As you begin cleaning out closets and drawers to make room for the new purchases that magically appeared inside your house over the last week, there are a few things to keep in mind before you bag up items to be dropped off at one of the two Owensboro Goodwill stores.
NEED
While it may seem that the number of non-profit donations increase near the end of the year, that does not lessen the need for certain items.
“Donations do increase during the end of the year, [but] there is still a really big need,” said Goodwill Community Relations Director Robin Oglesby. “We need a lot of things, especially clothes.”
QUALITY
Although it is very easy to have the mindset of cleaning out items that are too small or no longer in good quality, it is important to remember that if you are donating, rather than discarding, someone else will be purchasing that item to wear or use in their home.
Go through all of your items and make sure that they are free from stains and tears, have all of their working parts and pieces and are in good condition. It is a good rule of thumb to place items in the donation pile that you would consider purchasing in their current state.
TAX DEDUCTION
Since Goodwill is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, when you drop off your donations at one of the two Owensboro locations, you will receive a receipt from a donation attendant. Keep this receipt so that when you itemize deductions on your taxes, you can claim a tax deduction for clothing and household items that are in good condition.
The new tax law passed in Dec. of 2017 changed a number of tax provisions for 2018, including nearly doubles the standard tax deduction for most filers. Donors are still responsible for valuing their own items in order to deduct the value of those donations if they choose to itemize on their taxes.
PROVIDING JOBS
According to their website, in 2017, “Goodwill organizations collectively placed 288,000 people in employment in the United States and Canada. In addition, more than 38.6 million people used computers and mobile devices to access Goodwill education, training, mentoring and online learning services to strengthen their skills.”
“All of the donations that we get we resell,” Oglesby said. “All of those funds go back to our mission of helping the disadvantaged find employment, including building resumes and helping with job placement.”
Before donating larger items such as computers, mattresses or vehicles, call one of the Owensboro Goodwill locations first to find out if any rules or restrictions apply to these items.
Goodwill Parrish Avenue – 2916 W Parrish Ave (270) 685-1103
Goodwill Kidron Valley Way – 3241 Kidron Valley Way (270) 240-5501
