The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB.
A Good Thing CIC: sending less to landfill and more to a good cause across Scotland
A Good Thing CIC is a non-profit online platform that connects charities right across the UK with businesses that have ‘stuff’ to give away. We launched our pilot in the Thames Valley in 2021, and since then have been building our community of users right across the UK. We have been growing fast in Scotland in the past few months, with some really exciting activity and engagement.
In July, the Edinburgh charity Fresh Start joined A Good Thing and in August it logged its ‘charity need’ with us: this is something we ask every new charity to do when they join the platform. Fresh Start helps people who have experienced homelessness to set up their new home: the charity works for a better life for those living in poverty. In September we published the charity’s need for 12 chairs for their community hub kitchen space, where it was running community meals and cooking classes – supporting its users in preparing healthy, affordable meals while building their self-esteem and reducing social isolation. Almost immediately, the Edinburgh firm T20 Interiors got in touch to let us know they could meet the charity’s need for chairs, and a match was made.
Powerful impacts can be made through businesses engaging with their local communities – and A Good Thing is all about connecting the two. Very often, businesses are keen to help and give back, but they don’t know how. And charities are interested in connecting with the businesses in their immediate area, but don’t have an easy means to do so. A Good Thing helps the two to join the dots!
The waste that can exist within businesses provides huge potential for good causes to be boosted. There can be an enormous benefit to wonderful local charities through businesses simply passing on the things they are no longer using. Charities are so imaginative with how they will make use of donated items, and they will often be able to repurpose things that a business might have assumed to be completely redundant.
A wide range of items have been successfully rehomed via our platform, from laptops, stationery and furniture to baby blankets, candles, squishy toys, bamboo poles and carpet tiles. There really is no limit to what can be given away! There are some great case studies on our blog.
A Good Thing provides a great opportunity to volunteer, too: we have a great network of community champions right across the UK, and are always looking for more people to join us. The more volunteers there are signed up in any one part of the country, the more powerful the movement will be in that area. Volunteering with A Good Thing is entirely flexible and can be done from anywhere: there is more information about the role here.
And finally, as it’s that time of year, December marks the ‘Season of Giving’ at A Good Thing: in the run-up to Christmas, we’ll be posting our ‘charity needs’ across all of our social platforms to raise awareness of the things our charities tell us they need – and hopefully we’ll make a few matches along the way! We’re hoping lots of businesses will check out what they have gathering dust, and have a think about how they can give back to the charities doing amazing work in their local areas.
Whether you’re a charity or a business, go to www.agoodthing.org.uk/signup to create an account with us – this takes 30 seconds – and be part of sending less to landfill and more to a good cause!
