Here is a hypothetical situation - Joe and Jane Doe own Use It Again Second-hand Store, and most people in their community believe that they support a charity. Even though these non-affiliate stores might give a small percentage to a charity, their main objective is to make a profit, just like any other retail store.Īn entity - in this case, a thrift store - that makes a donation to a charity gets a receipt. While half of the stores in Ventura are affiliated with a nonprofit, many thrift stores are just in the business of making money. There are a great number of stores that have the word ‘thrift’ in their titles, but have absolutely nothing to do with helping a charity.”īrian Randall, the principle planner for the city of Ventura says, “Most of the thrift stores here in the city of Ventura are run by private organizations for nonprofits.” Randall further added that approximately six of the 12 thrift stores have the names of nonprofit organizations connected to those thrift stores. In today’s world, Webster’s definition can be challenged somewhat.įerrell says, “Webster’s definition is not the true definition. The majority of the public perceives most thrift stores to be connected to charities, but has little understanding of what they really represent. My wife and I ran this back in the early ’80s and took home about $55,000 a year - after taxes, and that was pretty good money back then.”
According to the Webster’s New World College Dictionary, a thrift store is “a store where castoff clothes and rummage are sold, specifically to raise money for charity.”Ĭlay Ferrell, a former Ventura County resident who ran a thrift store for several years in Arizona, admitted to doing “well financially.” Ferrell says, “I made good money when I had that thrift store. There is a lot of confusion surrounding the definition of a thrift store. It was never a thrift store, and any aspect of assistance to the poor, the homeless and the downtrodden always began with conversion. It was this mindset that eventually led to the establishment of The Salvation Army. With the belief that the gospel should be preached to the people on the streets, Booth walked the streets of London preaching to the poor, the homeless, the hungry and the destitute. Booth, a revolutionary by many standards, cast off traditional methods of preaching behind a pulpit in a church. The Salvation Army is not a thrift store but an organization that originated in London in 1865 as a result of Christian evangelist William Booth’s Quaker tent meetings. For example, The Salvation Army Family Stores are owned by the nonprofit organization The Salvation Army, but they are not The Salvation Army.
In addition, a thrift store can only give IRS deduction receipts for contributions if the thrift store is owned by a nonprofit charitable organization. A perfect example of this can be seen in operation through the world-renowned Salvation Army or Goodwill industries. In the case of thrift stores that are affiliated with a nonprofit charity, income taxes are only imposed on revenue and not the gifts or donations given to the store, because gifts are not income. In the simplest terms, a nonprofit organization is one that does not allow anyone to personally profit from the organization. The dividing line seems to center around the nonprofit status. All are for-profit stores in the biz to make money like any retailer, not to support a charitable mission.” Savers, Unique Thrift stores and Valu Thrift do. In an article posted by Charities Review Counsel called “Not Every Thrift Store is a Non-Profit,” by John Ewoldt, Ewoldt says, “Can a thrift store still call itself a thrift store if it’s in business to make a profit rather than raising money for a charity? You betcha. Despite the fact that the thrift store industry is thriving, there is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding these types of stores.Įven though the name thrift is used to describe these stores, the reality is that many of these stores are in business solely for profit, just like any normal retail store. Ventura itself has 12 thrift stores, two of which opened in the last two years. Throughout America, thrift stores have been on the rise in popularity, from small towns to major metros, and everything else in between.