How to Donate a Wedding Gown

A wedding dress is typically worn once, and then packed away. While some brides opt to hold on to their dress and have it professionally preserved, another option is to donate your dress to a worthwhile cause. Not only does this option help a charity or a bride-to-be in need, but it can also provide a nice tax deduction as well.

Instructions

1. Determine to which organization you would like to donate your wedding gown. If you don't have a particular organization in mind, consider contacting your church or local women's shelter to determine if there is anyone local in need of a wedding dress.

2. Contact the organization to which you will donate your gown. Check on their donation polices, such as whether the dress needs to be dry cleaned before it is donated, or whether you need to provide receipts from the gown's purchase to determine the gown's charitable worth.

3. Bring or ship your wedding gown to the organization.

4. If you plan to use your wedding gown donation as a tax deduction, be sure to retain a receipt and other paperwork pertaining to your dress donation.

Tips & Warnings

• When researching organizations that accept wedding gown donations, you may want to determine how your donated gown is used. Some charities sell the gown and keep some of the proceeds, while other organizations use 100 percent of the proceeds from a gown's sale to fund their charitable endeavors.

References

• Brides Against Breast Cancer
• I Do Foundation