The Headline “Thrift-shop chain isn’t as charitable as it seems”  alone Made Me Want to Scream the company — the biggest for-profit thrift-shop chain in the world, with 330 stores — at times used signs and ads with logos from local nonprofits that say charities get money “every time you donate.“ In reality, the suit says, Value Village has sold many donated items in its 20 stores across the state “at a substantial profit” without any proceeds going to charity. Big Brothers Big Sisters, for instance, got two cents for each piece of furniture, or two cents per pound for housewares, such as books and toys donated at the stores (Those rates grew to 19 cents if the charity itself collected and delivered the items to Value Village stores). I recall in college buying my office chair and a few other items of furniture, running me $5 – $20. Now to learn these charities get nothing truly pisses me off. This is why I don’t like to give to organizations that sell my old things for profit. I like to give directly to the source like children and family shelters, hygiene centers, and food banks.

To prevent this its best if we all mind our 3s and 4s. People treat all nonprofits equally, but the IRS doesn’t. For your donation to be recognized it must be made to what’s known as 501(c)(3) nonprofit. A nonprofit known as 501(c)(4), which can devote itself to lobbying on behalf of its mission, doesn’t count; nor do charities outside the US. The best way is to see whether a nonprofit is a qualified charity is by using the IRS database at money.us/irs-charity. For foreign donations, look for nonprofits titled “friends of,” which are typically qualified charities set up to allow US donors full tax benefits.