ThriftSmart Leads the Way in Compliance with New State Law

You may have seen our donation bins around town, which account for up to 40% of our weekly donation collections. They’ve recently been getting face lifts in compliance with a new state law governing donation bin labels that went into effect on July 1st.

Due to ThriftSmart’s reputation as an organization that does things the right way, we were asked by state officials to participate in their PSA explaining this new law, and we were the first in the state to roll out new labeling. We were also featured in Channel 5’s news coverage about the law and donation bin transparency.

This new law raises the bar for donation bin operators and increases transparency for donors. It requires bin labels to include contact information and to clearly state how donations are used and if bins are run by a non-profit, a for-profit or a professional solicitor. It also requires operators to get approval from property owners and to empty bins every two weeks. This law makes great strides toward informing citizens about how their donations will be used. It also protects legitimate charities like ThriftSmart who use those donations to benefit individuals and charities based right here in our community.

Want to help officials implement this law? If you see questionable donation bins around town or anywhere in Tennessee, snap a picture and post it and the bin’s location on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using #BinCheck.

Last but not least, if you’ve recently cleaned out your closet and want to drop off donations and be sure they are truly going to benefit charity, here’s a list of ThriftSmart bin locations.