How To Donate

How to Donate

COVID-19 UPDATE – May 27, 2020

We have temporarily suspended accepting donations until we can sort through and process the donations we received during our donation events that last 2 weeks of May – our donors were overly generous. We are simply out of storage space and are short team members at the moment. Stay tuned…it won’t be too long.

Once we start accepting them again, the following requirements and guidelines will apply. Please review our special COVID-19 donation guidelines prior to donating. We appreciate your compliance, support and patience.

Why Donate to Second Life

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)