billion in rent assistance. However, many households are expected to continue to struggle while interest rates remain high.  Good360 Australia, an organisation that matches retailers with charity partners to donate excess stock to those in need, has seen the effect of inflation on Australian families first-hand. “The cost of living crisis has seen demand for goods from our charity partners skyrocket. Requests to Good360 from charities increased by 400 per cent at the start of the year, compared to the same period in 2023,” Alison Covington, founder and managing director, of Good360 Australia, told Inside Retail.  This week, Good360 Australia received a $3 million grant from one of Australia’s major philanthropic entities The Ian Potter Foundation to enhance its capacity to continue helping people and the planet. The funding will enable the organisation to expand its operations nationally and grow its capacity to connect more goods to people, by investing in new systems and technology. “This is about taking our work to reduce need and waste to the next level. It will enable us to develop new partnerships, connect with and work with more retailers and charities, and raise awareness of the business, environmental and social benefits of donating unsold goods, rather than letting them go to waste,” Covington said. One in four Australians, about 27 per cent are struggling to pay for the essentials, with 15 per cent of individuals relying on a credit card to purchase basic household items, PureProfile in February 2024 on behalf of Good360 Australia. Almost half of the Australians surveyed believe the government needs to do more to minimise the impact of this and a third, 32 per cent felt the responsibility could be taken on by the businesses. Beyond helping those in need, there are several potential benefits for businesses to donate excess stock, including a positive impact on brand reputation linked to environmental, social and governance (ESG) and solving the deadstock dilemma. Partners with benefits  For retailers, the problem with holding deadstock doesn’t stop at the opportunity cost. On average profitable retailers have up to 15 per cent of their inventory considered deadstock. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands typically carry up to 33 per cent of their inventory as deadstock, while wholesalers cannot carry the same amount before it becomes unviable due to lower margins. This requires allocating shelf and storage space and increased wages to manage the stock, exacerbating how bad excess inventory or deadstock is for business. Donating deadstock is one way businesses can efficiently offload the burden and simultaneously do good, however, the logistical barrier of doing so can prevent this from happening at scale. Good360 Australia helps businesses curb the additional costs associated with deadstock by facilitating its distribution to local charities. “People are doing it really tough, and charities need donated items to continue to support people through this crisis,” Covington said. The inefficiencies are not only costing retailers, research suggests that charities are spending over $400 million a year of Government funding on purchasing the same goods that businesses are disposing of most of the time into landfill. A good marketplace To solve these issues, Good360 Australia has built a platform that connects retailers with unsold consumer goods with localised charity partners to distribute to people in need. The organisation recognises that ‘the essentials’ in Australia are more than food, and provides personal items to those in need, helping to improve their quality of life in a dignified way. These items include clothing, electrical goods, personal hygiene products, toys and scholastic supplies. Good360 Australia is the largest charity digital marketplace in Australia and exists to service retailers by solving a costly industry-wide problem whilst creating social impact. Covington first came across the Good360 concept in 2012 in the  US, where it had been operating locally for 30 years and had already connected $7 billion of new goods from retailers to people in need.  In 2013, Covington immersed herself in the US business, before bringing the model to Australia in 2015. The Australian operation now has a growing team of about 30 staff working from the Victorian headquarters. Every $1 of funding, Good360 Australia receives equates to approximately $20 of household goods being delivered to individuals in need. The organisation has achieved this impact by operating extremely efficiently and partnering with aligned companies for mutual benefit. “Long-term capacity funding like this is vital to our work. More capital means we have greater capacity to scale and grow our work, and partner with more retailers and charities,” Covington said. Powerful impact Currently, Good360 Australia works with over 4000 charities to distribute goods. This year alone, Good360 Australia has redirected over 1.5 million products to people in need, but Covington said the organisation wants to do more. “We want to ensure every new good in Australia is sold or donated, rather than wasted,” Covington said. “The more retailers that partner with us, the greater collective impact we can have in both reducing waste and getting donated goods to where they can do the most good,” Covington added.