MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Minnesota nonprofit is cutting ties with Savers thrift store after a state report alleged the company has deceived the public about how it uses proceeds from the donated items it collects and sells on behalf of charities.
True Friends - which operates Camp Courage, Camp Friendship and other camps for people with disabilities - announced Wednesday that was dropping Savers as a fundraising partner, the Star Tribune reported (https://strib.mn/1uZ1U4z ).
A compliance report released Monday by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson “revealed practices that are not aligned with our values,” said Ed Stracke, president and CEO of True Friends.
Savers uses charities’ names to solicit clothing and household goods that it sells through its retail stores. The for-profit company operates 15 stores in Minnesota under the names Savers, Unique Thrift, and Value Thrift. Altogether it operates 330 thrift stores in the U.S., Canada and Australia.
Minnesota charities that get paid for the donations Savers solicits include Vietnam Veterans of America and the Lupus Foundation of Minnesota.
But the attorney general’s office said Savers mixes its identity with those of the charities and fails to disclose the amount of a donor’s donation that actually goes to the charity versus the amount the company keeps. A donor can claim a tax deduction for the full price that an item of clothing presumably would fetch at a thrift store, but the charity gets only a portion of that, according to Swanson’s office.
The statement also said Savers gives tax receipts to donors for donations of non-clothing household goods, but does not pay the charities for those donations.
Seattle-based Savers has said it provides “a reliable and essential source of funds” for its nonprofit partners, and the report’s findings are based on incorrect assumptions.
Swanson said she is considering legal action. She also is forwarding the report to other state attorneys general and to the Internal Revenue Service. She gave charities 45 days to report on how they will step up their monitoring of donor campaigns.
The report also said Savers must register with the attorney general’s office as a professional fundraiser, which would require the company to file a financial report showing gross revenue and expenses tied to each fundraising campaign.
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Information from: Star Tribune, https://www.startribune.com
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