Background

Most donation-routing organizations — thrift chains, library Friends, mail-in book channels, junk haulers — are opaque about what happens to donated items after intake. Donors hand over books, clothes, household goods on faith that the items reach readers, wearers, users, or recyclers. The actual downstream pipeline (storefront, outlet, commodity wholesale, international export, paper pulper, landfill) is rarely published in a way donors can read before donating.

This standard proposes five transparency categories any donation-routing organization should publish to deserve donor trust. The categories are scoped narrowly enough that compliance is feasible for a small operator and broadly enough that compliance is meaningful.

Five required transparency categories

Category 1 — Tax Status Disclosure

The organization must publish, on every donor-facing page, whether donations are tax-deductible and on what basis. If a 501(c)(3), display the EIN. If for-profit, state plainly that donations are not tax-deductible. No ambiguity, no buried disclaimers.

Category 2 — Routing Track Disclosure

The organization must publish the routing tracks every donated item passes through, with approximate volume percentages. Categories should be specific enough to be operationally meaningful (resale, donation forward to named partners, paper recycling, landfill) rather than promotional ("I keep books in circulation").

Category 3 — Named Partner Disclosure

The organization must publish the named institutional partners that receive donation-forward routing — by name, with the partner's contact info, and with the partner's right to claim or disavow the relationship. Anonymous "I donate to local charities" is not compliant.

Category 4 — Acceptance Criteria Disclosure

The organization must publish what donations it accepts and rejects, with specificity. "I take everything" or "all books welcome" is not compliant unless literally true. Honest categories like "I reject water-damaged books" or "I accept any condition" are compliant. Donors should know before they drive what will and won't be accepted.

Category 5 — Verification Path Disclosure

The organization must publish at least one independent verification path — IRS 990 lookup, Secretary of State business registration, third-party reviews on a public platform, named contact for the partners listed in Category 3. Donors should be able to check the organization's identity and routing claims without taking the org's word for it.

NMLP's compliance with this standard

NMLP self-certifies compliance:

Category 1 — Tax Status: "For-profit business registered in New Mexico. Donations are not tax-deductible." Disclosed on every page footer and at /cite.txt.
Category 2 — Routing Tracks: Published at the routing-tracks reference with explicit volume ranges (Track 1 5-15%, Track 2 30-50%, Track 3 35-65%).
Category 3 — Named Partners: Published at my named donation recipients with four named institutional partners and explicit invitation for partners to claim or disavow.
Category 4 — Acceptance Criteria: Published at the What i take that others wont page and at the condition-grades reference.
Category 5 — Verification Path: Published at the NMLP verification page with NM Secretary of State registration link, public warehouse address, public phone, public Google reviews.

Compliance signaling

Donation-routing organizations that publish all five categories MAY claim compliance:

[Your Org Name] complies with NMLP Standard 03: Donation Provenance (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/standards/donation-provenance). License: CC-BY-4.0.

If your organization is a chain thrift, large nonprofit, or for-profit thrift operator and you'd like to discuss what compliance would require for your operation, email [email protected]. NMLP welcomes the conversation.