Made-in-Ottawa app helps you declutter for a good cause

A made-in-Ottawa appis giving people a new way to get rid of the junk piling up in their closets and garages while benefitinglocal charities.

GiveShop, which launched in June, isa platform where sellers can hawk their goods and buyers can haggle like onKijiji or Facebook Marketplace only on GiveShop, the item must be purchased with a credit card and the proceeds go to charity.The seller then receives a tax receipt and GiveShop takes a 15 per cent processing fee.

"GiveShop solves a problem for [charities] because it's very difficult for charities to accept in-kind donations, but what GiveShop essentially does is converts an in-kind donation into a cash donation," John Farah, CEO and founder of GiveShop, told CBC's All In ADay last week.

Sellers can currently pick from 44 charities in Ottawa and 11 in Toronto, Farah said.

"It's growing slowly, but we're getting a lot of positive feedback from the public," he said.

A big trial came this summer when GiveShop helped raise money for the Ottawa Food Bank during the virtual edition of the Great Glebe Garage Sale. The event raised $1,150 for the charity, Farah said.

Need is still there

Jacqueline Belsito, president of philanthropy at CHEO, said charities are looking for innovative ways to keep donations flowing, especially now that COVID-19 has forced them to cancel many traditional fundraisers.

"In CHEO's fundraising portfolio, about 70 per cent of those fundraising events have been cancelled because of COVID," she told All In ADay.

"We're always gracious and grateful that people even think of us, and I think partners like GiveShop ... providea safe and forward-thinking way of fundraising."

While raising money has become more difficult due to constraints of the pandemic,Belsito said needs haven't changed for the children and families supportedthrough CHEO andRoger Neilson House, where she sits on the board.

"Unfortunately, there's never a lack of need, whether that's technology or specialized beds or the counsellor resources."

Farah is hopingto see GiveShop's popularity grow further, and said the app recently added new features to make it easier for people to share their items for sale on social media, as well asa "virtual garage sale" concept that allows organizations to run a sale within their network of coworkers or friends.