Know what left, who had it, and that it landed.
Once someone says yes, the goods still have to get there.
Shipment turns an accepted match into a tracked movement: create a shipment from a matched Offer or a claimed Gifts in Kind listing, and keep chain of custody from origin to recipient. Completed GIK claims flow straight into it, so nothing gets retyped between the yes and the loading dock.
30-day free trial · ImpactVolunteer included · No credit card
What Shipment does
Shipment is the movement record inside ImpactMatrix. A nonprofit creates a shipment from a matched Offer or a completed Gifts in Kind claim, then tracks it from origin to recipient with chain of custody maintained along the way. It feeds Deliveries, where the recipient confirms arrival and a receipt is generated.
What you can do
What the shipment record holds.
Start from the accepted match or claim rather than a blank form. The donor, the goods, the quantity and the destination are already in the system.
Keep a record of who released the goods, who carried them and who received them. This is the part that matters when a donor asks what happened to forty pallets, or when a grant monitor asks the same question a year later.
Status travels with the shipment, so the receiving organization isn't calling to ask whether the truck left.
The shipment ends where confirmation begins. Deliveries closes the loop and produces the receipt.
From accepted match to loading dock
Accept the match or claim
A ranked match in AI Match or an accepted Request to Claim in Gifts in Kind is the trigger — the shipment inherits the details.
Create the shipment
Origin, recipient and goods, with custody recorded as it changes hands.
Confirm at the far end
The recipient confirms delivery, and the receipt follows from that confirmation.
Why chain of custody is not bureaucracy
The problem
Donated goods move through more hands than purchased goods: a corporate warehouse, a volunteer with a pickup, a church basement, a POD site. When something goes missing or a donor asks for documentation, the trail is text messages and nobody's sure who had it on Thursday.
What the platform does
A shipment record created from the accepted match, carrying origin, custody and recipient, and ending in a confirmed delivery.
The artifact
A chain-of-custody record from origin to recipient — the documentation a corporate donor's compliance team wants before they release the next pallet.
Coordination logistics, not a warehouse system
Freight and warehouse platforms are built for organizations with their own docks, barcodes and carrier contracts. Most nonprofits moving in-kind aid don't have that, and don't need it: they need to know what left, who has it, and that the recipient confirmed. Shipment records the movement between organizations and hands off to delivery confirmation.
Use ImpactMatrix when
Donated goods move between organizations and you need a custody record and a confirmation at the end.
Use something else when
You run warehouses at scale and need a WMS with barcode scanning, bin locations and serialized pharmaceutical tracking.
Inside the product
Screenshot slots below. Captions are final copy — drop the real UI capture into each frame.
Where this sits in the chain
Every posted need travels the same path. Follow it forward or back.
Questions
What is chain of custody for donated goods?
Chain of custody is a record of everyone who handled a donation between the donor and the recipient. In ImpactMatrix, a shipment created from a matched Offer or claimed Gifts in Kind listing carries that record from origin to recipient, ending with a confirmed delivery.
How do I create a shipment?
Start from an accepted match in AI Match or an accepted Request to Claim in Gifts in Kind, then create the shipment from that record. The goods, quantity, donor and destination carry over, so the shipment isn't a blank form your coordinator retypes at the end of a long day.
Does the recipient see shipment status?
Yes. Shipment status travels with the record between the sending and receiving organizations, and the recipient confirms arrival in Deliveries. That confirmation is what generates the receipt, so the same action closes the operational and the documentation loop.
Is this a warehouse management system?
Shipment records movement and custody between organizations. Receiving, sorting, put away, stock, holds and agency orders inside a food bank or relief warehouse are handled by the separate Warehouse module.
Is shipment tracking included in the nonprofit plan?
Yes, and it's available during the 30-day free trial with no credit card required. Nonprofit plans are seat-based from $29.99 per month for a single user, and every subscription also includes ImpactVolunteer at no extra cost.
One platform. Every day your mission matters.
Know what left, who had it, and that it landed.
Know what left, who had it, and that it landed.
Shipment records created from the match itself. Thirty days free, no credit card.
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