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The Piano Donation Process – How It Works

Why donate your piano to us?  To aid our non-profit purpose of promoting piano education.

Who donates pianos to us?  People who understand and appreciate the life value of learning to play the piano. Some have played the piano for years but, because of moving or downsizing, now lack the space for a piano. Others are settling the estates of parents who are no longer able to play but want their piano to aid in the cultural enrichment of others.

Who refers piano donations to us?  Other not-for-profit organizations such as Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity, veteran groups, universities, and schools rely on our ability to provide the specialized moving, technical, tuning, and other services required for pianos.

Where do we accept piano donations from?  All 50 U.S. states.

Pianos we will review for acceptance:  Acoustic pianos, electronic player and/or recording pianos, and a few digital pianos.  Please note that because we stand behind the quality of the pianos we loan, all donations are reviewed to ensure they meet certain criteria. Unfortunately, those that do not cannot be accepted.

Do we accept musical instruments other than pianos?  No, but if you have a brass, woodwind, or string instrument to donate, Click HERE

Submitting your piano donation.  If you have a piano you would like to donate that is in good operational order, please give us as much information as you know about the piano and its condition by completing and submitting the Donate Piano form accessible from our Make a Donation website page. If you do not receive our auto-reply receipt of your submission, please check your spam folder.* After receipt of your submission, our volunteers will review your donation offer and reply by email within seven (7) business days with either an acceptance of your donation, a request for more information, or notification that your piano does not qualify for our program.

*To ensure receipt of emails from us, please add us to your non-spam address list.

Pictures help a lot. To facilitate the review process, please send us at least the following three close-up pictures of your piano.

1.       The model number (usually molded into the cast plate at the top or sometimes in black ink on the cast plate)

2.       The serial number (usually black ink letters/numbers on the cast plate or stamped into wood in an opening in the cast plate)

3.       A frontal view of the piano with the bench sitting in front of piano.

(To locate on an Upright Piano, raise the top lid; for a Grand Piano, slide forward and remove the music desk assembly.)

Use the upload buttons on the Donate Piano form to attach photos.

Piano Pickup.  Once your donation has been accepted, we notify our nationwide pickup vendor who will schedule the pickup with you.  Because pickup routing is created as accepted donations are accrued, your piano will be picked up on their next route through your area.  Sometimes this can be very quick; other times it may take a few weeks. We appreciate your patience in working with us to complete acceptance and pick up your donation. Your piano will be put to good use in promoting piano education.

Piano Donation Receipt.  Within 30 days of our receiving your donation, you will receive via email an official IRS donation letter with all the necessary information to claim a donation on your tax return.

Establishing the value of your donation for tax purposes.  For tax deduction purposes, the IRS permits you to deduct the market value of non-cash contributions. In general, donations valued at less than $5,000 require no validation, whereas an expert appraisal must accompany any deduction filed for a non-cash donation of $5000 or more. IRS regulations prohibit any 501(c)3 nonprofit organization from establishing market value. We may be able to refer you to an appraiser if needed.

If you need to file an IRS Form 8283 for Noncash Charitable Contributions—which requires both an appraiser declaration and a donee acknowledgement—simply forward to us the form as completed by you and the appraiser.  We will then sign to acknowledge the donation and send you the completed Form 8283. To learn more about the IRS guidelines for charitable contributions, click HERE.

Verifying that your donation will be tax deductible.  For verification that PianosForEducation.org is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)3 public charity nonprofit organization, click HERE, select “Are eligible to receive Tax Deductible Donations,” then enter our EIN Number 46-1995748 and click search. Or type PianosForEducation into the Name field and click search.