When you schedule a donation pickup with GiveBetter, you choose which nonprofit cause receives the proceeds. That's the whole point — your stuff funds the work that matters to you.
But what does that work actually look like? Who are these organizations, and what happens with the money?
We partner with more than a dozen vetted nonprofits across Burlington and Chittenden County. Here's a closer look at four of them.
USCRI Vermont
What they do: USCRI Vermont has been welcoming refugees and immigrants to Vermont since 1980. They provide the full range of resettlement support — housing, employment services, ESL referrals, health services, legal representation, and community integration — for families arriving from countries including Bhutan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, and Ukraine.
What your donation funds: When a refugee family arrives in Burlington, they often start with nothing. USCRI needs to furnish entire apartments — beds, tables, chairs, kitchen supplies, clothing. Proceeds from your donated items help make that happen. Your old dining set could be the first table a family gathers around in their new home.
Why it matters: Vermont resettles hundreds of refugees each year, and Burlington is the primary destination. The need for household goods and funding is constant, and it grows with every new arrival.
Spectrum Youth & Family Services
What they do: Spectrum serves young people ages 12 to 30 who are experiencing homelessness, housing instability, or crisis. Their drop-in centers in Burlington and St. Albans provide food, clothing, showers, laundry, housing support, and wraparound care. They also run street outreach programs and transitional living housing.
What your donation funds: Proceeds help Spectrum keep its doors open and its programs running. The drop-in center goes through clothing, hygiene products, and food daily. Beyond direct supplies, funding supports case management, mental health services, and the staff who show up every day for young Vermonters who need someone in their corner.
Why it matters: On any given night, young people in Burlington are sleeping outside, in cars, or couch-surfing. Spectrum is often the first stable point of contact they find. Your donation proceeds help keep that lifeline available.
Feeding Chittenden
What they do: Founded in 1974 as the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, Feeding Chittenden serves more than 12,000 people annually through grocery distribution, meal production, food rescue, and home delivery programs. They operate out of their facility on North Winooski Avenue in Burlington and partner with dozens of local organizations to reach food-insecure families across the county.
What your donation funds: Running a food distribution operation at this scale takes more than donated food. It takes refrigerated storage, delivery vehicles, staff, and logistics. Proceeds from your GiveBetter donations help fund the infrastructure that gets food from donors to the families who need it.
Why it matters: Food insecurity in Chittenden County is more widespread than most people realize. Feeding Chittenden fills a gap that no other single organization in the county can — and demand has only grown in recent years.
King Street Center
What they do: King Street Center has been serving Burlington's South End since 1971, providing educational, recreational, and social programs for children and youth ages 18 months through 18 years. Their programs prioritize underserved families and include after-school care, summer camps, early childhood education, and teen mentoring.
What your donation funds: Youth programs run on supplies, staff, and space. Proceeds from your donations help King Street Center keep programs affordable (or free) for the families who need them most. Funding supports everything from art supplies and sports equipment to the mentors and educators who work with kids every day.
Why it matters: Burlington's South End is one of the most economically diverse neighborhoods in the city. King Street Center makes sure that every kid in that neighborhood — regardless of family income — has access to safe, enriching programs after school and during the summer.
The bigger picture
These four organizations represent a fraction of the causes you can support through GiveBetter. Each one serves a different need in our community — refugee resettlement, youth homelessness, food insecurity, childhood development. What they share is a reliance on community support to keep doing the work.
That's what makes the GiveBetter model different from dropping a bag at a thrift store. You're not just getting rid of stuff. You're choosing where the value goes. Every item you donate generates proceeds, and every dollar of those proceeds goes to the specific cause you selected.
Choose your cause
Ready to turn your unwanted items into direct support for a Burlington nonprofit? Schedule a free pickup, choose the cause that matters to you, and we'll handle the rest. Your stuff has more life in it than you think — and so does the good it can do.