Tis the season for charity. Your shoppers are thinking how they can help the less fortunate, and that’s a good thing.

But your customers are also thinking that actual cash money’s tight right now as they prepare for their holiday season.

Can you stretch out a local-awareness helping hand?

Of course you can. All it takes is for you to highlight the consignment accounts you already have set up. Through your advertising and your social media, including your blog, remind folks that they can donate goods to be placed in these accounts, and the charity receives that “real cash money” for their cause.

It wouldn’t hurt for you to mention that quality goods will get a better return in your boutique than they might in a thrift store, but you’d want to word that carefully to avoid hurting the legit local charities who don’t participate in your “consign for a cause” program or who have declined to be involved.

You can also be pro-active in making shoppers aware that their purchases directly help specific charities with a foyer sign showing them what to look for on your merchandise tags.

It’s one of those win-win-win solutions that we all love.

• The charity wins because they make spendable cash without the retail overhead and volunteer commitment.
• You win because the charitable hand you’ve extended polishes your reputable as a responsible local merchant.
• The donor to the consignment account wins because, instead of having to think My X is too good to give to the thrift shop. They’d only get a buck or two out of it they can rely upon your professional skills to maximize their donation’s value to the charity. Or, if their cause is the food pantry and all they have to donate is a Missoni… they can, with your help, turn that Missoni into meals.
• The shopper wins because you have offered her the opportunity to “vote with her wallet” by choosing the item which benefits a cause she supports.

Oh wait, that’s four wins. Why, that’s even better, isn’t it?

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