Iowans look to get in last minute donations for write offs

Lines were long yesterday at Goodwill donation centers in Iowa, as holiday housekeepers cleared out closets and hurried to take advantage of a year-end deadline for giving to charity. Marlyn McKeen, president of Goodwill Industries of Central Iowa, says they depend on the donations to provide training and employment for developmentally=disabled clients. This time of year between Christmas and New Years, they get busy as people hope to get that last tax deduction and they get several truckloads of donations at all the locations where they take them. She says Goodwill expects to get those donations in the last couple days, and have plenty of staffing to handle it all. Most of the items donated to Goodwill and other thrift-shop charities are clothing, and McKeen says that may be all people think of when they considering giving used items. She says they also like good furniture, small electrical appliances like coffeemakers and lamps, but not “white appliances” like a stove or fridge. A clerk at your local Goodwill give you a receipt listing the store’s name and location, and telling what you donated. It might say they received a box of clothing, or a couch, and the staff person will sign it — then it’s up to the donor to decide whether they want to use that receipt to claim an income-tax deduction for the charitable gift.