DomesticShelters.org announced that the online giving platform it launched 25 months ago has resulted in more than $50,000 in donations of wish list items to participating domestic violence programs. The wish list platform can be used for free by domestic violence programs and it makes creating, managing, and publishing wish lists easier, and for donors, it makes giving as simple as any online shopping experience.
A total of 478 separate transactions for 2,501 items have been made online by donors and automatically delivered to programs. Through a private login, participating programs select from a catalog of thousands of commonly needed products and publish that list into an online store appearing on DomesticShelters.org.
For example, here's a look at the wish list online store for Abused Women's Aid in Crisis in Anchorage, Alaska. It is one of 410 domestic violence programs -- 16.9% of all such programs in the U.S. -- that now use the wish list platform.
Particpating programs link from their own websites and fundraising campaigns to their wish list online store to drive donations. Thirteen programs have received over $1,000 in wish list items with the highest generating $7,801.
The launch and widespread adoption of the wish list platform also has provided new insights into program needs. For instance, the ten most commonly listed items on program wish list include: 1) laundry detergent, 2) paper towels, 3) facial tissue, 4) diapers, 5) dish washing liquids, 5) disinfectant wipes, 6) toilet paper, 7) VISA gift cards, 8) panties/briefs, 9) garbage bags and 10) all purpose cleaner.
The wish list platform extends the track record of DomesticShelters.org employing technology to help domestic violence survivors and the programs that serve them. For years most programs presented their wish list as text on their websites. This made the lists difficult for program operators to update on the fly, and there was no way for a donor to quickly and easily act. This video explains more about the platform and how it is revolutionizing wish list management and giving.
DomesticShelters.org is the fastest growing website in North America on the topic of domestic violence. It launched in August, 2014, offering a searchable online and mobile database of domestic violence programs to make finding help faster and easier, and has since expanded to include over 600 articles on domestic violence, checklists, risk assessments, toolkits, comprehensive statistics, widgets, recommended books, surveys, and videos.
About Theresa’s Fund
Theresa’s Fund is an Arizona-based 501(c)3 non-profit charity started in 1992 by Preston V. McMurry, Jr. At a time when domestic violence wasn’t yet a headline, Theresa’s Fund focused on changing the landscape of domestic violence services in its home state through grant making, board development and fundraising for Arizona-based organizations like East Valley Child Crisis Center, Sojourner Center, Florence Crittenden, Emerge, UMOM, and West Valley Child Crisis Center. In 2014, it developed the DomesticShelters.org concept as a way to expand its reach to people across the U.S. and Canada. DomesticShelters.org is the first online and mobile searchable database of programs and shelters in the U.S./Canada, and a leading source of helpful tools and information for people experiencing and working to end domestic violence.
