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? Call AFIl at 319-232-2552 to find out daily office hours for drop off.  To schedule a pickup of larger items, call the office and a time/day will be scheduled for 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.

Donation Value Guide

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

Electronic

• Working Mobile Phones
• Small Electrical Items in good condition & working order
• Working Computers, Printers, Scanners & Laptops
• Flat Screen Monitors, working keyboards and mice.
• Flat screen TV’s and DVD players

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