These are the most commonly asked questions about donating books, CDs, and DVDs through Books4Cause, Inc. If you have a different question, call 800-570-3698 or send an email to info@books4cause.com.
- What is Books4Cause?
- What types of book donations do you accept?
- Do you accept old or antique books?
- Do you pick up books?
- Where can I drop off books?
- Which causes will benefit from my book donation?
- What do you do with donated materials?
- Do you throw any book donations away?
- Do you provide a tax receipt?
What is Books4Cause?[top]
We are a social venture dedicated to supporting social causes, education, and community through a business model. Books4Cause doesn’t raise funds or rely on government grants. All of our funding comes from selling a portion of books donated. Our main goal is to recirculate books back into the hands of people who will read and treasure them.
We support both local and global initiatives. Through partnering with the African Library Project, we have built over 120 libraries in nursery schools, elementary schools, high schools, and universities across 18 countries in Africa. Our pop-up free library program in Chicago distributes free books in underserved neighborhoods throughout the city, giving necessary resources to children, adults, and families who otherwise may not have been able to access them.
What types of book donations do you accept?[top]
We accept all books: children, adult, textbooks, coffee table books, comic books, everything. The books should not be moldy or falling apart. We also accept CDs, DVDs, and vinyl, as well as new or gently used school supplies to distribute at our Avondale library.
We do not accept magazines or journals.
More details are available here: https://www.books4cause.com/books-we-accept/
Do you accept old or antique books?[top]
Yes, age is beauty. We love old books and new books.
Do you pick up books?
[top]
We are currently picking up notable large collections nationwide. The first step is to fill out this form and one of our representatives will be in touch
Where can I drop off books?[top]
Chicago:
3415 Madison St. Skokie, IL 60076 – 24/7 – no appointment necessary
2931 N. Milwaukee Ave Chicago, IL 60618 – Mon-Fri 12pm – 5pm; Sat/Sun – 10am-5pm
Which causes will benefit from my book donation?[top]
Right now we have two main programs: our local bookstore in Chicago and our global distribution in Africa. We partner with The African Library Project, a not-for-profit organization, to facilitate global distribution. Following library and school closures in Chicago, we saw a need for book distribution and started our own local book distribution initiative through our free bookstore. You can get the latest info here.
What do you do with donated materials?[top]
Books4Cause finds the best possible use for each donated CD, DVD, and book. i K-12 books are donated to African Library Project, Bernie’s Book Bank, or sent to our free bookstore. Some college-level books and textbooks are donated to the ALP, depending on demand. We work directly with universities in need of higher-level learning books. Most bestselling fiction and non-fiction books are sent to our free bookstore. Some books are sold to raise money for operations and the shipment of books to Africa. If we can’t find a home for a book, it is recycled. CDs, DVDs, are sold to pay for operations.
Do you throw any book donations away?[top]
We never throw books away. We have a genuine love for books and reading and often marvel at the diverse and interesting books that come our way. We also pride ourselves on our ability to derive the maximum value from every book collected. Any book that cannot be sold or used directly by our literacy programs is pulped and recycled, thereby diverting hundreds of thousands of books from landfills.
Do you provide a tax receipt?[top]
We cannot provide receipts for tax exemptions, as we are not classified as a 501(c)(3). If requested, we can send a donation acknowledgment letter stating the date, the number of books and other materials received, and what the donation will be used for.