diff --git a/backend/.gitignore b/backend/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..307bfb4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+venv/
+__pycache__/
+.pytest_cache/
+*.pyc
+*.pyo
+*.egg-info/
+dist/
+build/
+.env
+.env.local
+*.db
diff --git a/backend/app/__init__.py b/backend/app/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/backend/app/db.py b/backend/app/db.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8fc4972
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/db.py
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+from sqlalchemy import create_engine
+from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker, DeclarativeBase
+
+
+class Base(DeclarativeBase):
+    pass
+
+
+def get_engine(db_url: str):
+    connect_args = {"check_same_thread": False} if db_url.startswith("sqlite") else {}
+    return create_engine(db_url, connect_args=connect_args)
+
+
+def make_session_factory(engine):
+    return sessionmaker(bind=engine, autoflush=False, autocommit=False)
+
+
+def init_db(engine):
+    Base.metadata.create_all(bind=engine)
diff --git a/backend/app/models.py b/backend/app/models.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ffb9d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/models.py
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+from datetime import datetime, date
+from sqlalchemy import String, Text, DateTime, Date, Integer
+from sqlalchemy.orm import Mapped, mapped_column
+from app.db import Base
+
+
+class Item(Base):
+    __tablename__ = "items"
+
+    id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(Integer, primary_key=True)
+    modality: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String, nullable=False)
+    raw_content: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(Text, nullable=False)
+    captured_at: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(DateTime, nullable=False)
+    sender_id: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String, nullable=True)
+    type: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String, nullable=True)
+    stage: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String, nullable=False, default="new")
+    notes: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text, nullable=True)
+    follow_up_date: Mapped[date | None] = mapped_column(Date, nullable=True)
+    discord_message_id: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String, unique=True, nullable=True)
+    created_at: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(DateTime, default=datetime.utcnow)
+    updated_at: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(
+        DateTime, default=datetime.utcnow, onupdate=datetime.utcnow
+    )
diff --git a/backend/app/stages.py b/backend/app/stages.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5e9b223
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/stages.py
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+DONATION_STAGES = ["new", "replied", "pickup_scheduled", "picked_up", "logged_in_bookmark"]
+OTHER_STAGES = ["new", "done"]
+
+
+def valid_stages_for(item_type: str | None) -> list[str]:
+    if item_type == "donation":
+        return DONATION_STAGES
+    if item_type == "other":
+        return OTHER_STAGES
+    return ["new"]
+
+
+def is_valid_stage(item_type: str | None, stage: str) -> bool:
+    return stage in valid_stages_for(item_type)
diff --git a/backend/requirements.txt b/backend/requirements.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5aed225
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/requirements.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+fastapi==0.115.0
+uvicorn[standard]==0.30.6
+sqlalchemy==2.0.35
+pydantic==2.9.2
+pytest==8.3.3
+httpx==0.27.2
diff --git a/backend/tests/__init__.py b/backend/tests/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/backend/tests/conftest.py b/backend/tests/conftest.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c5935d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/conftest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+import pytest
+from app.db import get_engine, make_session_factory, init_db
+
+
+@pytest.fixture()
+def db_session():
+    engine = get_engine("sqlite:///:memory:")
+    init_db(engine)
+    SessionLocal = make_session_factory(engine)
+    session = SessionLocal()
+    try:
+        yield session
+    finally:
+        session.close()
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_stages.py b/backend/tests/test_stages.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0e934db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/test_stages.py
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+from app import stages
+
+
+def test_donation_stages_in_order():
+    assert stages.DONATION_STAGES == [
+        "new", "replied", "pickup_scheduled", "picked_up", "logged_in_bookmark",
+    ]
+
+
+def test_other_stages_in_order():
+    assert stages.OTHER_STAGES == ["new", "done"]
+
+
+def test_valid_stages_for_donation():
+    assert stages.valid_stages_for("donation") == stages.DONATION_STAGES
+
+
+def test_valid_stages_for_other():
+    assert stages.valid_stages_for("other") == stages.OTHER_STAGES
+
+
+def test_valid_stages_for_unset_type_defaults_to_new_only():
+    assert stages.valid_stages_for(None) == ["new"]
+
+
+def test_is_valid_stage_true_for_matching_type():
+    assert stages.is_valid_stage("donation", "pickup_scheduled") is True
+
+
+def test_is_valid_stage_false_for_mismatched_type():
+    assert stages.is_valid_stage("other", "pickup_scheduled") is False
+
+
+def test_is_valid_stage_false_for_unknown_value():
+    assert stages.is_valid_stage("donation", "archived") is False