What is siloz?

A 'silo' is an online rummage sale; shop and pay for local items online, and pick them up locally.

What are some good ideas for an 'silo' or online rummage sale fundraiser?

The possibilities are endless. Click here for some ideas.

How does it work?

An administrator (the person running the fundraiser) creates a ‘silo’, or fundraising campaign. Private beneficiaries - weddings, college, family reunions - should create a private silo. If your cause helps the public, or is a non-profit, you may create a public silo. See below for more information on how public and private silos differ.

The administrator invites people to list items to help a cause.

With each sale, siloz will send buyer and seller each other's telephone/email contact information, enabling coordination for a pickup. Note: siloz does not provide addresses to any party, at any time - pickups are for the parties to arrange.

A silo runs for 1, 2, or 3 weeks. When it ends, siloz will pay the silo administrator via ACH (e-check), or PayPal.

How do I start a silo, and get paid?

Create an account and select ‘start a silo’ at the top of the page. It’s pretty self-explanatory and extremely fast. You will be paid 85% of the money you raise either by PayPal (for private silos), or by e-check (for public silos).

How do I donate an item (join a silo)?

You join silo by donating an item to a silo you support.

How do I make a purchase?

Select ‘buy item’, and follow the prompts. You won’t be able to buy an item that’s too far away (that you can’t go pick up).

Got it! How do I get started?

If you're a shopper, just shop!

To donate, find a silo you like, and click the 'donate' button on its page.

To start a silo, click the 'Create a Silo' button on our landing page, or anywhere at the top of any page.

Why is siloz preferable to other types of fundraisers?

Short answer: 1) It isn’t asking people for money. 2) It is a fundraising model (church and school rummage sales, for example) that works; 3) Donors don’t have to move anything. 4) Donations are often tax-deductible. 5) Managing and promoting a silo is a cinch.

Rummage sales, thrift stores, car washes, bake/candy/cookie/popcorn sales take time, effort, and a location to organize. They also typically require some up-front costs, and are seldom more than 50% efficient.

A silo can be started in minutes, by one person, and shared with others who will donate to, and promote – ‘crowd-sourced’ – also, in a few minutes. siloz is 85% efficient.

Benefits to silo administrators

• It works; whether it’s a rummage sale or a thrift store – selling donated items works.
• It’s easy. You can start a silo in 5 minutes, and promote it in 5 minutes. Your group’s supporters do additional promotion.
• You can raise large sums of money. It’s funny – there’s just less junk when people see who donated what.
• No upfront cost, and 85% efficient.

Benefits to shoppers

• Your purchase helps a local cause – not a faceless, abstract, distant, charity.

Benefits to silo donors (sellers)

• Your donated item doesn’t have to go anywhere; you list it from home, to the silo of your choosing.
• Your donated item helps a local cause.
• Your donated item is often tax-deductible. This is visible on a given silo’s page.

Questions – Buyers

What is the checkout process?

You pay on the site. We give you the seller’s contact information. You arrange a pickup with them.

Can items be shipped?

Nope. Everything is picked up locally.

How do you stop people from buying items that are far away?

We use Google Maps and something called ‘geolocation’. If your account address is too far from a seller, we don’t permit a purchase.

Questions – Sellers

Do I have to be located near a given silo to donate items to it?

Nope. But only buyers near you will be allowed to purchase an item.

Do I have to physically move items I want to donate to some location?

No. That’s what makes siloz so special. Take a picture of it and list it where it sits. Locals will come get it.

How can I ensure my item sells?

Price your item low; also promote it on Facebook and via email.

What is 'Pledge First'?

List your item, give us a name and an email address, and we'll contact that potential silo administrator, with a link to start a silo. If they use the link, your item will be the first item pledged to that silo. It allows you to donate to a ‘silo’ or cause that doesn’t (yet) exist.

Questions – silo Administrators

What kinds of silos are there?

A silo can be either public or private. There is a third type of silo – delegated by a non-profit organization – which siloz.com will run: an ‘official silo’. Email us at info@siloz.com to learn more about official silos.

Items for both public and private silos are visible on the site, as are public silos. Private silos are visible only to invited members. The general public doesn’t need to know or donate to a private wedding. ;)

Click here to see some good silo ideas

Who can create a public silo?

To create a public silo, you must represent an organization with a presence and impact in a given community, which also falls into one of the following categories: 1) youth sports, 2) religious, 3) public education, 4) civic, 5) neighborhood, or 6) regional non-profit.

How is a silo promoted?

You can promote a silo using online tools (Facebook and email) and offline tools (printing and handing out flyers or asking local businesses to make tax-deductible donations). Every item and silo has powerful sharing tools built-in.

Are all public silos tax-deductible?

Not all public silos are tax-deductible, but no private silos are. To qualify for the site to automatically issue tax-deductible receipts, you must be registered as a 501(c)3 with the IRS, be in good standing, and furnish a valid EIN. Tax-deductible status is on a silo’s page.

How do donors receive a tax-deductible receipt?

If a silo qualifies, is a registered 501(c)3 who has furnished a valid EIN number), when a donated item's sale is complete, we email a tax-deductible receipt to the donor.