Donations | Neighborhood Coop

Community

Help build your community

The Co-op holds all kinds of charitable events throughout the year. Big or small, local or national, we feel it is important to support organizations that match values of community, health, sustainability, and the environment.

Locally, we support smaller organizations that have a regional impact through our Wooden Nickels program. Shoppers receive a Wooden Nickel for every bag-able purchase when they bring their own bag to take it home in. They can then donate that Wooden Nickel to one of two nonprofits. These nonprofits are chosen quarterly from suggestions made by staff, customers, owners, and community members.

Note: Our program had a few changes during COVID. We discontinued the use of the wooden nickel temporarily, however the purpose remained the same. We started taking cash donations for organizations as well, and pass these along with our Wooden Nickel match directly to the nonprofit organizations.

To apply for our Wooden Nickel program please fill out our Donation Request Form.

Other community donations: If you would like support for an event you have coming up, please let us know. Our resources are limited, but we will provide what we can. Fill out our online Donation Request Form.

Our Donations Policy

Organizations must be a registered 501(c)3 Not-for-Profit; must be nonpartisan (not affiliated with or promoting any political issue, party, or candidate); cannot discriminate on the basis of race, creed, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or physical disability; should benefit Southern Illinois communities and their citizens; are fundraising for programs that are not intended to advance a particular religious belief; and are fundraising for programs that meet all of the above criteria.

For any purchase requiring a bag, when you bring your own reusable bag, you will receive a wooden nickel per transaction to donate to one of two regional charities that change each quarter. You decide which organization to donate to. (Wooden Nickel donations are capped at $250 per organization. However, all cash donations will be given to the organization in addition to the Wooden Nickel contribution.)

1st Quarter Recipients: January-March 2025

Wooden Nickels

Carbondale Laundry Project

The sole purpose of the Carbondale Laundry Project is to sponsor a Free Laundry Day every month, on the second Wednesday at Laundry World in Carbondale. A Free Laundry Day is just what it sounds like: We invite people to come if they need financial assistance in doing their laundry. We provide quarters for the washers and dryers, and laundry supplies such as detergent, bleach and dryer sheets.

We started the Laundry Project in November of 2019. With a one-year break due to the pandemic, we have sponsored 27 Free Laundry Days since we launched. In that time, we’ve provided nearly 2,000 loads of laundry free of charge. We’ve spent over $7,000 in quarters ($450-500 per month), and have served over 800 people (many repeat customers, but always new people). Nearly all of the laundry supplies (detergent, dryer sheets, bleach) have been donated by individuals and groups, and we are currently pursuing a donation of detergent eco strips from Tru Earth. Our original goal was to provide free laundry to individuals who were homeless. When we started, the Carbondale Warming Center had not yet opened in their current facility, and so availability of free laundry was a pressing need. In our first Free Laundry Days, we saw individuals remove most of their clothes, wash them, and put them back on, or bring in their bedding that they used to sleep outdoors. We also realized fairly quickly that many people need assistance to do their laundry, not just those who are homeless.

This is a project that goes beyond simply giving something to people in need. We have made connections and built community, by working together to accomplish the task of laundry. We also have connected people to other resources, such as housing assistance.

Gaia House Interfaith Center

Gaia House Interfaith is a friendly and comfortable place where all are welcome. Community groups meet at Gaia to meditate, worship and recover.

Since its inception in 1943 and the current facility built in 1961, Gaia House is a progressive and inclusive interfaith ministry with two goals: to help SIUC students and the wider community grow in spirit and understanding and to help them change the world. Our devotion and mission is committed to spiritual awareness that integrates peace, justice and ecological sustainability.

Our campus also includes the Labyrinth Peace Walk, the heart's core of ease in the urban center of Carbondale.

Learn more at https://www.ourgaiahouse.org/