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Originally Posted by xepherys
When I said "plenty" I took into account national donations (as opposed to most churches that only get donation from parishioners... and even then only some... and even then, very rarely the 15% tithe that is the "standard"), the fact that, at least where I've lived (near Detroit and near Phoenix) more than 50% of the thrift stores donations are brought in by the donator, not picked up, and none of the locations near me deliver anything except for furniture, which is not a consistant item for their stores to sell. In fact at least two of the stores near Detroit (Royal Oak and Rochester) do not deliver at all. They're payroll is slim. Their overhead isn't terribly fat either. Even at $2/shirt, the sale of hundreds of shirts a day does them pretty well.
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The donations that are "brought in" have to go to the main warehouses, get washed, sterilized, fixed and seperated, then shipped to the stores.
As far as I know and having been told of the processes, at least with the SA they do not take at most stores and put them directly on the rack. They have to take them to the warehouses first.
There are a few stores like one in Mansfield, where they can wash and sterilize and fix the donations at that store.... however that store then ships those products to surrounding stores some as far as Galion, Ashland, Shelby and other surrounding areas. And those items dropped at those stores must go to the Mansfield store to be worked on before they are sold.
Volunteers of America are pretty much the same way.
Again the profit margins are not as great as people may believe as these are treated as businesses and have to maintain the same ethics and regulations as others in the sector.
Anyway, it still does not justify the fact the government feels the need to give millions away to churches and refuse to do so to organizations such as the SA.
Again, I don't believe the SA, which prides itself on self sufficiency, really should take money from the gov't either.
You are most definately opening yourself to bureaucracies and the accusations of corruption and overcharging the reimbursements.
Again, if we offer no interest loans and amnesty on utilities there is less chance of either occuring.