Benefits of joining us

Charity Retail Ireland is an all island umbrella organisation which provides information, support and networking opportunities for registered charities who operate in the Charity Retail sector.

Some of the many benefits of joining us include access to:

  • Charity Retail Week which highlights the economic, social and environmental value of the charity retail sector.
  • Our annual member awards that set high quality national standards within the sector.
  • Our social media platforms, promoting our members’ charitable businesses.
  • Great networking opportunities with other charities who operate shops at our meetings and events throughout the year.

Charity Retail Ireland members are charities that are registered with the Charities Regulator or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and who operate on the island of Ireland.

So join us so that we can help you to promote and grow your charity shops to benefit many communities, nationwide and beyond.

Find out more about what we stand for – Go to our Vision, Mission and Values here

What we do

Networking and Members’ Meetings

2023 will see the first Charity Retail Week. Our flagship event,  The Gathering, for our members on 26th April in the Rediscovery Centre, Ballymun, Dublin.

In the morning we will launch our Charity Retail Impact Report. There will also be a choice of 5 workshops and members will have the opportunity to attend two workshops. The afternoon will be a lively set of discussions in our World Café on topics close to the heart of all charity shops. The day will be rounded off with our Annual Awards Ceremony.

Our last Members’ Meeting pre pandemic was in February 2020 in Portlaoise.
Following our AGM, members took part in an interactive Smartphone Video workshop with Aileen O’Meara. The World Café was a lively discussion of four questions relevant to the operation of a charity shop where members shared their knowledge and expertise. The day ended with the presentation of our Members’ Awards for Volunteer of the Year, Shop Team of the Year, Shop Manager of the Year and Shop Window of the Year.

We held several virtual meetings throughout 2020 and 2021 to keep in touch with our members.

Website and social media

Our website is a channel for members of the public to find out about charity shops, where to donate and where to buy.

  • 50% of visitors want a find a charity shop
  • we only list Charity Retail Ireland members’ shops

Website statistics for 2021:

  • 200,000 pages viewed
  • 120,000 sessions
  • 100,000 views of individual shop listings.

The exclusive members’ area is a forum for members only, where all information about Charity Retail Ireland and members’ activities can be found. There is also information to help you to run your shop and other useful links. Username and password are provided once you become a member.

We have a very active social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, which you can use to promote your shop and your charity’s events. We run several public window competitions throughout the year which generate good traffic and highlight our members fabulous window displays.

Charity Retail Impact Survey and Report

We started our Benchmarking Surveys in 2005 and they have grown into the Charity Retail Impact Report of today. This demonstrates the financial, social and environmental value of our members’ retail operations. This annual survey also provides an industry norm against which individual charities can measure their own performance.

All the Benchmarking Surveys are  available online in the members’ area of the website. Read our 2021 Impact Report here.

Media coverage, public awareness and lobbying

Charity Retail Ireland is now recognised by the media as the umbrella group for charity shops and this generates coverage for our sector.

We operate an online reporting form to enable members of the public to send us details of any suspected bogus/unregistered activity. This is supported by the Gardai. More info here

We are actively involved with the Charities Regulator in highlighting the issues facing our sector.

We have successfully lobbied government in the past three years to highlight the need to support the charity retail sector.

Member Services

We provide practical help on how to run your shop through the dedicated members’ area of the website. The Secretary is available to provide information and resources and to connect members to each other.

Training and Development for your shops

We run regular workshops on issues that face charity shops (Health and Safety and Security) or subjects that help you in the running of your shop; Antiques Awareness training, social media training, VM training.

How to join us

The Code of Charity Retailing was developed by members for members, who are all signed up to the Code and it is a condition of membership for all charities who wish to join Charity Retail Ireland.
Click here for more information and the full text of the Code.

The Code of Charity Retailing is an assurance to our customers and donors that all Charity Retail Ireland members are operating to the standards set out in the Code.

The aims of the Code are:

  • To promote good practice and high standards in charity retailing
  • To promote public confidence in, and support for, charity shops
  • To increase donations to charity shops, both directly into shops and through house-to-house collections.
  • To get positive publicity for charity shops
  • To promote awareness of legitimate charity shops and to help stamp out dishonest and bogus activities
How does it work?
  1. Complete this online application form
  2. You must be a charity registered with the Charities Regulator or the Charity Commission of Northen Ireland,  based on the island of Ireland  and operate charity shop(s) to raise funds for your objectives. Your shop(s) must be run directly by the charity and all proceeds must go towards your charity’s purpose.
  3. Once you’ve completed the application form your credentials are checked.
  4. You will then be sent a sign up form to confirm that you comply with the Code of Charity Retailing.
  5. Once this is received you will be sent an invoice for your membership subscription.
  6. When payment is received you will become a member. 

You will receive a welcome email with all the info you need to engage with CRI including:

  • Access to the members’ area of this website with all the latest news and loads of info to help you to run your shop(s)
  • A weekly email update with members news, stock opportunities and what’s happening in the Charity Retail world
  • You will receive membership stickers (as shown above) to put up in your shop(s)

Membership fees are based on how many shops your charity operates.
€180 for 1 shop
€150 per shop for 2-5 shops
€130 per shop for 6-10 shops
€120 per shop for 11-24 shops
€2,950 flat fee for 25-99 shops
€3,250 flat fee for 99+ shops