As the market for thrift store goods changes, The Arc of Southwest Washington has to change with it. The Vancouver-based nonprofit that provides free services to people with developmental disabilities and their families relies on the revenue generated by selling used clothing and household goods to Savers.
Savers, the parent company of Value Village, told The Arc that there is a backlog in thrift-store goods, which has decreased their value. It has given a quota to The Arc.
Previously, The Arc could basically sell whatever it could collect through donations and wholesale purchases, said Executive Director Michael Piper. Now, The Arc can annually sell up to 2.1 million pounds in soft goods (clothing and shoes) and 40,384 pounds of miscellaneous household goods — about half of what it used to sell, Piper said. The Arc is paid 41 cents for every pound of clothing and 14.3 cents for every pound of miscellaneous goods, he said. The Arc needs to make about $20,000 to $30,000 every month through clothing collection to meet its budget.
To lower expenses, The Arc let go of two full-time operations center employees and two truck drivers last month. There are thirty-nine employees at The Arc; some work part time and many work at minimum wage.
“If we kept operating with full staff in the cell center and all drivers, we would be bankrupt in three months because we wouldn’t be able to sell the product we collected,” Piper said.
Also, The Arc has developed a relationship with Northwest Nonprofit Services, a Vancouver-based social purpose corporation previously known as GivSmart. General Manager David Cooper said Northwest Nonprofit Services has had a contract with Savers for more than six years, though it recently had its quota reduced. The organization sells goods to The Arc at wholesale prices and delivers them to Value Village on The Arc’s behalf. Besides getting a good price on the goods, The Arc doesn’t have to deploy its aging truck fleet as often, Piper said.
As a result, The Arc was able to balance its budget and maintain all of its services.
“Unfortunately, we did have to lose some people to do that,” Piper said. “We’re on solid footing, but we’re fraught with a lot of changes beyond our control.”
There’s plenty of competition when it comes to collecting used goods, and Piper is uncertain about the nonprofit’s ongoing relationship with Savers.
Sara Gaugl, communications director for Savers, wrote in an email message to The Columbian that Savers continues to purchase delivered goods in accordance with its agreement with The Arc.
But about a year ago, the Dick Hannah Collision Center filed a preliminary application with the city of Vancouver, seeking to expand into the building that currently houses Value Village at 7110 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd. A senior city planner, Andrew Reule, said the application hasn’t moved forward because he hasn’t heard anything more from Hannah.
Meanwhile, The Arc is working with consultants to determine a more efficient, targeted way of deploying trucks to pick up goods. With some runs, paying for the driver and the fuel can outpace the profit. Piper wants people to think more critically about the places where they donate stuff and whether it’s going to a worthy cause.
Eventually, though, he would like to rely less on collecting used goods by diversifying the nonprofit’s revenue streams — perhaps through more grants or charging for some programs. When Piper came on board in 2013, The Arc was in debt and near bankruptcy, which prevented the nonprofit from applying for some funding.
“We’re in really good shape right now compared to where we were,” Piper said.
