Donate Delaware aims to help nonprofits leverage purchase power
Delaware nonprofits play a critical role in keeping the community safe during COVID-19. But who keeps nonprofits safe?
Early in the pandemic, a group of Delaware businessmen saw nonprofits struggling to find and afford personal protective equipment. Leveraging their experience with emergency management and logistics, they jumped into action and formed Donate Delaware as a hub for procuring and distributing donations. The organization purchased PPE supplies, organized a warehouse and volunteers, and in the first quarter alone, distributed free or at cost, more than 61,000 pieces of PPE like face masks, isolation gowns, medical gloves and sanitizer to nonprofits and schools statewide.
Now, Dave Tiberi, Dr. Robert Andrzejewski, and Richard Piendak have turned their attention to a post-pandemic future and are discussing with United Way of Delaware how the PPE bulk purchasing model they perfected during COVID might evolve to offer Delaware nonprofits and schools cost-effective purchasing solutions for a wider range of supplies.
“COVID forced everyone to think outside the box. Donate Delaware grew quickly out of that experience,” said Dave Tiberi, Donate Delaware co-founder and president. “And now we realize that the systems, resources, and experiences we developed over the last year have application to a much wider range of purchasing and logistics solutions for nonprofits and schools. Teaming up with United Way of Delaware gives us access to their 75 years’ experience working with nonprofits on the ground, and a potential platform for nonprofits to access the savings and efficiencies that bulk purchasing, storage and delivery can offer.”
Tierra Fair, UWDE director of community engagement, said, “Donate Delaware was born in adversity yet thrived because of the determination, experience and commitment of its founders. They built a system that’s simple and effective, providing nonprofits and schools access to affordable PPE they might not otherwise have had. What’s clear now is that the Donate Delaware platform has the potential to serve a broader range of nonprofit purchasing needs more efficiently and cost-effectively. Early in the pandemic, United Way of Delaware supported Donate Delaware, allowing them to offer many PPE products free to nonprofits. By partnering with Donate Delaware in a more integrated way, we hope to bring our nonprofit experience, resources and relationships together with the scale, physical resources and expertise of Donate Delaware in ways that make one plus one equal three.”
United Way of Delaware and Donate Delaware are looking to present nonprofits and schools with a working model for bulk purchasing, storage and distribution of PPE and other consumable supplies later this summer. In the interim, Donate Delaware invites both nonprofits who may need supplies and those who have supplies or cash to donate for supplies to contact them at donatede.org.
