Attn: odchai (gemach rules)

amother

Tue, Nov 26 2013, 10:16 am

I can't post anon on your thread, so here goes.

I have run a successful gemach for about 15 years. Here are my tips.

Always, always take a check or deposit. Unfortunately people who run to take things are not so careful to return. Without this you can forget about running a gemach. Never, ever let someone take something, even for a minute, without leaving a deposit.

Always take some money, even a token amount. This serves three purposes, 1. people will value it more by paying 2. they will only take if they need it 3. you will have money to expand the gemach. Charging a weekly/ monthly fee stops (some) people not returning on time.

Make sure you have the person's name and number.

Make rules and stick to them (unless it's an emergency). I had hours for the gemach from the beginning but I was flexible. People would arrive when I was on my way out, late at night, an hour before Shabbos, when I wanted to serve dinner. Not because it was an emergency, just because it was the best time for them. So I stopped being flexible, even if I was available. Having minimal rules makes people respect the gemach more and use it when they really need it, and not just because they were passing by and took something just in case (and then there's nothing left for someone who really needs it).

Halachically a child under bar/bat mitzva has no responsibility. So never give anything valuable to them. If they lose it or break it on the way home no one has to pay.

Draw up a list of rules with a rav and get everyone to sign it.

Of course some of these rules depend on the gemach. If it's for pacifiers maybe you don't mind if it gets lost if you give it to a child. If it's for arbes no point in being open Monday and Wednesday, etc. If the aim is to give things away you don't need a deposit.

This probably sounds terrible and anti-chessed to people who never did this. I promise you that if you do it this way you will be able to do much more chessed because you will still have a gemach.

I have a list of rules for signing (in Hebrew). If you would like it, give me an email address to send it to (Word file).

amother

Tue, Nov 26 2013, 3:01 pm

odchai wrote:

You know when I told her that I would post this question for her the first thing she said was "don't tell me I have to make people give deposits" but truthfully everyone who she know that runs gmachs say the same thing. I don't understand exactly why she doesn't want to do it, but she's convinced that people hesitate when she mentions anything about money and it will turn people off and they won't want to borrow from her and since she's in this to help people she doesn't want to turn them off. However, she is getting burned out the way she is handling it now, so do you have any other suggestions?

OP from this thread here.

IMHO people who hesitate when asked for a reasonable deposit are the ones who will not take care of your property or return it. People who feel responsibility for what they take from a gemach think it is normal and expected to leave a deposit. If they leave a check it doesn't cost them anything.

odchai

Tue, Nov 26 2013, 3:20 pm

I'm so confused. First of all was this thread moved to here because I didn't put it in the right category at first? Second, who is OP? I'm sorry, I don't post often enough or text to understand all these abbreviations. Third, I wanted to know why when the Amother answered me why she was posting a response to me anonymously not why the gemach she runs is not advertised. Her response about the rules for her gmach were very logical and helpful why should that be something that needs to be posted anonymously??

amother

Tue, Nov 26 2013, 5:01 pm

odchai wrote:

I'm so confused. First of all was this thread moved to here because I didn't put it in the right category at first?

You were fine, but I couldn't post anon in that category, which is why I started a new thread.

Quote:

Second, who is OP?

OP is the original poster on a thread. You are the OP of the other thread and I'm the OP of this one.

Quote:

I'm sorry, I don't post often enough or text to understand all these abbreviations. Third, I wanted to know why when the Amother answered me why she was posting a response to me anonymously not why the gemach she runs is not advertised. Her response about the rules for her gmach were very logical and helpful why should that be something that needs to be posted anonymously??

I just don't want everyone knowing that motherof17childrenandacat has a gemach. Also, if I post enough personal details people will be able to figure me out. Oh, motherof17childrenandacat is that woman in our town with a gemach, two sets of twins, three cats, and grandchildren in Australia.

I'm glad my suggestions were helpful.