One Warm Coat’s 2021-22 Annual Report
Dear Friends of One Warm Coat,
Thirty years ago, one woman with one coat sparked a movement that has led to over 43,000 coat drives across the United States and provided more than 7.3 million free, warm coats to children and adults in need while keeping more than 18 million pounds of textiles out of landfills.
In San Francisco in the fall of 1992, Lois Pavlow had an extra coat she wanted to give to someone who needed the warmth and shelter it would provide. She knew others probably had coats to donate as well, so she organized a coat drive in Union Square the weekend after Thanksgiving. It became an annual event, and grew in size and visibility each year.
Nine years later in November 2001, Sherri Wood was listening to her car radio and heard a story of a woman in Union Square rushing to get to the coat drive before it ended, having taken a city bus with her arms overflowing with 10 coats. As Sherri sat in traffic, she mused “Why can’t there be coat drives everywhere so anyone who wants to can participate? And why can’t they take place any time of year, not just on this one weekend?”
Sherri approached Lois with her idea to expand the coat drive program and make it accessible to everyone who wanted to participate. Sherri’s leadership and vision as the National Founder launched One Warm Coat from an annual local event to a thriving national 501(c)3 organization providing warmth to people in need across all 50 states.
Today, more than 4,000 coat drives take place each year, providing nearly 500,000 coats to children and adults in need through a network of more than 1,400 nonprofit agency partners across the country.
Because of you – One Warm Coat’s volunteer Ambassadors, donors, and sponsors – even in the midst of a pandemic and economic downturn One Warm Coat has been able to successfully continue its mission of providing free coats to children and adults in need while promoting volunteerism and environmental sustainability.
As One Warm Coat celebrates its milestone 30th Anniversary, I hope you feel proud when you read about the impact that you have had and the warmth you have shared.
Gratefully,
Beth W. Amodio
President & CEO
2021-2022 Impact:
407, 648 People Warmed!
3,178 Coat Drives
1,400+ Nonprofit Partners
1 million+ pounds of clothing
Meet a coat recipient, Joe..
Our Values
Shelter from the elements is a basic human need along with nourishing food, drinkable water, and a safe place to sleep.
At One Warm Coat…
We believe
in the basic right to protection from the cold.
We provide
coats to people in need, free of charge and without discrimination or obligation.
We treat
the people we serve with dignity and respect.
We promote
sustainability through the reuse and repurposing of outerwear.
We create
connections in local communities by fostering volunteerism.
We appreciate
and honor our volunteers and donors.
Coat Drive Program
One Warm Coat is the only national nonprofit organization facilitating coat drives. One Warm Coat supports individuals, groups, companies, and organizations by providing the tools and resources needed to hold a successful coat drive. Coats are distributed in the communities where they are collected by One Warm Coat’s network of nonprofit agency partners who give the coats to children and adults in need for free and without discrimination.
Last year, 3,178 Ambassadors held coat drives, collecting 388,749 coats for their communities!
Nonprofit Partnerships
One Warm Coat’s network of more than 1,400 nonprofit partner agencies and schools are integral to our programs. One Warm Coat’s partner agencies represent a broad spectrum of social services, and One Warm Coat assists these organizations by providing coats for their clients and enabling them to direct more valuable resources toward their primary mission. In return, participating agencies distribute coats in local communities across the country to the people they serve. Coats are distributed for free and without discrimination to children and adults in need.
Thank you to all of our nonprofit agency partners for sharing warmth!
Zero Waste Initiative
As global concern about textile waste and sustainable practices continues to grow, One Warm Coat is proud to be part of the solution. For 30 years, One Warm Coat’s programs have provided warmth to people in need while promoting environmental sustainability and keeping more than 18 million pounds of clothing out of landfills.
Through the Zero Waste Initiative, One Warm Coat works with retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers to facilitate the distribution of sample, overrun, overstock and irregular coats and other outerwear to children and adults in need across the United States and Canada.
This year, 20 retailers and manufacturers donated 16,205 coats and more than 9,000 other warm items through the Zero Waste Initiative.
Zero Waste Initiative Donors
Crisis Coat Fund
The Crisis Coat Fund enables One Warm Coat to provide coats for a specific geographic area or partner agency by purchasing coats at wholesale prices and shipping them directly to where there is an emergent need that is not being fully met through the Coat Drive Program.
Last year, donors provided 2,694 new coats through the Crisis Coat Fund.
Crisis Coat Fund Donors
Disaster Relief
One Warm Coat responds to natural disasters that put children and adults at risk due to cold weather by shipping donations of outerwear to our network of nonprofit partner agencies in the affected areas to distribute immediately to people in need.
In December 2021, a late-season tornado outbreak swept through Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky, causing catastrophic damage including 90 fatalities.
Areas in rural Kentucky received the most devastating damage. Hundreds of people lost their homes and thousands were without heat. In many of the impacted areas, people were already living in extreme poverty before the terrible storms and were in desperate need of warmth. One Warm Coat mobilized immediately to share warmth with individuals and families in need.
Eight retailers and manufacturers donated more than 2,000 items, including 550 coats, within two weeks time, as part of our Disaster Relief efforts.
Disaster Relief Donors
Corporate Sponsors & Donors
Corporate Sponsors
Thank you to these generous Corporate Sponsors whose financial support and coat collections shared warmth with hundreds of thousands of children and adults in need this season!
Corporate Donors
Thank you to these wonderful corporate donors who made financial contributions of $5,000 or more last year!
Financial Highlights
Summary of Donations
| In-Kind Contributions | $2,633,511 |
| Corporate & Foundation Contributions | $733,085 |
| Individual Contributions | $384,944 |
| Coat Drive Registrations | $17,300 |
| Other Revenue | $64,919 |
Total Revenue: $3,833,759
Summary of Expenses
| Program | $3,029,899 |
| Development | $119,866 |
| Administrative | $91,955 |
Total Expenses: $3,241,720
To view our most recent 990, click here.