I am going to try to use this spot to answer some of the questions we get most frequently- these answers are valid as of 03.13.2023. I’m doing this to answer some questions we get all the time but to clear up some policy issues to be sure we are all on the same page and we are as transparent as can be.
1. Are We an “official” 501(c) organization- charity, nonprofit, tax form provider?
ANSWER – NO- we are not an official charity. I’m a guy that donated his common trading cards about 8 years ago and it made it to the local paper, which was picked up by the AP and went nationwide and people starting sending me their cards. We do not provide any tax form and we do not claim any cards given on our taxes- we simply take the cards that people no longer want and get them to kids who may enjoy them. Please consider the cards you send as a personal gift to me with my word that they will get to kids- if my word isn’t good enough- I 100% understand that and suggest doing a basic Google search for children’s homes, YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, Little Leagues or even Big Brothers/Big Sisters in your area that you can donate to directly. This will also provide you with a tax form and save on shipping.
2. Do you keep or sell anything donated?
ANSWER – NO – we don’t keep anything and, up until now, we sold very little- however, after doing this for so long- we get some things that just aren’t kid friendly and I retain the right to determine what I consider kid friendly or even available for donations. We have gotten everything from Playboy cards to XXX porn cards to comic books with a lot of nudity to violent games/movies rated MATURE or R and we will not be donating those to children. Those will be sold through our social media or our Ebay with 100% of the money going back into C4K. I also retain the right to sell any item that may be consider “kid friendly” but still unable to donate- this includes things like Magic cards or MMA cards. 99% of the agencies we work with are religious based and will not accept Magic cards- we are currently learning this. We also donate to a lot of children’s homes and while kids may enjoy MMA; I don’t want to give those types of cards to kids who may have been abused- that is a personal choice. You are not required to donate your cards to us if you don’t agree with this. Some cards may be sold to help fund things like gas, supplies, car maintenance, etc. We don’t accept cash donations but some funding is needed.
3. What type of cards do you accept?
ANSWER – see our Donate 2 Us section.
4. Who pays for C4K?
ANSWER – we prefer to not accept cash and we don’t ask for cash- however, there have been times that we’ve gotten envelopes with money to help us out and we appreciate that. We do sometimes set up GoFundMe’s for special events like projects around Christmas time or if we have a special request or to fill “holes” like Pokemon cards- those are the most requested yet least donated. I personally pay for the website (and update it) as well as our social media, the C4K name, any logos, commercials and the gas to deliver most of the cards in our local area and as far as Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Cincinnati- the gas money and hotel stays for those long trip donations comes directly out of my pocket. I also continue to buy new cards or cards that we don’t get donated often in order to make “box opening” videos with the cards going to future donations- a great way to promote C4K. We rarely get money donated so 99% of the expenses come directly from me- that is my way of donating to charity. I donated to charities in the past but wasn’t sure how my money was being used- this way I am in full control of where my money goes and how we use it. Some funding may come from selling a small percent of cards donated to us.
5. How should you ship the cards?
ANSWER – the best way is with USPS Large Flat Rate boxes- they hold roughly 5,000 cards and cost around $20 to ship- these are preferred because it’s also an easy way to store and deliver the cards- the boxes don’t go directly to recycling but get reused by us. Using these boxes also helps with storing them when we have a large inventory and it’s easier to keep track. Please do NOT overfill these boxes because the USPS is NOT friendly with them- they get thrown and beat up- which is fine if they aren’t overfilled. The cards are usually in good shape, however, if the box is so full that it’s almost round- the boxes bust open and cards get damaged. I understand shipping isn’t cheap so you want to pack as many cards into one box as you can but it’s a waste of money if I have to trash those cards once they get to me. If shipping is an issue, try to Google local places in your area to donate the cards.
–The address is
Commons4Kids
500 Forrest Dr
Lawrenceburg, KY 40342
6. Do we pay for shipping?
ANSWER – at this point we get about 10-15 boxes per week and there is no way I could personally afford to pay for the shipping costs- I wish I could be it’s just not possible. I understand shipping isn’t cheap so you want to pack as many cards into one box as you can but it’s a waste of money if I have to trash those cards once they get to me. If shipping is an issue, try to Google local places in your area to donate the cards.
7. Why are you adverting other businesses?
ANSWER – from time to time we have request for cards in other states (even other countries) that we just can’t deliver too and I can’t afford to ship them so we look for “sponsors” who pay the exact shipping, through PayPal (no money is made) and, in return, we promote their business. You could call it selling out- I call it getting cards to kids we can’t reach. I do retain the approval of any business we are asked to promote. I’m not going to promote a strip club or something like that.
8. Do you have drop off spots in other states?
ANSWER – NO – we tried that but it took the transparency out of my hands and I wasn’t comfortable having people send their cards to people I didn’t know, in other states, and trusting that they would be on the “up and up”- sadly I had to stop having affiliates in other states because I didn’t feel like I had control of what was actually going on.
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MORE QUESTIONS will be added as I think of them or get asked so check this section frequently.