Featured Shop: DiyScene4Charity

By: Indiscretion

I love that our team, DiyScene, has a collective shop. I was given an opportunity in which to feature the shop in our team blog and am so glad I did! Special thanks to Lynn, Nicole and Kylie for taking the time to answer my questions. Now I can share my findings with you:

What is the purpose of this shop?
The purpose of this shop is to raise funds and awareness for a charity of our choosing. We want to make the world a better place and do our part as artists for the greater good. Diyscene artists donate their items for sale in our Etsy shop, and 100% of the proceeds are donated directly to the designated charity. The artists donate their time and materials, and the customers experience the rewards of knowing that their purchase was part of a larger philanthropic effort.

How does this shop relate to the DiyScene Etsy Street Team?
Diyscene4Charity is a collective of artists that are members of the DiyScene Etsy Street Team. Donors must be active street team members in order to participate in the charity shop. We maintain a team requirement in order to ensure that service delivery is up to our standards: prompt and satisfactory. The shop and its extracurricular functions are also operated and managed by DiyScene Etsy Street Team members. Diyscene4Charity.etsy.com is currently the only collective team-related shop on Etsy. The shop is connected to all things Diyscene. Each item listing also links to the individual team member's shop that donated the item.

How do you decide which charity to benefit and how often?
The administrative team for DiyScene4Charity first reviews and discusses various charities. We then allow the rest of the team vote on their preferred charity. Each charity remains a beneficiary for approximately 3 months before we adopt the next one. If we find a cause with an immediate need, we may select that charity without putting it to a vote.

For example, the devastating earthquake in Haiti occurred right as we were in the process of transitioning between charities. Without haste, we choose to make Doctors Without Borders our next beneficiary because we admire their work and felt that their life-saving work in the Haiti relief effort could benefit from our help.

We only select charities that adhere to Etsy.com's policy on charitable giving.

Do you have a process for choosing items for your shop from amongst the team members?
There is no limit on the type of item that can be donated to the shop. As long as the donor is an active team member in good standing, they are welcome to donate. We do not choose which items are donated. The artists who donate the items choose their donation. Team members fill out a donor application and submit their listing information to our shop admin, who will then list the item in our charity shop.

In order to maintain the collective nature of the shop, each artist can only have a maximum of 3 items simultaneously listed in shop. If one of the items sells or expires, the artist has the choice to donate a different item to reach the 3-item maximum.

How long does the item or items stay in the shop?
Items remain in our charity shop until they are sold, expired, or removed by the donor. Etsy listings are active for 4 months until they expire. Artists whose items have expired are welcome to have it relisted. Once an item is sold, the artist also has the choice to relist it or replace it with a different item. An item is also removed if the donor is no longer a team member.

What do you hope for this shop in the future? (More exposure, more items, etc.)
All of the above! We hope our future brings us more sales, which translate to larger donations. Our goal is to increase our exposure, our internet presence via various social media and promotional outlets, our number of donors and items, and our amount raised per charity. We also strive for strong, dedicated team support and integrated efforts from all DiyScene Etsy Street Team members. Any support from our friends and fans is always appreciated as well!