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SALT LAKE CITY — A recently developed app called GiveIt pairs Utahns’ discarded items with nonprofit organizations that need them.
“Essentially, we are a on-demand donation pickup service, or a magic get rid of your junk service,” creator MacKay Crookston said. “Like a magic button, take a photo and we make the stuff that you don’t want any more go away and get it to a charity that needs it.”
After taking a photo of the things they want to donate, app users can leave the items on their porch and a local charity will pick it up, Crookston said.
“And what makes it really neat is … if you’ve got a whole drawer full of clothes that you’re looking to donate, you don’t have to take a picture of everything individually, you just put it all in a bag, take a picture of the bag and say ‘clothing’ and you’re done,” Crookston said.
Crookston created the app with co-founders Tim Anderson and Jason Wheeler, and they launched GiveIt in December of 2015. Using the app takes about 10 seconds, Crookston said.
“My favorite quote we’ve got so far is, ‘Using GiveIt is easier than throwing it away,’” he said.
Using GiveIt is easier than just throwing it away because app users don’t have to take their donations out to their curb and they don’t have to find a pickup truck and haul large items to the dump, Crookston said. “This is going to change the way that we dispose of things,” Crookston said. “... We’re reducing waste, we’re getting items to people that need it and where it’s going to make a huge impact with no effort.”
GiveIt partners with 501(c)(3) organizations, so everything donors give through the app could be a tax write-off. GiveIt tracks all its users donations throughout the year and gives them an annual report, and so they can take it to their tax professional and get it written off appropriately, Crookston said.
All 501(c)(3) organizations can join for free. To sign up, visit https://giveithub.com/signup. To download the app, visit Google Play and iTunes.
