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Donations pick up as new tax season looms MANY HAPPY RETURNS Tax incentives rake in end-of-year donations Date published: 12/31/2005 By NATASHA ALTAMIRANO By NATASHA ALTAMIRANO Donor fatigue after hurricane relief efforts hasn't struck Fredericksburg-area thrift stores. Things were slow earlier this month at the Salvation Army Thrift Store on Lafayette Boulevard in Fredericksburg, but donations picked up this week, store manager Gene Philipp said. "Donations were down during the month, and we kind of attributed that to the overflow of [Hurricane] Katrina stuff," Philipp said. "But this week, things have gone ballistic." The Salvation Army Thrift Store takes clothes, toys, furniture, appliances and vehicles. Donations typically pick up the last week of the year because it's the last chance for people to make tax-deductible contributions. Today is typically the busiest donation day of the year, with cars lining up in the Salvation Army Thrift Store's parking lot, said Capt. Mike Harris, leader of the Fredericksburg Corps. But Philipp said tax write-offs are only part of the reason. "People aren't even interested in tax breaks--they're giving from the heart," he said. "The money that this store generates goes right back into the community." The Salvation Army is a nonprofit, Christian service organization that provides holiday food and gifts, utility assistance, drug-abuse treatment and other programs. Pure generosity also is a reason people donate to SERVE's thrift store on Chatham Heights Road in Stafford County. "A lot don't even ask for tax receipts--they just want to help," store manager Lynne Schell said. SERVE provides families with emergency assistance, including food and money for utility and rent payments, prescriptions and clothes. The thrift store takes clothes, furniture, household items and "almost anything" else, Schell said. Gordon and Berhane Colston donated their old car to the Salvation Army Thursday for both the tax break and philanthropic reasons. Gordon Colston said the tax deduction would be higher than the trade-in value of the 1995 Toyota Tercel. "And a person can buy it for less--it'll benefit the person who doesn't have a car," Berhane Colston said. The Colstons won't immediately be eligible for a tax deduction because of a tax-law change that went into effect Jan. 1 this year. They must wait until the Salvation Army sells the vehicle, and can claim only the value for which it's sold. In previous years, donors could automatically claim the vehicle's fair-market value.
Date published: 12/31/2005
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