About Bloom Swap
It started with a full storage room. And a demand bigger than one room.
At the first Bloom Swap, people left with clothes that fit who they are. The racks emptied, and what was left filled a storage room. Bloom decided to make the swap permanent, and to take the running of it off the host’s hands.
The first swap
How the Bloom Swap program began.
The first swap is told here in words, because nobody counted that day, and Bloom does not guess.
The first Bloom Swap was hosted by an electrology practice in Tigard. People came, browsed, and left with clothes that fit who they are. The racks emptied. What was left over, given by people who wanted it to reach someone, filled a storage room.
That told Bloom two things. The need was real, and it was bigger than one room on one weekend. A host that had lent its space was now holding a storage room of clothing, and nothing guaranteed there would be a next time. Bloom did not want to leave either of those to chance.
So Bloom made the swap a program of its own. Bloom Ministries took ownership of the inventory, and with it the work of storing, sorting, laundering and moving it, so that no host would be left holding the racks again. That decision is the whole shape of the Bloom Swap program today.
The model
What Bloom Swap is now.
A free clothing program with one division of labor: Bloom carries the clothes, and a host lends a room.
Bloom Swap is a free clothing program of Bloom Ministries. People arrive, browse racks sorted by size and style rather than by gender, take what fits who they are, and leave with a bag. Nothing is sold and nothing is means-tested. No ID is asked for and no name is required.
Bloom owns the inventory, stores it, sorts it, launders it, delivers it the day before a swap and removes it after. A host, whether a congregation, a campus group, a practice or a community organization, provides a room and a weekend, with dates set together at least sixty days ahead. Hosting a swap sets out both columns.
The plan is two swap weekends a year at the founding host, a network of host congregations running Bloom Swaps with Bloom’s playbook and signage, and clothing reaching unhoused neighbors in Salem and Portland through congregations and organizations. Those are plans, and they are written as plans until each one has happened. Where the clothes go follows every piece.
Bloom Swap is a program of Bloom Ministries, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Salem, Oregon. Nothing at a Bloom Swap has a fee, and nothing donated is ever sold.
The network it belongs to
Everything at Bloom is free.
A swap is one door into Bloom Ministries. Every guest is offered the rest, and none of it has a fee.
Everything at Bloom Swap is free. Everything at Bloom is free.
Bloom Swap sits beside crisis support, the Trans Relocation Fund, six free peer groups, Faith in Bloom, the Bloom Charter and Bloom Rising, with the Bloom Directory and Bloom Resources in development. A person who comes for a coat can leave knowing every other door that is open to them.
Receipts
Checked before you trust it.
Bloom Swap is run by Bloom Ministries. These figures are on the public record.
Bloom keeps its books open before anyone gives. Read the accountability page and check any of this for yourself.
Who runs it
Run by the Chancery of Bloom Ministries.
Bloom Swap is not a separate organization. It is a program, run by the office that administers Bloom’s programs.
The Chancery of Bloom Ministries runs Bloom Swap. It keeps the inventory ledger, signs hosts and partners, sets dates with each host, answers the program’s forms, and writes the impact notes that hosts and partners receive.
Volunteers do the sorting, the greeting and the driving, under conduct rules every one of them agrees to: no photographs of guests, no comments on bodies or choices, and no questions asked of anyone who comes. Volunteer with Bloom Swap.
Bloom Ministries is governed by its Board of Directors, and every program answers to it.
FAQ
Questions about Bloom Swap
Still asking? Write to swap@bloomministries.org and a person answers.
Who is Bloom Swap for?
Trans and nonbinary people first, and anyone who needs clothes that fit. Nobody is asked why they came.
Is Bloom Swap its own organization?
No. Bloom Swap is a program of Bloom Ministries, a registered 501(c)(3) in Salem, Oregon. It is not a separate legal body; gifts and sponsorships for Bloom Swap are made to Bloom Ministries.
Why a swap, rather than a clothing closet?
Bloom Swap has no storefront. Swaps happen at host venues on announced dates, with a room set up for trying things on and people there to help. The name stays even for guests who bring nothing: you do not have to bring anything to take something.
How can I check what Bloom says about itself?
Bloom Ministries’ EIN is 39-4922713, and its accountability page sets out its finances and governance. Figures about swaps come from the program’s own ledger; where there are no records, the page says so.
What comes next
Hear about the next swap first.
The list is how the next date reaches you: one sign-up, your nearest city, and a message two weeks before a swap near you.
In danger right now? Bloom’s crisis support is free, and a person answers