Support Bloom Swap
Racks, hangers, a van, a laundromat. That is what a gift buys.
A free clothing program runs on unglamorous things. Every line below is something a gift to Bloom Swap pays for, and every figure is marked as an estimate until a supplier has quoted it.
Why money
Support a free clothing program that stays free.
The clothes are given. Everything that makes them wearable is not.
Before a donated coat reaches a rack it has been collected, sorted, laundered, stored, hung and driven to a hall, and after the swap the racks come back. Bloom does all of that so that no guest ever pays and no host is left holding the work.
A gift to Bloom Swap pays for the program’s equipment and its running costs. None of the lines below is a salary: founder and officer pay at Bloom Ministries is $0, as it has been from the first day.
What a gift buys
Line by line.
The year-one budget for Bloom Swap. Every figure is an estimate until a supplier has quoted it.
- Rolling racks · $600–1,200 · estimate until quoted
- Hangers, bins and dividers · $350 · estimate until quoted
- Signage and the first host kits · $400 · estimate until quoted
- Van rental for delivery and removal · $300 · estimate until quoted
- A share of storage and sorting space · $1,000 · estimate until quoted
- Laundering, because every piece arrives on a rack washed · $400 · estimate until quoted
- Event liability coverage · $500 · estimate until quoted
- Contingency · $250 · estimate until quoted
- Each further host kit, so one more congregation or organization can run a swap · about $200 · estimate until quoted
Racks, bins and signage are bought once. Laundering, van rental, storage and coverage come round with every swap season, and each new host kit opens one more room.
Gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Bloom Ministries, EIN 39-4922713.
Gifts to Bloom Ministries for Bloom Swap are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Bloom Ministries is a registered 501(c)(3), EIN 39-4922713.
If you are a business
A business partnership funds something different.
A gift buys the lines above. A partnership also carries your name, under rules of its own.
A gift from a person is a gift: it pays for the lines above and buys nothing else. A business that wants its name on Bloom Swap’s banners, host kits and pages does that through a partnership, which is a different arrangement with different rules. Partner with Bloom Swap sets out the tiers, and what recognition is, and is not explains why the wording never changes.
FAQ
Questions about giving
Still asking? Write to swap@bloomministries.org and a person answers.
Is my gift tax-deductible?
Gifts to Bloom Ministries, a registered 501(c)(3), are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Bloom is not a tax advisor; your own advisor can tell you how that applies to you.
Can I give clothes instead of money?
Yes, and it is just as useful. Here is what Bloom Swap takes, and how a bag or a whole closet reaches a rack.
Does a gift change what guests receive?
No. Guests receive everything free whether or not anyone gives, and nothing at a swap is connected to a donor. A gift makes more swaps possible; it never sets a condition on any of them.
Support Bloom Swap
Pay for the racks, and the rest follows.
One gift, to the lines above. Nothing at a swap ever carries a fee.
Need clothes rather than giving them? Nothing on this page applies to you. See upcoming swaps