L.A. SHARES is a nonprofit material reuse program that receives donations of reusable goods and materials (both new and slightly used) from the local business community and redistributes these items free-of-charge to nonprofits and schools throughout the city of Los Angeles.
We are committed to providing responsible and no-cost reuse opportunities to reduce the amount of goods and materials that are unnecessarily sent to our already overburdened landfills.
Qualified schools and nonprofits in the city of Los Angeles can register to be part of the L.A. SHARES Recipient program and create a detailed online profile of their organization. This includes a “Wish List” of needed items, drawn from the donations we receive on a rolling basis.
Registered Recipients receive daily email notifications of available items via our online lottery system that, if needed, they can submit a request for. Using a fair and equitable method, lottery winners are selected and notified via email and given the necessary information to arrange a pick-up of their items from the donor.
Once the donation is complete and the items are picked up, L.A. SHARES issues a tax deduction letter to the donor.
To supplement the online lottery system and better serve our schools and nonprofits, L.A. SHARES also provides “Shopping Appointments” at our Griffith Park and Wilmington Warehouses for free pick up of thousands of items, including electronics and office supplies.
L.A. SHARES, previously known as Materials for The Arts, was created in 1991 as a pilot program for the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department. In 1994, in an effort to expand its reach and serve as many nonprofit groups and schools as possible, L.A. SHARES became an independent, nonprofit organization.
From its inception, L.A. SHARES’ key partner has been the City of Los Angeles, with the direct support and participation from the Department of Public Works, Bureau of Sanitation, and Solid Resources Citywide Recycling Division.
Through our ongoing partnership with the City of Los Angeles, L.A. SHARES has made a commitment to increase the amount of reuse opportunities available and reduce the amount of goods and materials that are unnecessarily sent to our already overburdened landfills.
In August 2020, the L.A. SHARES facility near Griffith Park was engulfed in flames and burned to the ground. The entire building and all of its contents were destroyed. We had spent months designing COVID-19 protocols and were just about to launch a huge back-to-school giveaway when the fire destroyed everything.
Despite the fire, we are continuing to operate virtually and facilitate the distribution of donations online. Once we find a new physical space, we can once again host teachers and nonprofits to come “shop” for free. Our goal is to serve schools this back-to-school season, August 2021
By utilizing L.A. SHARES, California businesses implement Assembly Bill 939, which requires the city to reduce its landfill-bound waste. Last year, L.A. SHARES helped local companies divert more than 1 million pounds of useful goods and materials from our local landfills.
L.A. SHARES accomplished this through a series of online lotteries, warehouse shopping appointments, and large scale redistributions and was able to divert, redirect and extend the product life of individual items including significant quantities of office furniture, office equipment, office supplies, arts and craft supplies, and personal care products.
As a result, $8,865,385 worth of perfectly good and valuable items weighing 1,154,778 / 577.37 tons – once needlessly bound for our already overcrowded landfills instead now benefit our nonprofits, schools and City programs.
L.A. SHARES has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The White House Task Force on Recycling, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the City of Los Angeles for its outstanding environmental achievement.
Some of the many benefits of donating to L.A. SHARES include: