The economic prosperity enjoyed by millions of Americans hasn’t touched everyone. Charity organizations throughout Chicago, including Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and Catholic Charities, serve thousands of needy people with inexpensive clothing, appliances, furniture and more.
Since charitable donations are allowed on personal tax returns, being generous with items you may no longer need can be a win-win situation. You can help others while realizing personal tax advantages.
The Salvation Army has collection centers located throughout the Chicago area and 35 resale stores stretching from Kenosha to Gary.
“You can always tell the state of the economy by the kind of donations you’re receiving,” said Maj. Graham Allan, administrator for the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center. “There seems to be a trend today where people are giving up sets of washers and dryers in order to just change color or model number. When times are tough, people just give away one item rather than a set. Men’s clothing seems to be bigger today as well, as men are becoming more fashion conscious. I’ve been doing this for more than 25 years, and donations seem to rise and fall with the economy.”
Allan says that the Salvation Army takes “all usable clothing, household goods and furnishings” but that it’s becoming more difficult to accept some items without restrictions.
“With something like a refrigerator, it has to be plugged in and working before we’ll take it,” he said. “It costs us $80 to dispose of the freon tank inside if we have to scrap it. We also try to take stoves, but people have to make sure they’re disconnected, and we’re not able to take things up and down stairs.”
Currently, Allan says donations are plentiful, with the Salvation Army processing an average of 25 truckloads per day, each with at least a 20-foot payload. Most of the retail stores should stock at least a few major appliances.
A car program is also available.
“Those with a vehicle they’d like to turn in can call 1-877-SA3-AUTO (723-2886, toll free) and arrange to have the car picked up,” Allan said. “We’ll ask for general information, the condition and the mileage, and the owner must present us with a clear title.”
Allan said the hundreds of cars received each year are auctioned on Saturdays at 9 a.m. through the Chicago Car Auction at 2731 Belvidere Rd. (Route 120) in Waukegan.
Most Chicagoans are familiar with Goodwill, a century-old service organization divided into 182 regions across the country. Vicki Holschuh, director of stores, says there are 48 donation sites located throughout the Chicago area and currently three resale stores, with a fourth scheduled to open in January in Naperville.
“We have weekend drives going on all the time that we rotate among the 48 donation sites,” Holschuh said. “We accept appliances in good working order, as well as cars, computers and all types of household items. The trend recently seems to favor people donating more items like clothes, books, pots and pans and other domestic items than they used to.”
Goodwill resale stores are located at 7010 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, 3335 W. 115th St. in the south suburb of Merrionette Park and 148 N. Bolingbrook Rd. in Bolingbrook. Holschuh said that computers with 486 processors and above are “put together and sold” to families often looking for their first machine and that cars donated with a clear title are put out for bid.
“We usually get three to four cars a month, and advertise what we’ve received in the windows of our stores,” she said.
Goodwill will pick up appliances in good working order as long as they have been disconnected and brought to the curbside or garage. For general inquiries or to arrange for pickup, call their office in Itasca at 630-467-1353.
Another outlet for charitable car donations and other goods is the Society of St. Vincent DePaul.
General manager and director Robert Kill says that unlike the Salvation Army, St. Vincent’s does not take major appliances but will accept some bigger ticket items such as furniture and computers as well as cars.
“Our cars are put on a lot in Chicago at 5418 W. Roosevelt Rd., and anything we get is gone in two weeks,” Kill said. “It’s all done by word of mouth. Some of the vehicles are great, while others are less than spectacular. People can call us up, give us a clear title, and we’ll take the car. We check the value against the Blue Book and usually discount them considerably under that. Some we just voucher out to folks living in a rural area with jobs but no public transportation.”
St. Vincent has four thrift shops with locations at 9321 S. Western, 5413 S. Kedzie and 4700 N. Western, all in Chicago, and at 4644 W. 147th St. in Midlothian.
Inquiries about donations, including computers, furniture, clothing and cars, should be made at 773-378-8022.
Unlike St. Vincent, Catholic Charities has no means to store donated goods and often must find a “home” before accepting them. Director of public relations Jack Devlin said services for providing everything from furniture to those whose belongings have been lost in a fire to job placement for the unemployed is offered through the organization.
“We work directly with other agencies who help us quickly locate people in need and places where donations can be sent,” Devlin said. “We have accepted appliances in perfect working order, old computers that still can be used as good teaching tools, and we have a service that helps us with donated cars.”
For automobile donations, Catholic Charities works with Caritas, a Milwaukee-based company (the name in Spanish means “charity”). Cars with a clear title are turned over to the agency, fixed and sold.
“The money collected from the sale of the cars is used to help children,” Devlin said. “Sometimes we find people in rural areas in need of transportation, and we help by providing them with a car.” Auto donations are arranged by calling 888-CARITAS (227-4827). Inquiries regarding donations or intake services should be directed to 312-655-7000.
Charitable donations are allowed when filing taxes, but experts say it’s important to keep receipts and carefully document all the information relative to any transactions. Annie Adelman, a certified public accountant with the Arnold N. Schorn Co. in Des Plaines, says those filing personal income tax and claiming charitable donations must file Form 8283 along with their return.
“The 8283 form is required for those people who have $500 or more of charitable deductions,” Adelman said. “It doesn’t matter if people donate $250 worth of goods to one group and $300 to another. Once the total exceeds $500, people need to present an itemized list of their contributions and the value of them.”
Adelman says to keep receipts issued from Goodwill, the Salvation Army and other agencies that will document your contributions. She also recommends visiting thrift stores before making donations to determine how items are priced.
“Usually you can get an itemized list at these stores that tells you what a polo shirt is worth, or it will give you a range of what items in a particular category sell for,” she said.
For tax deductions, here’s what you’ll need to prepare along with your Form 8283 for charitable contributions: the place you donated an item to and the date of the transaction; a description of the property; the date you purchased the item originally; how you purchased it and what it cost; the fair market value, based on resale shop prices. For cars, consult price books or check with banks and credit unions and indicate how the value of your write-off was determined.
