LEWISTON —  Before you try to earn a quick tax deduction by cleaning out a closet or shed — and giving it to Goodwill or the Salvation Army — take a second look.

If your donation is busted, torn or leaking, the charities don’t want it either.

Jay Sullivan, the manager of the Salvation Army Thrift Store in Lewiston, tells everyone the same thing.

“If it’s something that you would buy, then it’s something we could use,” Sullivan, the manager of the Salvation Army Retail Store on Main Street in Lewiston, said. If it’s garbage, it’s garbage. If you’re not sure, stop in or call.

“People call here all the time,” he said. “We can usually answer their questions on the phone.”

When people arrive at the store, it can take just moments to drop off a donation and pick up a receipt for tax purposes, Sullivan said.

Friday is the last chance for people to make a donation to a charity and get a deduction on their 2010 income taxes.

Some area charities, such as the Good Shepherd Food-Bank in Auburn, pitch these days for their tax benefits. On Tuesday, the charity e-mailed to its database of donors its tax plea: “Make a donation to our Virtual Holiday Food Drive by Dec. 31 and you will receive a valuable deduction for 2010.”

Some work on their own calender.

The United Way of Androscoggin County is nearing the end of its annual campaign.

“The need is certainly great this year,” Joleen Bedard, the United Way chapter’s executive director, said. “However, I think that people are feeling a bit more positive about the economy this year.”

The agency is currently at about 72 percent of its $1.9 million goal, she said. She is hopeful that local donors will help the organization come close to that goal, surpassing last year’s total of about $1.65 million.

Most people donate through their workplace via payroll deduction, but this year the chapter is asking for one-time donations aimed at meeting the need. People may choose all or none of the United Way’s member agencies, potentially picking any federally recognized nonprofit group.

The Better Business Bureau has issued tips for weighing charities and, in some cases, weeding them out.

The tips include some common sense, such as insuring that people know the charity they are giving to, checking the overhead costs and guarding against purely emotional pitches.

The bureau also warned people from making assumptions, such as believing a favorite charity wants any item you may donate. It’s a particular issue for Goodwill and the Salvation Army.

“Worn out, unusable or unwanted donated goods cost charities millions of dollars each year because the organization has to bear the cost of tossing the unacceptable donation,” the bureau said.

For instance, whole classes of donations are not accepted at Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Refrigerators, dishwashers, washer-dryers and mattresses are on the “not accepted” lists at both charity’s thrift stores.

Some appliances are too unwieldy or too prone to breaking down. Mattresses can carry bed bugs. 

“We haven’t accepted mattresses in more than a year and a half,” Sullivan said.

At the Salvation Army, all donations  from Maine’s six stores are sorted at a warehouse in Portland. About least three quarters of the items collected find their way onto the store floors, guessed Sullivan, who worked at the warehouse for a time.

He didn’t know how much it cost to throw away the waste, he said.

Similarly, Goodwill doesn’t track the cost, said Michelle Smith, spokeswoman for Goodwill Industries of Northern New England. However, it works to mitigate the effect of trash in a flood of donations.

About 3,000 donations are made each month to Maine’s 17 stores, she said.

Metals and other commodities are recycled, she said. And worn clothes are “re-purposed.”

Goodwill cuts up the clothes that are too worn or in too poor condition to sell. The swatches are used in car washes and machine shops.

“We call them ‘Good Wipes,'” Smith said.

For more information donations to Goodwill Industries of Northern New England and Maine’s Salvation Army, find them online at www.goodwillnne.org and www.use.salvationarmy.org/nne.

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