Charities to donate handmade jewelry to?

margecat

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I have two etsy shops. I'm closing one down, which opened in July, due to no sales. My other has only had four sales since I opened it in May. I don't know what to do--jewelry making is so important to me, but I can't possibly use all of the items I make. It's really been getting me down the past month. My last sale was 7/21. The shop gets a couple of views every day, but no sales. I've looked into charities that accept donations of handmade jewelry but can't really find anything. Most only want precious metals and gemstones. I have a lot of semi-precious beaded necklaces that I can't use if I close both shops (which seems likely now). Does anyone know of a charity that specialises in selling handmade jewelry? Thanks. I should've named my shop CrapNobodyWants!
 

mani

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Oh dear.. there's so much jewellery on Etsy that it's really hard to make a go of it. Have you tried having a sale?
Here in Australia the Op Shops would definitely take it.
 

MoochNNoodles

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I see a lot at craft fairs. I know several local senior centers and fire auxiliary groups have craft fairs in the fall leading to Christmas. Maybe a group like that?
 

Jem

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Here are a few ideas...

Attending craft/farmer's markets

Sponsoring and/or attending local festivals as a vendor...I see local vendors selling stuff all the time at our city events.

We have a few stores that will sell items for local artists and product makers. We have a "Valley Market" store front that only sells local stuff, one of our grocery stores has started carrying some locally made things, we also have a thrift store that takes in new items for local vendors...and there are many more. So perhaps you could approach some locally owned stores or shops to showcase and sell items for you.

If you want to go the charity route. Perhaps make a facebook account to sell your items, marketing it where proceeds will go to "such and such" charity to appeal to your community. With Christmas coming, your local food bank may be a good place to start for your first charity. October is breast cancer month and November is prostate cancer month, so if any of those causes are near to your heart, that could also be a possibility. Post your facebook account link on local buy, sell and trade sites as well as community networking sites.
You could even start recording yourself making your jewelry as almost like a "how to" video and post them on you tube and other social media sites...of course with a link on how to buy your items...

I also often see on our local news that someone is selling something for charity...it's a good way to get free publicity...all it takes is a phone call to your local news center and tell them what you're doing and sometimes they'll to a piece on you.

Do your pieces have cultural ties or meaning? If so, you could approach your local cultural centers and see what they say. We also have several trading posts in the surrounding areas of our city that will sell locally made Indigenous crafts....so something along those lines could be helpful.
 

Jem

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Just thought of something else...kinda dark but our hospital actually has a small store front that sells some locally made things instead of just your usual get well cards, balloons and stuffed animals...
 

Jem

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P.S. Would you be willing to post pictures of some of your pieces? I too love making jewelry and would love to see some of your designs...
 

susanm9006

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I would try to pick up a few inexpensive craft shows and see if you can get rid of your inventory that way. Check local churches and community organizations, there are usually some holiday shows.

I have a shop on Etsy since 2014 and closed it this summer. Sales have greatly fallen off over the last years as they have allowed so much more manufactured products in that true handmade sellers can’t compete.
 

iPappy

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I am quite sure your stuff isn't "crap" at all! Etsy is a really competitive place for that type of thing. My Mom did a specific type of craft for 25 years starting in the early '80's and made some good money doing it. She had customers all over the United States. She stopped the business 15 years ago or so due to time constraints and cost of materials, and today the craft she was into and was considered so unique back then is now all over the internet. It's VERY difficult to compete.
If you're looking to donate with no monetary gain, my idea would be looking into a battered women's shelter. Those women need all the morale boosting they can get, and being gifted a beautiful piece of jewelry that was hand made by someone who puts love into the process would probably give them a huge boost and let them know they're not a worthless POS that they have probably been told they are for years. It might help them begin to heal.
If you'd like to sell, I agree a local farmers market would be a great place to start. The "shop local" trend has really taken off!
 

Kat0121

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I have two etsy shops. I'm closing one down, which opened in July, due to no sales. My other has only had four sales since I opened it in May. I don't know what to do--jewelry making is so important to me, but I can't possibly use all of the items I make. It's really been getting me down the past month. My last sale was 7/21. The shop gets a couple of views every day, but no sales. I've looked into charities that accept donations of handmade jewelry but can't really find anything. Most only want precious metals and gemstones. I have a lot of semi-precious beaded necklaces that I can't use if I close both shops (which seems likely now). Does anyone know of a charity that specialises in selling handmade jewelry? Thanks. I should've named my shop CrapNobodyWants!
My favorite local no kill shelter has a store in our local mall. They sell different items. A lot of them are hand made items from volunteers. They also have adoptable cats there that people can visit. Check with your local shelters to see if they do anything like this.
 

nurseangel

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There is are sellers on Ebay that give a portion/all of their sales to cat charities. I have no way of knowing if they are legit. You can find them by searching for cat jewelry usually. They have some pretty things that people have donated.
 

Boris Diamond

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Hi, margecat margecat ! I volunteer at a rescue that runs a thrift store to raise money for animal care. We sell jewelry, and the person in charge of it says it moves pretty well. If you have not been able to sell your jewelry, we would be happy to accept a donation. I can send a link to our Facebook page. Also the lady who takes care of the jewelry said I could give you her number. I could also give you the number of the director if you like. We don't charge much for our items, and if you can find a better option, we would understand. Since we are a 501c3 nonprofit, we can give a tax receipt for donations.
 
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margecat

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Hi, margecat margecat ! I volunteer at a rescue that runs a thrift store to raise money for animal care. We sell jewelry, and the person in charge of it says it moves pretty well. If you have not been able to sell your jewelry, we would be happy to accept a donation. I can send a link to our Facebook page. Also the lady who takes care of the jewelry said I could give you her number. I could also give you the number of the director if you like. We don't charge much for our items, and if you can find a better option, we would understand. Since we are a 501c3 nonprofit, we can give a tax receipt for donations.
Thanks! I'll keep this in mind. Could you message me the Facebook link? Now, my etsy shop is doing a tiny bit better this past weekend--3 sales--2 for one customer. And 2 new pieces of feedback, plus, I seem to have been bumped up in the ratings for some of my items. Not sure why.
 
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