Donate money
Donate online via PayPal, or mail a check directly to us. Donors who give $200 or more receive a free book or t-shirt and are recognized in our Donor Hall of Fame — email bookstoprisoners@live.com to claim your gift.
Make checks payable to Books to Prisoners and mail to:
BTP
8745 Greenwood Ave N, Ste B
Seattle, WA 98103
As a registered non-profit, all donations to us are tax-deductible. (EIN 91-6172244) Donations can also be made in person, with cash or check, during our volunteer hours or at Left Bank Books during store hours!
Your donation in action
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$26 sends book packages to five people
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$158 covers postage for a full day of requests
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$528 provides dictionaries — our #1 requested item — to 100 individuals
Donate books
How to donate
Donating used books (1–2 boxes):
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Ship or drop off at Left Bank Books, 92 Pike St., Box A, Seattle WA 98101.
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For larger donations or to arrange a drop-off during volunteer hours, email bookstoprisoners@live.com.
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Please limit donations to 2 boxes at a time, and keep each box under 25 pounds so volunteers can safely handle them.
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Consider including a $45 monetary donation per box to help offset postage costs.
Donating new books online:
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Order directly from our wish lists hosted by local Seattle bookstores, including Queen Anne Book Company, Phinney Books, Third Place Books, Crow's Nest Comics, Charlie's Queer Books, and The Couth Buzzard.
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You can also visit these stores in person. Several stores maintain year-round wish shelves.
What to know before you donate
We need most: Coloring books for adults, comic books, manga, fantasy, horror, urban fiction, how-to drawing books, occult/magic, real estate, small business, and learning a trade.
Please keep in mind:
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Paperbacks are strongly preferred — many facilities do not allow hardbacks.
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We are not currently accepting heavy hardback textbooks.
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No mold, water damage, coffee stains, highlighting, underlining, stickers, or remainder marks — these cause books to be rejected by prisons.
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Remove any CDs and any metal or plastic spiral/comb binding.
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No pop-up books, no nudity, and no graphic violence or gore.
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No instructions related to drugs or alcohol, lock-picking, knot-tying, self-defense, martial arts, weapons, or hypnosis.
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If you have multiple copies of the same book, email bookstoprisoners@live.com before sending to confirm they're needed.
Donate new books
Up-to-date information, current fiction, genres or topics our readers crave that are rarely donated...you can donate new books in the comfort of your own home when you order from our online wish lists.
Although the topics come from our readers, each list reflects their interests through the unique character of the local bookstore that hosts it. So if you don't see a title you want to donate on one list, there's probably one you will on one of the others.
You can donate a new book online or in-person at these locations:
• The Queen Anne Book Company (1811 Queen Anne Ave N.)
• Phinney Books (7405 Greenwood Ave N.)
• Third Place Books
• Crow's Nest Comics (831 Hiawatha Pl S.)
• Charlie's Queer Books (465 N 36th St)
• The Couth Buzzard (8310 Greenwood Ave N)
• Left Bank Books (92 Pike St.)
Curious about what to donate?
What we need now
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Paperbacks
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Fiction
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Science fiction & fantasy
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Spanish-language
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Humor
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Yoga
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How to start a small business
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Dictionaries
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Composition notebooks
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Software developer guides (HTML, CSS, Java, etc)
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National Geographic issues
Commonly requested
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Adult coloring books
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Comic books
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Drawing (how to)
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Fantasy
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Horror
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Learning a trade
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Manga
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Occult/Magic
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Real estate
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Small business
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Urban fiction