In order to encourage donations to Waste Not Want Not, we must be able to assure our donor organizations that their gifts will be used for charitable purposes and that their gifts will not result directly in decreased sales. This means that donations to Waste Not for distribution may only be given to groups organized under Section 501(c) of the United States Internal Revenue Code to be used for Charitable Purposes. “Charitable Purposes” is used in its generally acceptable legal sense, which includes relief of the poor, the distressed or the underprivileged; advancement of education; lessening the burdens of government; and combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency.
Most of the items Waste Not Want Not receives are perishable and must be used promptly. Our operations are planned and our facilities are sized, therefore, to receive and distribute items daily, not for long-term storage. Consequently, timely and efficient distribution of donated items is essential to our mission.
For the reasons set forth above, Waste Not Want Not has instituted the following policy.
I. ELIGIBILITY
To become a “Recipient”, an organization wishing to receive items from Waste Not Want Not must:
- provide written documentation of its Federal tax-exempt status (its IRS determination letter);
- certify that it will use items received from Waste Not Want Not for acceptable uses as set forth below; and
- complete and return a Recipient Application.
II. ACCEPTABLE USES OF ITEMS RECEIVED FROM WASTE NOT WANT NOT
All items received from Waste Not are to be used for Charitable Purposes to promote relief of the poor, the distressed, the disabled, or the underprivileged (each, an “End-Recipient”). Items are must be given or served to an End-Recipient. They may not be sold or redistributed to another organization. Items may not to be given or served to a volunteer unless the volunteer is a qualified End-Recipient, or the volunteer and End-Recipient(s) are eating together, or the volunteer is a student.
III. RECIPIENTS
A. Each Recipient is eligible to:
- accept Serendipitous Opportunities as set forth in Section III. B;
- request items for special events as set forth in Section III. C; and
- become a Scheduled Recipient as set forth in Section IV
B. Serendipitous Opportunities:
Waste Not Want Not sporadically receives substantially more items than anticipated, a “Serendipitous Opportunity.” When this occurs, Waste Not may contact a Recipient to offer it some of these items. A Recipient may decline the offered items for any reason (lack of driver or lack of storage space, for example) and remain eligible for future Serendipitous Opportunities. A Recipient may determine how many offered items it wishes to accept (to be used for acceptable uses as provided in Section II), by committing to pick up this number of items at an agreed upon time. A Recipient who fails to pick up items as agreed will no longer be eligible for future Serendipitous Opportunities.
C. Special Events: Recipients may request items for special events (sporadic events, fundraisers, or holiday baskets, for example). Waste Not Want Not will attempt to fill these requests, subject to availability. Requests for items by Recipients should be made as far in advance as possible by contacting Waste Not Want Not.
IV. SCHEDULED RECIPIENTS
Waste Not Want Not may invite a Recipient to become a “Scheduled Recipient” if Waste Not determines that sufficient food is typically available to fill the Recipient’s needs on a regular basis. Due to fluctuations in food donations received and varying needs of Recipients, not all Recipients can be invited to become Scheduled Recipients.
To accept the invitation to become a Scheduled Recipient, an organization must agree to:
- pick up its food from Waste Not’s facilities on the assigned day and during the assigned time slot; OR
- give advance notice as soon as possible and no later than 9 am on the assigned day if it cannot pick up its food; and
- pay the Scheduled Recipient Contribution in January of each year (or, upon becoming a Scheduled Recipient, pay a prorated portion of the Scheduled Recipient Contribution based on the number of months remaining in the calendar year).
V. NO-SHOWS:
When a Recipient fails to pick up its food as scheduled, this will be deemed a “No-Show”. No-Shows disrupt our operations, waste food (which other Recipients would have been glad to receive), and waste our volunteers’ time. Consequently, after three unexcused No-Shows, a Recipient will be removed from Waste Not’s list of Recipients. (No portion of the Scheduled Recipient Contribution will be refunded.)