Corporations also make the products they manufacture or sell available to nonprofits at no charge. Giving you $2,000 worth of soup (retail value) costs the corporation less than giving you a $2,000 grant. When you receive goods or services instead of a grant, this is known as an in-kind gift. You sometimes have to write a proposal for an in-kind gift just as you would for a cash grant.

Many corporations make their products available to nonprofits through a third-party distributor. The best known of these groups is Gifts In Kind International, which has branches across the country. Virtually anything you can think of is in that catalog. Companies donating through them include Office Depot, IBM, Dell, The Gap, and

Nike. Check the Gifts In Kind website (giftsinkind.org) to find the affiliate in your area. Other than the simple online membership application form, you won’t need to submit a proposal when ordering products directly through them.

You can also apply to some corporations for a free consultant to work with you, typically on finance or technology issues, because businesses and nonprofits have these issues in common. Their companies might pay these volunteers their regular salary while they work for you.

An employee loan program provides really great community relations for the corporation because it literally puts a human face on their philanthropy. The nonprofit receives help from a highly qualified consultant at no cost. Talk about a win-win situation! Companies handle this in different ways. On Qualcomm’s website (qualcomm.com/community), you can complete a simple form to find a volunteer. The Gap allows employees up to five hours each month to do volunteer work on company time.

As an extra bonus, some companies will only make grants to charities if they have an employee who volunteers with the charity. This could be one of your board members, someone providing technical assistance, or a volunteer in your soup kitchen. The Gap will make a donation for every 15 hours one of its employees puts in as a volunteer. AT&T’s corporate contributions office will make a small grant to every organization that has an employee as a volunteer.

In-kind gifts can be a significant resource for your charity. To benefit your ongoing relationship with the corporation, send a thank you letter immediately and a follow-up letter a few months later to tell them exactly how you used the product. Acknowledge in-kind contributors in all your donor lists, in a ranking of equivalent value to other donors or in a separate list of in-kind donors.