2020, the teach and reach program remained on hold due to the covid- 19 pandemic. Volunteers needed for our give hope usa program were provided throughout the year in 2021 by members of the Florida state elks association, a non-profit organization which has 95 lodges and 55,000 active members in Florida. This program also serves to support Charity Works' common ground project of the can purchasing program. Collectively these efforts fulfill the organization's mission of helping those who help others.