How To Donate

How to Donate

UPDATED – January 24, 2021

Covid19 related donation information…in effect now

We are currently accepting donations on Fridays and Saturdays between 12-4pm behind our Furniture, Décor & More store. Due to limited storage space, staffing resources and the need to quarantine incoming donations for a few days at a time, we are unable to accept them everyday right now. We appreciate your understanding.

Our current set-up adds quite a bit more work to our team, as we are having to sort in the backroom of the Furniture, Décor & More store…and then transporting all items to sell to our Main Store.

It’s a lot less efficient and the weather varies quite a bit (sun, rain, heat, etc), which adds more challenges. You can help make their jobs more efficient and pleasant by donating items that you know we can sell.

We will happily accept your donations regardless, but these simple steps truly help make our team happy.

You can help our team be more efficient by asking yourself the following questions.

Can we ask a Favor of You?

There are several things you can do before donating that would be a tremendous help to our team. Thank you to everyone who is following our requests – you deserve a gold star! You make it so much easier on our team….and it is much appreciated.

Containers: Please place all smaller items in boxes, bins or bags that we can simply stack upon intake.
Soft Goods: Items like clothing, linens and purses work best in plastic bags that and can be tied in a bow – like garbage bags. This saves us a lot of time as we can simply stack the bag without having to sort through to pull our fragile items.
Hard goods: like housewares, décor, picture frames, books, etc. work best in bins and boxes that can be sealed/closed and easily stacked. This helps ensure items are less likely to break while in storage.
Fragile Items: Place in boxes or totes that will protect the items. Any fragile items in bags will require us to redistribute to a box so they don’t get broken – and this takes additional time by our team.
Sorting: Sorting like items makes it even easier (i.e. clothing only in one bag, shoes in another, books in one box, etc). Labeling the bags/boxes is a great help. These guidelines aren’t requiredto donate, but what a difference they make!
Large items: Larger items (i.e. dog beds/crates, large artwork and décor, storage items, etc.) can be donated without bags or containers.

These are the various Sorting Stations for our Pricing Team – and how we sort items to be brought over. If you would like to help out our team, this is the best way to sort your items. Not required, but helpful!

Clothing
Shoes
Accessories (jewelry, purses, scarves, hats, etc)
Linens
Housewares, décor
Media (Music and movies)
Books
Electronics
Pet supplies
Toys and games
All other (sports equip, bath and beauty, home improvement, etc)

Did you know…we have sold 1,257,594 items in our stores between 2015-2020. That’s a lot of merchandise that has been given a second life!

After donating, it’s time for Resale Therapy inside our Main Store, where you can shop from 12-5pm.

Thank you for your support of homeless pets and our mission. You are key to our recovery!

Our general donation information follows below:

Why Donate to Second Life

image - donations email - donate page png

When you donate your gently used items to Second Life, you get to be a hero to homeless pets.
Your donations let us help us create a great shopping experience, where we can sell quality items.

In turn, we provide grants to the many animal rescue groups who tirelessly work to make a difference in the lives of homeless and forgotten pets.

By donating your gently-used items, you are giving them a “second life” and keeping them out of the landfill – as well as helping homeless pets find a second chance at life.Recycle and reuse your items today for a greener world tomorrow. What you no longer want is a treasure to be found for someone else

It’s Easy to Donate!

We generally accept items you’d find in your home or patio. There are a few exceptions, however. For a complete list of items we do and do not accept, visit our Donations We Accept page.

Donations are accepted during open store hours and no appointment is needed. Our 2 stores share a parking lot, so donating is easy!

When you are ready to bring your donations, there are a couple options:

Inside our Main Store

If you have just a few items and plan to shop, there is a bin at the entrance of our Main Store. You may leave your items here and ask the cashiers for a donation receipt.

Behind our Main Store

If you have a lot of items and would like help unloading your car, drive around to the back of our Main Store. Our team will help you unload your car and give you a donation receipt.
We ask that you try to donate at least 3o minutes before we close, but we will not turn you away if it’s later. It just makes it easier at closing time.

Behind our Furniture, Decor & More Store

If you have large furniture pieces, pull up behind our Furniture, Decor & More store and our team will help you unload. You may need to knock on the door of the Main Store if no one is outside when you pull up.

Large Donation Pick-Ups

We pick up larger items within generally an 8-mile range of our stores, as our resources allow. At this time, we do not have the resources to pick-up smaller items that fit in most vehicles.

Visit our Large Furniture Pickups page for more information and to schedule a pickup.

Unattended Donations

We ask that you not leave any donations unattended outside, as there is a possibility they could be ruined by the weather or stolen – and it is frowned upon by city ordinances.

Donate Year-Round!

Think of us year-round for donations – our store successes depends on your donations! We do ask that all donations be clean, “gently used” and in good shape. As a 501(c)(3) organization, your donations are tax-deductible to the extent of the law. For more information, visit the IRS website for details.

Since we are a smaller store, we only accept quality furniture items which have been gently used. If unsure, please call first or send an email to donations@secondlifeatlanta.org with a picture attached before bringing them to our store.

All donations are reviewed to determine if they meet our quality standards and are items that will sell in our store. Any items we accept and cannot sell will be donated to other charities or discarded if unusable or unsafe. Thank you for thinking of us!

Donation Valuation

Due to IRS Regulations, non-profit organizations are not allowed to provide values for in-kind donated items. There are many websites available that provide this information, including the IRS site and donateguide.com.

For non-cash donations valued at over $5,000, you must complete IRS Form 8283. If the value of your item or similar items exceeds $5,000, you are required to provide a certified appraised value of the item before we can complete the required section.

Monetary Donations

We happily accept cash, credit and online PayPal donations. Visit our Monetary Donations page for details.

Memorial and Tribute Donations

If you are looking for a special gift to honor a pet lover or beloved pet, please consider a monetary donation to Second Life in their memory or honor. Read more on our Memorial & Tribute Donations page

Pet Food Donations

We are a drop off and distribution point for Pet Buddies Food Pantry, an organization that provides pet food and supplies to families struggling to care for their pets. Their mission is to keep pets and their families together – and the pets out of shelters. They also provide spay and neuter surgeries and conduct various community outreach and education programs.

During our open store hours, you may drop off donations in our Main Store. There is a bin near the front door, where you can donate:

pet food (canned and dry)
treats
kitty litter
non-expired heartworm preventative, flea preventative
leashes, collars & toys

Open bags of dry pet food are accepted as long as they are not expired.

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. For the Future.

We are strong believers in keeping as much out of the landfills as possible – we owe it to future generations. The following items are used in our store for customer purchases:

Plastic Bags and Paper Shopping Bags: We use these for customer purchases (from Target, Trader Joes, Macy’s, etc). We especially love the paper bags with handles!
Packing Paper: We are always in need of packing paper, tissue paper and bubble wrap for customer purchases. We are unable to use newspapers.
Old Blankets, Sheets and Towels: Donated to animal shelters to care for the animals (they do not accept items with stuffing)

We’d like to ask a favor of you, our donors. There are several things you can do before donating that would be a tremendous help to our team. Could you take a moment to review the donation guidelines on our How to Donate page?

Thank you to everyone who is following our requests – you deserve a gold star! You make it so much easier on our team….and it is much appreciated.

After donating, it’s time for Resale Therapy inside our Main Store, where you can shop from 12-5pm. Thank you for your support of homeless pets and our mission. You are key to our recovery!