Sheryl Harris
I’m getting rid of some furniture and thinking of donating it to the Cleveland Furniture Bank. Is this outfit legitimate?


Stu Levine Pepper Pike

Yes, it is. But it’s also a very new organization – just one month old – and that may be why you’re having trouble getting a bead on it.

The Cleveland Furniture Bank is a nondenominational spin-off of the St. Vincent DePaul Society.

“We’re not in the phone book yet,” says Tom Gaghan, the furniture bank’s executive director. “We’re filling out the paper work to get us listed as a 501(c)3 [nonprofit organization].”

The furniture bank (216-459- 2265) collects new or used furniture in good condition from donors. Most donors are individuals, but some area furniture stores donate scratch-and-dent merchandise or furniture that isn’t selling.

These go to a warehouse where needy people who are referred by other agencies shop, using vouchers, for items to furnish their homes. A typical client might choose chairs, tables, mattresses and dressers. There’s a fee of $35 per referral, but most times, Gaghan said, the referring agencies pick up the tab.

The furniture bank gets about 90 calls for pickup a day but, Gaghan says, it’s not enough to fill the need. At this rate, the group will be able to serve 1,000 to 1,100 families a year. The goal, he said, is 3,000 to 3,500.

You might wonder, given the pending 501(c)3 status, if you can deduct donations. The answer is yes, as long as the IRS eventually approves the 501(c)3 application.

According to IRS spokesman Chris Kerns, the IRS will allow you to deduct donations made to an organization that has applied for 501(c)3 status, largely because the approval process can take six to eight months.