Retailers in the U.S. have over $65 Billion worth of inventory annually in an overstocked position, causing a drain on profits and taking time and focus from personnel.  The Retail Orphan Initiative (RetailROI) announced today the launch of an online charity locator to match up retailers looking to donate overstocked merchandise with local charities, thus receiving a potential tax deduction for items that were not going to be selling at a profit. The charity locator features an interactive map of nearby charities from a RetailROI-developed database of 501c3 organizations across the country that focus on at-risk children, women in distress, or families in need.  The charity locator includes the top 125 cities and top 300 largest malls in the U.S., with information on types of items each charity accepts, including clothing, food, furniture, building materials and educational materials.

RetailROI's new program is a win-win for retailers and the local communities in which they operate:

• Of the $65 Billion in overstocks, the vast majority are in small lots at local stores, making it costly to consolidate this merchandise.
• Retailers spend an inordinate amount of labor and cost on printing new price tags for items they know are not selling, often compounding loss by adding more stock.
• Worse yet, the retailers often sell those items at a loss to consolidators, incuring more cost in shipping.
• The RetailROI Charity Locator allows those local stores to find charities in their local communities that would accept those overstocked items, thus clearing the stores from clutter and providing a potential tax deduction for the full cost of the items.
• The retailers benefit by building a bridge to the local community, creating goodwill among the charity's donor network and community.

The website automatically recognizes the address of the retail store and suggests 3-5 local charities that will accept donations. 

“Retailers’ overstocks can make a huge difference,” said Greg Buzek, president of IHL Group and Donor Trustee for the Retail Orphan Initiative. “By cleaning their stores of the items that aren’t selling and getting their employees focused on the items that are, they help women and children in need – providing a lifeline that brings long-term dividends to the community. ”

RetailROI’s charity locator is available online at http://www.retailroi.org/charity-locator.  Charities interested in participating in the program are welcome to register for the database at http://www.retailroi.org/register-a-charity/.

About RetailROI

RetailROI is a charitable foundation under the umbrella of the Giving Back Fund, established to help the 400 million orphaned and vulnerable children worldwide; RetailROI provides grants to charities that provide hands-on efforts in the following areas:

• Orphan Care (food, shelter, medical, clothing, education)
• Foster Care support organizations
• Adoption support organizations
• Grants and zero-interest loans for adoption
• Child rescue from human trafficking
• Life skills training for orphaned and vulnerable children

In addition, RetailROI seeks to provide opportunities to leverage their core strengths and abilities to help other charities in need in their local communities.

For more information, contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , (615) 591-2955 or visit www.retailroi.org. For media interviews, please contact:

Jeff Ketner

Ketner Group

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