Other Charities Won’t Take These 10 Donations, but the Salvation Army Will

The post Other Charities Won’t Take These 10 Donations, but the Salvation Army Will first appeared on Crafting Your Home.

Thrift bins look like they swallow anything, but they don’t.

A 2018 local report from Tunkhannock described a refusal list at Interfaith, a local outlet, covering cribs, computers, VHS tapes, encyclopedias, textbooks and televisions. Secretary Carissa Harvey said donations had gotten out of control. Major Mark Unruh, who runs adult rehabilitation for the Salvation Army in Scranton, told the same paper, “We are 100 percent self-funded,” and his stores still turn away hazardous goods and recalled items.

Salvation Army policy shifts by territory, by store and sometimes by loading dock. What follows is what its own regional pages list as accepted, set against what Goodwill locations say they refuse.

Used mattresses get a yes at some Family Stores and a no at others

Goodwill San Francisco Bay’s refusal list names mattresses, frames, headboards and bed pillows. El Paso’s Family Store page says the opposite, advertising gently used mattresses as welcome. The same store sends trucks for furniture and other large donations at no charge.

Consistency is not the Army’s strong suit here. Its Abilene Family Store lists mattresses and box springs as refused. Call before you haul one anywhere.

Cars and trucks leave your driveway with a free tow

The Central Territory’s vehicle program offers free pickup, an on-the-spot receipt, and a tax deduction for donors who itemize. Its page also claims the rehabilitation centers equip over 150,000 people a year, which is the pitch behind the Central Territory vehicle program.

Cars are the weakest entry on this list, though. An Easter Seals Goodwill manager told Rochester First reporting that her organization handles car titles and logistics through a vendor. Plenty of charities take your old sedan.

Boats arrive as cash, because nobody can shelve a hull

A used boat will never sit on a thrift rack. The 211 Virginia directory listing for the Suffolk Salvation Army says it accepts used cars, trucks, boats, trailers or RVs and funds its mission from the sale proceeds.

Boat owners in a hurry will like the arrangement. Handing over a title beats listing a trailer-hitched project on a marketplace for six months.

RVs, campers and motorcycles count too

Plenty of Americans own an RV that was supposed to be a plan but became a lawn ornament. The Salvation Army of Georgia says it takes trucks, motorcycles, RVs, trailers, campers and more, and it tows them free through its donation program.

Donors get a receipt after the tow. A phone call replaces the haggling.

Airline miles are a donation almost nobody thinks to make

Miles parked in an account you never touch are the easiest gift on this list. Among the cash, securities and crypto options on the charity’s ways-to-give page, the Army invites airline miles to help meet need across the country.

Most thrift chains have no equivalent door for a frequent flyer balance.

A car that no longer runs still has value to them

The Northeast Ohio program sends operable vehicles to a monthly online auction, which the page says typically fetches much higher prices than conventional car auctions. Inoperable ones are collected and salvaged. Tax paperwork follows within 30 days of the sale or salvage, according to the Northeast Ohio vehicle page.

A dead engine is a cleanup chore for you and a salvage payout for them.

Airplanes are on the menu in the Carolinas

The Carolinas vehicle donation page lists a plane among the vehicles it accepts, alongside cars, trucks, a bike, a trailer and a boat. Federal law explains the paperwork: since December 31, 2004, the American Jobs Creation Act has required reporting of charitable gifts of motor vehicles, boats and airplanes.

To comply, the Army matches each donated vehicle to the donor’s Social Security Number and says it encrypts that data, per the charity’s donation FAQ. The same FAQ warns that not every vehicle type is accepted at every location.

Big furniture still has a home while Goodwill pulls back

Goodwill Southeastern Wisconsin and Metropolitan Chicago stopped taking furniture and large exercise equipment on November 1, 2021. Those items vanished from its stores a month later.

The Salvation Army’s Minnesota and North Dakota network did the opposite. Its 31 stores welcome furniture, though Major Jerry O’Neil said “Unfortunately, if that couch is covered in pet hair, we cannot accept it” in the Minnesota stores explainer. A federal inspector just gave one Twin Cities store flying colors.

Working window air conditioners, TVs and newer computers

Appliances are mostly off the table at the Army’s Central Ohio operation, yet its Central Ohio item list makes exceptions for working window air conditioners and TVs. Computers must be five years old or newer and come with the monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer and CPU.

Goodwill of Greater Washington goes the other direction. Goodwill’s Washington DC guidelines refuse air conditioners as large appliances and reject non-flat-screen TVs. Central Ohio’s page also says more than 10 million donors gave goods in the past year, and it tells you to set your donation value yourself.

Bitcoin and Ethereum are accepted, with a warning attached

The Western Territory takes crypto through the Engiven platform, which converts gifts into dollars and issues a dollar-denominated receipt, per the Salvation Army’s cryptocurrency page. Donors who add a zip code can steer the money toward local programs.

The page also tells donors never to share their wallet’s private key. A charity that has to say so has met careless donors.