If you have ever thought of donating to a local or national donation center, then you may already have a pretty good idea about what goes into the warehouses that take care of these donations. It’s not all grim and morbid stuff – there is also a lot of useful material that could benefit people in many different ways. A big part of the work done at a donation warehouse is to process the materials. These are items that are not really worth much more than their actual value – like old clothes, books, appliances. However, it is not just the non-worth that is taken into account here – there is also the value. What kind of stuff can get put back on the market, and what kind of stuff should simply be recycled?

The material that goes into this process of processing donations is important, because it tells you how much of a donation your made is actually of use to others. “A penny spent is a penny earned,” is true in many situations. So you want to make sure that the money spent going to a donation warehouse goes directly to helping people in need. Here are some factors that you should take into consideration when it comes to staff capacity:

The number of in-kind donations that your facility processes per month is an important staff size consideration. Just check out your own figures – are your number’s up, or down? The lower the staff size, the less likely someone will donate just one item. Even if they do not give it away right away, the fact that there are so few people going through your doors at once means that your space is being efficiently utilized. Donations do better when they are closer to the front door – when a donor comes in, they can see what it is that you have to offer immediately, rather than having to search for the donation while standing in line.

This staff capacity calculation does not include the number of vehicles that can be delivered to a facility at any given time. For that matter, it does not include the number of available vehicles or how long it might take to deliver a vehicle to a potential donor. That said, however, it can still be used as a rough estimate. If you work with a professional donation organization that has an established reputation for fast, efficient service, you can get a good ballpark figure for the number of in-kind and in-car donations that you will be able to process.

To arrive at a more accurate staff count, consider the average time that a car takes to reach your donation warehouse, both in terms of gas mileage and overall length of travel. Calculate the average distance that an unwashed car takes to reach a donation truck. Then, multiply that figure by two. That number will give you an approximation of how long it will take a car to be brought to your facility. You should also make sure that the trucks you use to transport in-kind donations are properly maintained, with clean engine parts and a sturdy chassis.

Once you have a rough estimate of how many in-kind items you can donate each month, you should consider how you will store them. Will you ship the donations to a local donation drop-off location, or will you provide the donations in a secure room in your facility? Most reputable facilities ship the in-kind items directly to donation centers, which then deliver the items to the appropriate locations. They also inspect the in-kind items when they arrive to ensure that they are in good condition and that they will not require any further processing or screening. magazine will screen all the in-kind items received before accepting them.

Another factor to consider is the cost of the in-kind and on-site donations. These costs vary according to each facility. While it may cost less to ship a single gift to a local donation drop-off location, it could cost much more to ship each item to a secure storage unit. As a result, make sure that you ask questions about the fees for your donation and choose a facility that allows you to make an easy online application. This will allow you to quickly find out if the fees you’re expected to pay are reasonable.

It is always best to choose a facility that has experience in managing and storing in-kind items. It is also advisable to choose a facility that has received good feedback from others. Finally, request information about the policies of the facility has regarding the proper storage and handling of the in-kind items. Remember that you want to make sure that your donation arrives at its destination safely so that your donation stands out as one that truly makes a difference.