Global Paint for Charity (GPC) was established in 2010 to address a global challenge that sits at the intersection of environmental risk, material waste, and social inequity: the persistent mismanagement of surplus paint and the widespread lack of access to paint and color in underserved communities. Paint is one of the most widely used construction and renovation materials in the world, yet it remains one of the least systematically recovered. Each year, tens of millions of gallons of usable latex paint are discarded, often ending up in landfills or waterways due to limited recycling infrastructure, high disposal costs, and a lack of viable reuse pathways. At the same time, paint remains prohibitively expensive or entirely unavailable in many low-income regions, post-disaster zones, and communities recovering from conflict, where even basic housing rehabilitation and public infrastructure maintenance are constrained by cost.
Global Paint for Charity was created to resolve this imbalance by reimagining paint not as waste, but as a recoverable asset within a circular economy framework. From its earliest operations, GPC was structured to operate as a hybrid model that combines environmental services, logistics, community development, and workforce engagement. The organization recovers surplus latex paint from residential households, commercial businesses, construction sites, retailers, manufacturers, and municipalities, then safely processes, repackages, and redistributes that paint to communities where access to such materials would otherwise be impossible. This model simultaneously reduces environmental harm, lowers demand for new paint production, and delivers tangible social value through beautification, restoration, and cultural investment.
Over the past fifteen years, Global Paint for Charity has grown into the world’s first sustainable paint waste management organization and the largest provider and exporter of recycled latex paint to underserved communities globally. To date, the organization has diverted more than 320,000 tons of paint from landfills and waterways and distributed over five million gallons of paint across forty-four countries spanning Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, the Middle East, and the United States. In many of these regions, families live on one to two dollars per day, while the cost of a single gallon of paint can exceed a month or even a year of household income. By removing this cost barrier, GPC enables communities to rehabilitate homes, schools, clinics, shelters, and public facilities, improving safety, sanitation, mental well-being, and civic pride.
The organization’s impact is both global and deeply local. In Atlanta, Georgia, where GPC is headquartered, the organization has become a central player in sustainability-driven community revitalization. Through large-scale paint drives, corporate partnerships, and volunteer mobilization, GPC has supported major beautification and cultural preservation projects across the city. These include extensive work along the Atlanta BeltLine, such as the ATL Puzzle Mural, the Pink Elephant mural, the Fulton and Mauldin tunnel project, and transformative public art installations in Castleberry Hill, Old Fourth Ward, Peoplestown, College Park, Westview Village, and West End Park. GPC has also supported national mural projects honoring Ambassador Andrew Young and has played a role in preserving some of the city’s most historically significant sites, including the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King in Vine City and renovation efforts at The King Center in downtown Atlanta.
Beyond Atlanta, GPC has implemented meaningful projects across the United States, including in Las Vegas, Miami, Chicago, New Orleans, and flood-affected regions of Florida. These efforts often coincide with disaster recovery, housing rehabilitation, and neighborhood stabilization initiatives, particularly in communities facing chronic underinvestment or recovering from natural disasters. In each location, paint distribution is paired with volunteer engagement, local partnerships, and workforce participation to ensure that projects are executed sustainably and with community ownership.
Internationally, Global Paint for Charity has supported some of the most significant cultural, historical, and humanitarian restoration projects in the developing world. These include the restoration of St. George’s Cathedral in Georgetown, Guyana, the world’s largest wooden cathedral, and contributions to preservation efforts at La Citadelle Laferrière in Haiti, the country’s most visited UNESCO World Heritage Site. The organization has distributed paint to schools, clinics, orphanages, and community centers throughout Belize, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Honduras, and multiple African nations, often in regions recovering from war, displacement, or environmental crises. In many cases, shipments exceeding five thousand to six thousand gallons at a time have enabled entire communities to rebuild and reimagine their shared spaces.
A defining feature of GPC’s model is its emphasis on workforce development, education, and volunteer mobilization. Over its history, the organization has facilitated more than 625,000 volunteer hours and engaged tens of thousands of individuals through paint drives, community events, and training programs. In recent years, GPC launched a youth development and workforce training initiative in partnership with universities, high schools, and civic organizations. Through this program, students learn practical skills in recycling logistics, sustainability education, fundraising, and leadership while supporting paint recovery efforts on campuses and in surrounding communities. To date, this initiative has engaged more than twenty-seven universities, reached over fifty-five thousand participants, and created pathways into green jobs, nonprofit leadership, and social entrepreneurship.
From an organizational and financial perspective, Global Paint for Charity has demonstrated steady and disciplined growth. The organization currently employs fifteen full-time staff and eight part-time staff and has raised approximately $1.25 million in grants, donations, and corporate partnerships. Annual recurring revenue has increased consistently, reaching $275,000 in 2013 and projected to exceed $1,500,000 in 2027. Over the past twelve months alone, GPC recovered more than 550,000 gallons of surplus paint, expanded operations into three new international regions, increased recycled paint volumes by twenty-five percent, grew revenue by thirty percent, added five full-time employees, and mobilized more than three hundred volunteers for community projects.
This growth has been accompanied by increasing national and international recognition. Global Paint for Charity has earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for ten consecutive years and holds the Candid GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency, placing it among the top tier of nonprofit organizations in the United States for accountability and governance. The organization has been named a finalist for the Atlanta Startup Awards for Best Startup for Good and has received widespread media coverage from outlets including CNN, ABC News, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Rolling Out, and Hope Global Forums.
Today, Global Paint for Charity stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution. The organization is actively transitioning from a primarily charitable distribution model to a fully integrated circular economy platform that combines recovery, recycling, resale, and redistribution. This next phase positions GPC to partner more deeply with municipalities, corporate ESG programs, foundations, and multilateral institutions seeking scalable solutions to paint waste, climate resilience, and community revitalization. With a long-term vision to expand operations to 120 countries, GPC is building the infrastructure, systems, and partnerships necessary to become the global standard for sustainable paint management.
Global Paint for Charity demonstrates that environmental protection, economic opportunity, and social dignity are not competing priorities, but mutually reinforcing outcomes. By transforming surplus paint into a global resource, the organization delivers measurable climate impact, preserves cultural heritage, strengthens local economies, and restores color and hope to communities worldwide.
MAKE AN IMPACT
While we look forward to continuing the work we have been doing since 2010, we wish to undertake many great accomplishments every year. Every day many people are inspired by our work, whether by donating their unwanted paint or supporting our programs and changing lives together. Your support allows GPC to fulfill our mission by beautifying communities, strengthening neighborhood happiness, and promoting colors and beautification in poor communities around the world.
Please help Global Paint for Charity give the incomparable gift of beautification to families around the world. Thousands of gallons of paint can be shipped in sea containers paid for by contributions from generous people like you. It costs about $10 to send a bucket of paint from the United States to another country. Global Paint for Charity has shipped more than 320,000 tons of paint to 44 different countries since 2010. And for just $100, you can send one Kit of Hope to give the family access to bright colors to paint their home, and for $5000 will renovate an entire school for many years. With your help, we can change the world. Let’s work together this year to send gallons and buckets of hope into the world’s darkest shantytowns and slum cities.
Thanks again for your support, and remember: While one person can make a change, only together can we change the world.
Board Of Directors
Global Paint for Charity is guided by a committed and diverse Board of Directors whose collective expertise spans sustainability, public policy, finance, logistics, community development, and nonprofit governance. The Board provides fiduciary oversight, strategic counsel, and mission stewardship, ensuring that the organization operates with integrity, accountability, and long-term vision while remaining aligned with its environmental and social objectives.
Under the leadership of Dr. Rony Delgarde, Founder and President and Chief Executive Officer, Global Paint for Charity has grown from a pilot paint recovery effort into a globally recognized circular-economy institution. As CEO, Dr. Delgarde works in close partnership with the Board to drive strategic growth, operational scale, and cross-sector collaboration. During his tenure, the organization has earned dozens of national and regional recognitions for innovation, transparency, sustainability, and community impact, including repeated four-star ratings from Charity Navigator, the Candid GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency, and selection as a finalist for the Atlanta Startup Awards for Best Startup for Good.
Together, the Board and executive leadership have strengthened governance systems, diversified revenue streams, expanded international operations, and positioned Global Paint for Charity as a trusted partner to municipalities, corporations, universities, and global development stakeholders seeking scalable, data-driven solutions to paint waste reduction and community revitalization. This collaborative leadership structure ensures that GPC continues to deliver measurable impact while building a resilient, mission-driven organization for the future.
For details on our current Board of Directors, please visit our “Board of Directors” at http://globalpaints/board-of-directors
