Aurora World hopes to make children’s lives just a little brighter with its donation of 15 pallets of cuddly plush toys.
When the company found itself with an overstock of cuddly toys, donating them seemed a natural fit with its mission to deliver “gifts of smiles.” To help them spread that joy, Aurora World turned to NAEIR, a gifts-in-kind organization that takes donated products from companies and redistributes them to those in need.
“We connect companies looking to donate products with nonprofits who can benefit from them,” explained Gary C. Smith, president and CEO of NAEIR (National Association for the Exchange of Industrial Resources), the largest gifts-in-kind nonprofit in the United States.
NAEIR’s specialty is receiving donations of excess inventory from corporations like Aurora World, and then redistributing them to member schools, teachers, churches and charities. The corporations receive a tax deduction equal to up to twice the products’ cost. The nonprofits pay a modest handling fee.
The partnership with NAEIR meshed well with Aurora World’s belief that small acts of kindness go a long way, said Imtiaz Hasan, marketing manager at Aurora World. “We find that their values correlate well with Aurora World. We believe in providing to those in need, so NAEIR was a percent fit for us,” she said.
Aurora World is a global leader in plush toys and high-quality gift products as well as in the character and content industry. The company sells its products through a variety of retailers including hospitals, department stores, and high-end toy and gift shops. Established in 1981, it is headquartered in California.
Donating items to NAEIR keeps with Aurora World’s commitment to contributing to a greener world. The company estimates that it is saving over 400,000,000 plastic bottles globally by producing all of its plush using eco-friendly materials. It was important for the company to find an equally eco-friendly option—such as donating—to handle its excess inventory. By partnering with NAEIR, they are able to spread that donation to a variety of organizations throughout the country without having to vet the organizations themselves.
The Aurora World cuddly plush will appear on NAEIR’s website, https://link.edgepilot.com/s/e4c0ce37/Ra2kzTTdrEKE7y3jIScxrg?u=http://www.naeir.org/, along with other product donations available to member nonprofits. To date, NAEIR has received donations of excess inventory from more than 8,000 U.S. corporations and redistributed more than $3 billion in products to nonprofits and schools.
By donating new, excess inventory to NAEIR, businesses like Aurora World can earn a Federal income tax deduction under Section 170 ( e )(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
The IRS Code states that regular C corporations may deduct the cost of the inventory donated, plus half the difference between cost and fair market value. Deductions may be up to twice-cost. Companies that are an S corporation, partnership, LLC or sole proprietorship qualify for a straight cost deduction—which could still be more than they would make by going through a liquidator. Usually there are no restrictions on how much a company donates. Donations may be as small as one box or as large as truckloads.
While many companies find that donating merchandise makes financial sense, for Aurora World, it’s more about the smiles they can bring to children’s faces—especially as the world copes with a pandemic.
“In a time when smiling seems hard and hope seems far away,” Hasan said, “we are dedicated to doing the absolute best to remind everyone that we are all in this together, and as it always does, after the rain comes the rainbow.” For those receiving one of those cuddly little friends from Aurora World, that rainbow may come out sooner than they were expecting.
The National Association for the Exchange of Industrial Resources (NAEIR) is the oldest and largest gifts-in-kind organization in the U.S. NAEIR receives donations of excess inventory from American corporations and distributes the material to a membership base of more than 80,000 charities. It has collected and redistributed more than $3 billion worth of new, donated supplies and equipment since its founding in 1977. On average, NAEIR members acquire more than $18,000 worth of free products per year for their organizations. For more information about NAEIR, visit http://www.naeir.org/ or call 1-800-562-0955.