The DC Nonprofit Materials Exchange is a resource for folks to find or give away items that are useful for nonprofit organizations.

Currently, we focus on equipment and furniture - like office desks or chairs, or commercial stoves for soup kitchens. Anyone may post offers, but only nonprofits may accept the items (If you are not affiliated with a 501c3 nonprofit, please go to www.Freecycle.org - a fantastic source for cool stuff).

The DC Materials Exhange is moderated by the staff at Community Forklift, the DC area's building materials thrift store. Therefore (in exchange for our effort!) if you have residential building materials to offer, please consider calling us at 301-985-5180 before posting it to the Materials Exchange.

(Community Forklift accepts donations of new and used building materials, then sells them at 40%-80% below retail. We aim to "lift up communities" by creating jobs, reducing waste, and making repairs more affordable for homeowners, low-income housing groups, nonprofits, and businesses. See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/communityforkliftgroup/ for more info).

TO OFFER SOMETHING: In the subject line, write "OFFER," a brief description of the item, and the neighborhood where it's located. In the body, include the donor's contact info, and a detailed description of quantity and quality. Later, when it's all given it away, you are welcome to post copy of the message with "TAKEN" in the subject line.

TO TAKE SOMETHING: Please respond directly to the donor. You MUST give them the name of your nonprofit and your mission, and you must be willing to pick it up and to give them a tax-deduction letter.

WHEN SEEKING SOMETHING: In the subject line, write "SEEKING" and a description of the items you need. In the body, you MUST give the name of your nonprofit and your mission. You must be willing to pick up the item and to give the donor a tax-deduction letter.