Thrift Stores

These have traditionally been an excellent way for nonprofits to add to their income—I once spent some time developing and managing a thrift store for a nonprofit—and this story from the Sacramento Bee profiles one nonprofit in our area that has taken their social enterprise to the next level; a very good thing.

An excerpt.

“A reluctance to say, "No, thank you," has led a small group of nonprofit thrift stores to turn a once costly nuisance into an environmentally friendly and moneymaking enterprise.

"The thrift model is truly 'green.' It is all about reuse," said Ravel Buckley, manager of retail operations for Placerville-based Snowline Hospice.

“But Snowline, which operates thrift shops in Folsom, Cameron Park, Camino and Placerville, has taken reuse beyond retail to recycling.

“Since opening a processing center in Diamond Springs in January 2008, Snowline has diverted more than 6.2 million pounds of materials from landfills, said Dave Risso, processing center manager.

“The center also is grossing about $400,000 annually, not counting items that are sorted there and redistributed to the four stores for sale, he said.

“Organizations with large thrift store operations, such as Goodwill Industries and the Salvation Army, have recycling and processing centers, but such facilities are rare among small nonprofits, Buckley said. Snowline Hospice's retail and recycling efforts help fund services for terminally ill individuals and their families in the city of Folsom and El Dorado County.

“Donors sometimes are put off by thrift stores that are picky and unwilling to accept certain items, Buckley said. But many items aren't suitable for resale in the shops.

“The stores also have had to deal with clandestine dumping of unwanted items and the subsequent cost of having them hauled to a dump or recycling center.

"Now we have the ability to accept almost anything, unless it's complete trash," Buckley said.”