It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving
– Mother Teresa
It’s simple.
When you donate your stuff to AFIL, you create opportunities for veterans in your community to join or become recipients of our programs including transitional housing, home adaptation or furniture for veterans.
Your impact continues — the planet also benefits when you choose to ignore the dumpster and donate your items to AFIL. Over the past year, you’ve helped keep thousands of pounds of clothing, furniture and household items out of landfills.
How to Donate
Step 1: Gather Your Stuff
Walk around your home and collect items you and your family no longer need — that shirt that’s been hanging in the back of your closet for three years, the bicycle your daughter left after college, the holiday gift of another blender you never returned, etc.
Step 2: Give Them a Look Over
Donating items that are in working condition, contain all of their pieces and parts, and are free of stains and rips is the best way to ensure your items do the most good.
Step 3: Call AFIL
Ready to drop off your items or schedule a pick up? For furniture donations, please text pictures to 319-243-9930. AFIL Community Engagement Manager will reach out to schedule a pick up.
How You Are Helping?
When you donate to AFIL, you are making a significant difference in the lives of veterans living in your community. After you drop off your donated items, we use them to provide household furnishings and basic items to veterans just out of homelessness or veterans moving on from one of our transitional homes into permanent housing.
Some items will be sold and we will use that money to fund our programs for veterans at AFIL.
When donating, you will receive a receipt from AFIL. Hang on to this receipt – at the end of the year, you can claim a tax deduction for most items that are in good condition.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service requires you to value your donation when filing your return. See our donation value guide below.
The Donation Value Guide helps you determine the approximate tax-deductible value of some commonly donated items. It includes low and high estimates. Please choose a value within this range that reflects your item’s relative age and quality.
Americans for Independent Living does not set a valuation on your donation. It’s up to you to assign a value to your item. For professional advice, please consult your tax advisor.
Taxpayers donating an item or a group of similar items valued at more than $5,000 must also complete Section B of Form 8283, which generally requires an appraisal by a qualified appraiser. For more information on charitable contributions, refer to Form 8283 and its instructions, as well as Publication 526, Charitable Contributions. For information on determining value, refer to Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property. These forms and publications are available at IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
Visit IRS.gov for tax education tips
DONATION DOS
- Wash clothing.
- Test electrical equipment and battery-operated items.
- Include all pieces and parts to games or necessary items.
DONATION DON’TS
- Don’t donate broken, ripped beyond repair or soiled items.
- We do not accept picture tube TV’s, just flat screen.
Items Not Currently Accepted
- Knick knacks for the home
- Children’s clothing/items
- Sofa sleepers/Hide-a Beds
- Any clothing with cigarette odor
General List of Needed Items
- Sweatshirts, T-shirts, Polo Shirts, Jeans, Lounge Pants, Winter Coats
- Shoes, Bags, Belts
- Hats, gloves, scarves
- Blankets, sheets, new pillows (full/double size is the most needed)
- Towels new and used with no holes or rips
- Hand tools & power tools
- Bikes
- Musical Instruments, NO organs
Food
- Unopened bags of rice, pasta, noodles & cereal
- Canned food
- Frozen meats
- Bread
- Frozen pizza
- Frozen meals
- Consumables, i.e. toilet paper, paper towels, self-care items, light bulbs, trash bags etc..
Kitchen Items
- Kitchen utensils for baking, cooking and prep
- Mixing bowls, colanders and cutting boards
- Salt & pepper with shakers
- Dinnerware and drinkware – matching sets, please
- Trash cans
- Can Opener
- Microwaves
- Cookware-no pans with peeling nonstick coating
Misc.
- Wall hanging pictures in good condition, not broken frames or faded
- Working lamps
- Rugs
Electronic
- Working Mobile Phones
- Small Electrical Items in good condition & working order
- Printers & Scanners
- Flat Screen Monitors, working keyboards and mice.
- Flat screen TV’s
Furniture & Appliances
- Furniture items as well as bookcases, tables, and chairs
- Antiques in good condition
- Washing machines, dryers etc. are accepted on an as needed basis, call to check
- Full/Queen Size Beds including mattress, box spring, and frames (full/double size is most needed, no lumpy or uncomfortable mattresses are needed)
Medical
- NO MEDICINES!
- Bandages & dressings, Unused OTC products
- Medical equipment, i.e. thermometers and blood pressure machines
- Wheel chairs, commodes, shower chairs, 4-wheel walkers, power wheel chairs/scooters in good working order.
- NO Hospital beds, crutches, or 2-wheel walkers
Charitable Gifting of Real Estate
Americans for Independent Living specializes in accepting and processing Real Estate Donations from direct donors, and we also facilitate Real Estate Donations for other charities that do not have the expertise or ability to process such transactions.
There are many benefits to donating your appreciated, non-performing or under-performing property. We accept primary residence, vacation homes, investment properties, commercial properties, farm land, un-developed land, and even real estate notes.
FINANCIAL FREEDOM – EMOTIONAL SECURITY – PEACE OF MIND
Consider alternative ways to achieve your philanthropic desires. Now your desire to leave a legacy can be realized. You can even shape the gift to provide for your specific financial needs.
HELP MULTIPLE PEOPLE WITH ONE GOOD DEED
- Donate real estate to receive tax benefits
- Receive lifetime income
- Lift burden of property management
You can receive money, stay in your home and have relief from property management. Even with a real estate donation, you can create a lifetime income stream back to you.
A charitable real estate gift is the tool you can use to quickly and easily draw money out of your property.
THINK OF YOUR PROPERTY AS A FUNDING TOOL FILLED WITH MONEY TO HELP OTHERS IN NEED
