I get a LOT of questions all the time about my in-person gifting ministry (and I cover some of it on my Facebook page), but I wanted to take some time to answer all the questions in one convenient place.
But first, what am I referring to? What is it that I’m doing over here in my community that has so many people asking these questions in the first place?
A gifting ministry – what is it?
I gift in various ways but one big part is a local faith-based Facebook group I started where many people give out of the abundance of their hearts, things that might be helpful or useful to others. That could be something like a chicken rotisserie or food. It could be a Sterilite 18-gallon storage tote. Sometimes it’s clothing. Whatever it is that someone has and they don’t need it anymore, they bring it to me and I disperse all the items within the group. Nothing is paid for within the group, it’s a group that only gives free things away, no charge, no strings, no catch.
There’s a lot of really cool things that we all give away too. One of my biggest scores to date is an entire surround sound system (!!!) and a Google mesh WIFI system with 5 routers. I’ve gotten a cool sherpa pullover hoodie that I wear daily in the winter, an area rug for my back patio, lots of cool clothes, a mattress/box springs, beauty supplies, things for my son, collagen supplements, light bulbs for my kitchen, a Calvin Klein tote, and so much more!
Here’s some examples…
and more…
and more…
It’s a really great way to provide for your family and help your husband so he doesn’t have to work as much to pay for things you need, all the while being a Proverbs 31 woman. PLUS, you’re sharing with your community the things that you have too that you don’t need anymore.
Other places I give within the community are to people I meet and if someone knows someone in need and they come to me needing help. It’s all about connections, making friends, and getting to know the people, so that you can help serve their needs. They know they can come to me and that the door is always open and that’s important.
Who do you help?
I try to help all kinds of people from all different walks of life. That includes:
- Single moms who are starting over from a divorce
- New and expectant moms who have nothing
- People who lost everything in a tragedy (think: fire)
- Ladies wanting to be the Proverbs 31 woman and gathering things to provide for their family’s needs
- Unemployed moms and dads looking to get back on their feet
- Women who lost their job or are financially struggling to make ends meet
- Young moms trying to save money on kids costs (from clothes to toys and everything in between)
- Grandma’s providing cool things for their grandchildren
- and more!!
Why do you do all this? Why do you give all this stuff away for free?
Several reasons…
God has called me to. This is my purpose. This is what GOD has chosen for me to do with my time and He has put the desire in my heart to do it.
I love gifting and meeting people’s needs in the community. There are so many broken, hurting people out there and we don’t see it. They hide how they feel on the outside and need someone to come alongside of them and encourage them and restore their hope. Hope that this life isn’t all there is. That there is a God and that He deeply cares about them.
Watching someone’s hope restored is amazing. It never gets old. The joy I receive from watching them go from hopeless despair to feeling like they can get through whatever situation they are facing is an abundant blessing to my heart and soul.
As Christians, we are called to serve. We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:31). If I saw me suffering, I’d want someone to help me, so I need to be that for others. ❤️
How do the people find you that you gift to?
Right now, people find me through my Facebook group and word of mouth, however one day, it will include gifting to those in my church in need also.
How do you have so much to give?
First, God wants to show His power. He wants to show people that He is here, amongst us, not far off in space and time, light years away. He wants to be known, seen, heard, discovered, so He partners with humans like me sometimes to show the world HIS power. They look at me and think, “Wow, she’s nothing special”, and so they know the power is not coming from me, but from Him. Everything I am is as of a result of Jesus Christ. Everything I do is for Him. My whole life is lived with His purposes in mind (I want to be about my Father’s business. Luke 2:49).
Because of that great desire to be used by Him, I become an empty vessel, one He can use and shine His light through to this broken world. Everything I have to give is from Him and years of learning how to get great deals (which He allowed me to learn), in order to become the person I am today. I’ve worked HARD to earn His trust, in abundance and in meager times, to be able to do what I do.
Because I’ve earned His trust that I will spend whatever He gives to me, properly and in accordance with His will and because of His sheer love and adoration for the people, He gives abundantly to everyone through me. It is a great honor for me to be used in this way.
With all that said, I’m working hard to find stuff.
I scour the internet, looking for the items I know people will love and can use and I pray a lot that God would help me find stuff, both individual requests and as a whole, each time I run out of things to gift.
Sometimes people will donate to me privately, knowing all that I’m doing and they maybe don’t have the time to list it. Just yesterday, I was buying something on Facebook for $20 to gift and I met someone who was helping her neighbor. He was going into a nursing home and she wanted to get rid of everything quick (his wife was there to approve everything).
I piled up THREE car loads full (SUV) of stuff to gift that they wanted to donate to me to disperse! This happens quite often, and is the power of Christ working and moving in people’s hearts. But with that one $20 purchase, it led to SO much more. I helped her not have to run everything to a donation center and I’m helping my community all at the same time. That’s absolutely incredible. God uses situations like that and many more to get me the stuff to gift.
Do you take donations?
Thank you for your desire to support God’s work! ❤️
Absolutely.
If you’re here locally, maybe you’re spring cleaning, organizing, or just want to support other local moms, I’m happy to pick up the items and list them in the group! This helps you not have to take things to a thrift store and it helps your local community get things they need free, without having to pay for them. With prices so high in our world today, it’s my goal to relieve that financial burden on everyone I can.
What we DON’T take at this time:
- Furniture
- Underwear
If you’re online and want to get involved, the best way to donate is to purchase things in my shop or to share what I’m doing with others and get the word out. This helps support my physical needs as well as supports all the work I do, both online and offline.
Do you purchase things to gift?
I rely heavily on donations and free stuff, however every day I’m scouring the internet for the best deals. I’m really good at saving money so it comes very naturally to me and I’m able to score things super cheap (and free). All in all, it’s a good mix: 95% free / 5% paid for.
What do you do with all the stuff not claimed/not gifted?
For things that are not claimed within the Facebook group, I try to find people in the community that I can bless who are in need. If I can’t find anyone or don’t know anyone who can use those particular items, as a last resort, I will gift to strangers on Facebook Marketplace or gift to thrift stores, but I try my hardest to keep everything free for the people.
How do you organize it all?
The first step is gathering and bringing the treasures home.
After that, I begin sorting things and listing the biggest (space-sucking) items that are not for the private ministry (word of mouth, people struggling greatly with disasters, etc.) in my Facebook group. This helps me save on space to find homes for those first priority.
After that, I usually wait a day or two to see who responds and pick a winner for each of the items listed. I then correspond with the winner on Facebook and work out a way to get the item to them (either me delivering it to them or them picking it up).
I keep a daily list of all pickups and cross off their name when they pick up the item. After that I update the post to say the item is gone and shade out their name on my paper list, so I always know what step I’m on. If someone doesn’t show up to pick up the item (and there’s been no communication on their part), after 2 days I message them reminding them it’s still out there.
If they repeatedly flake or ghost me on pick ups, I block them from getting stuff from me in the future because at that point, it’s just disrespectful. One or two times, I can understand, things come up, emergencies happen, we forget, but after two times, it’s a pattern and not an emergency or just slipped their mind once.
As for organizing the actual items, I have a section in one garage with all the stuff I haven’t gone through yet. This is where I put all the stuff I need to sort after taking it out of the car.
This is where I keep all my gift bags and bags to make the gifts I give look prettier.
This is all my baby furniture stuff.
Then, in my other garage, I have several sections…
One part is the closet, where I keep baby stuff, backpacks, kitchen items, etc. So I always know where to find it when a need from someone arises. Those are for people I meet who are starting over or new/expecting moms.
This section is for stuff I’ve already listed but I haven’t picked a winner yet.
This section is for things that are ready for pickup/drop-off and my supplies (bags, vases to deliver flowers to someone, etc.).
In the corner, I keep a pile of things that no one’s claimed (unwanted items).
On the metal shelves are clothes. All the clothes have been frozen for 48 hours to kill any potential germs or dust mites in my freezer in the garage. Not all clothes are frozen but that section is. Same with everything in the closet that can be frozen. I like to keep everything clean; I’m a clean freak. 🙂
When someone needs a particular size of clothing, I can look at the buckets to find the size quickly. I don’t have all sizes in stock, but many times, I’m able to meet the need. ❤️
How do you have time for it all?
First, it’s about family dynamics. If you have toddlers running around or a newborn baby, or maybe you’re taking care of your husband who is injured, it’s probably not the right season for you to take on such a huge responsibility. Your days are more filled with trying to get through the day, making memories with your family, and investing in the hearts, souls, and minds of these precious souls the Lord has entrusted to you.
For me, my kids are not with me anymore. My son was getting physically violent, leaving bruises on my arms, and so I kicked him out! My daughter moved out last year, so I have more time on my hands now than most.
Secondly, I would say that I have spent years organizing my life to be able to be used by God in any way He wants to use me. This means closing out all non-important things and focusing on what’s really important (to GOD) in my day and having a willing spirit to go wherever He wants me to go and do whatever He wants me to do. Taking my time here on Earth absolutely seriously and running toward the upward call of Christ (Philippians 3:14).
Every day that starts with asking Him what HE wants me to focus on that day and letting Him have dominion over all of my life, every nook and cranny in it. When you live your life in such a way as that, you will find that you have PLENTY of time. Even though I am a single mom and run everything on my own, I can accomplish a lot because my focus is right. Things are NOT crazy and wild and out of control. I have systems in place, like my binders that I’ve created, to help me organize my entire life.
If you’re not familiar with binders or don’t know where to start, here’s how I personally started going from a crazy, chaotic life to a peaceful, streamlined life…
I started with the Household Binder. Got all my household organized and streamlined, then I worked on getting all my medical stuff organized with my Medical Binder. After that, I worked on all holidays with my Holiday Bundle (get $300 off my Holiday Bundle if you use discount code: STRESSFREEHOLIDAYS) because holidays seem to suck up a lot of time if not organized and then I just added in the binders I needed as I went after that.
How do you choose who to gift to?
I love to mix things up and so I choose a winner by a lot of various means. First, I stay very close to God and pray a lot of who HE wants me to gift things to.
Sometimes I’ll go by who I know will pick up, sometimes by who is in the most financial need, who needs the gift the most or who does the gift fit the best to. Sometimes I’ll go by who commented first. One time I picked honoring military and so I chose them. Another time I chose based on whose family would have the most fun with the toy and who it would bring the family closest together with. Sometimes, I’ll use the Wheel of Names, which is a super cool thing to play around with.
Sometimes I choose a winner based on who I’ve never gifted to before. Sometimes I choose based on who gives the most in the group (most donations) and sometimes I give based on who I know will regift what doesn’t work for them back into the group so it can help more people. So, there are just a lot of different ways I love to pick a winner based on.
Who all helps you in this ministry?
Since I began this ministry, the only other person who helps me in was my son before he got kicked out of my home. It’s just something I do to help others and my son sometimes helps in certain areas as mentioned above.
Is there a downside to doing this gifting ministry?
Any time we do ANYTHING for the Lord, we MUST expect opposition. Opposition from Satan, from a hostile world, from jealous people, from wolves in sheep’s clothing.
About a month ago, someone who didn’t like my gifting and wanted to get me in trouble called the cops on me. Believe it or not. The police came to my door and wanted to know about my gifting ministry. I showed them all my piles, everything I do and they knew it was legit. I’m not scamming anyone or doing anything shady. It’s all on the up and up and it’s part of my calling from God.
I was able to get through it all pretty easily (the police were super nice to me), but it was a shock that someone would have such cruel intentions that they’d call the police on me to try to stop me from helping so many people and I do this all for FREE. I do not get paid to do any of this in any way. It’s all out of the abundance of the heart and obedience to the Lord.
Some people are just jerks and you have to expect that. Still, I continue to gift from my heart and help as many people here locally as I possibly can!!!
And it’s doing super well and thriving. God is blessing the ministry in abundance and everyone absolutely LOVES it! ❤️
How to start a gifting group
The first thing to do if you want to start a gifting group is to come up with a name that has the word “gifting group” in it. Many people will be searching those terms on Facebook. It’s also a good idea to put your city and state in there. So, a good title would be “Gifting Group of Eagle, Idaho” for example.
After that, start inviting some people in and listing the things you want to help people have:
People will respond they want the item and you choose who you want to gift it to.
For your customizations of setting up the group, here’s how I have my “About” section set up:
Please note that this particular group is now CLOSED because I have moved to a different state, but am praying about setting another group up, in time, just as this one was set up. Whether or not God will lead me to do that, I’m not sure just yet. I’m still praying about it to determine if He wants me to or not. <3
For the rules link, you can find those here. Adapt them to your specifications. As time goes on, you’ll see what works for you and what doesn’t.
Also note that in most gifting groups, it’s not just one person doing all the gifting, but everyone joins in and gifts. This was not a streamlined way to do things and for me, it seemed like in that system, everyone thinks THEY are the boss and too many doing that, makes things super crazy all the time. So, in my groups, I have people donate and bring the items to me, one location for pick up so it’s easiest on the winner, and I’m the only one who posts and disperses.
This way, there’s only ONE leader…GOD!
Either way you do it is okay, just do what is right for YOU!
After that, it’s really just about being present for the people, serving, and loving on them. Helping to meet their needs and looking for things you know they need.
In the group, I’ve also asked for any prayer requests so we are all praying for each other and building a community, and I’ve asked if they are looking for anything in particular and then tried to meet that need of what they asked for.
Again, you can set it up however you want, this is just how I did mine when it was open and it worked out incredibly well. 🙂
