So cheeecckkkk this out you krazy kats: L.L. Bean is doing a daily giveaway, you write a short essay describing the adventure you want to take and what gear you need (up to $500). So I wrote about my upcoming SCA internship and how food is of utmost importance to a hiker, and that I'd like an MSR Dragonfly stove and a Bugaboo 4-person cookset to share amongst the crew (and to keep it when the season is over!)

Lo and behold, my plea for communal cooking worked! I won me a stove and a cookset totaling about $250 worth! Must have pulled at their heart strings with the whole "im doing volunteer trail work for five months and I want to be the cool kid at camp who shares his goodies with everyone"

If anyone wants to enter heres the link https://100.llbean.com/gear-giveaway/

What a great story and congratulations. I suspect your situation would be hard to duplicate because you are doing non-profit work (legitimately) and that's always a winning story.