Eligible Activities to Obtain Surplus Federal Personal Property

The following activities are eligible to receive donations of federal property through the State Agencies for Surplus Property (SASP):

• State and Public Agencies
• Nonprofit Educational and Public Health Activities, Including Programs for the Homeless and Impoverished
• Nonprofit and Public Programs for the Elderly
• Public Airports
• Educational Activities of Special Interest to the Armed Services
• Other Donee Activities.

For more information about eligibility and program requirements, contact a state representative at the State Agencies for Surplus Property (SASP).

State and Public Agencies

State and public agencies generally include:

• States, their departments, divisions, and other instrumentalities;
• Political subdivisions of states, including cities, counties, and other local government units and economic development districts;
• Instrumentalities created by compact or other agreement between state or political subdivisions; and
• Indian tribes, bands, groups, pueblos, or communities located on state reservations.

Nonprofit Educational and Public Health Activities, Including Programs for the Homeless and Impoverished

Surplus personal property may be donated to nonprofit educational and public health activities exempt from taxation under Sec. 501 of the Internal Revenue Code. The property must be used to aid education or public health, either directly or through research. These activities may include:

• Medical institutions;
• Hospitals;
• Clinics;
• Health centers;
• Historic light stations;
• Drug abuse treatment centers;
• Schools, colleges and universities;
• Schools for persons with mental or physical disabilities;
• Child care centers;
• Educational radio and television stations licensed by the Federal Communication Commission;
• Museums attended by the public; and
• Free libraries serving all residents of a community, district, state or region.

Nonprofit, tax exempt organizations, which provide food, shelter, or support services to homeless or impoverished people, may also be eligible to receive surplus property through donation. Such organizations may include:

• Soup kitchens and day centers;
• Food banks which provide food directly to shelters and soup kitchens where homeless and/or impoverished individuals are assisted and/or provided sleeping or living accommodations; and
• Overnight, daytime, and around-the-clock shelters where homeless individuals receive assistance, regardless of the cause or duration of the homelessness (includes shelters for battered spouses, abused children, and orphans; and half-way houses for temporary residence of homeless parolees, recovered mental patients, and recovered substance abusers).

Nonprofit and Public Programs for the Elderly

State or local government agencies and nonprofit organizations or institutions, which receive funds appropriated for programs for older individuals under the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, under Title IV or Title XX of the Social Security Act, or under Titles VIII and X of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and the Community Services Block Grant Act, may be eligible to receive donations of surplus personal property for programs for the elderly. Programs for the elderly may include:

• Programs that provide adult day care or other services essential for the general welfare of older people;
• Social services;
• Transportation services;
• Nutrition services;
• Legal services; and
• Multi-purpose senior centers.

Public agencies, nonprofit educational or public health institutions (including providers of assistance to the homeless), and programs for the elderly may obtain information about eligibility and program requirements by contacting the State Agencies for Surplus Property for the state in which they reside.