Donor FAQs

Nonprofits face greater challenges every year, and charitable habits are on the decline in the US. This is your chance to make a real impact in your community.

You want to support your favorite cause. You have unwanted gold or platinum jewelry. When you use Gold 4 Good, you are solving these 2 problems at the same time. You are either saving some of your cash by donating jewelry, or you are making a bigger impact that complements the cash donation you were planning to make anyway.

Plus, by recycling your old jewelry, you are doing the socially and environmentally responsible thing.

We send your recipient nonprofit the full market value for your recycled jewelry. This equates to approximately 80% of the market (spot) price of gold or the amount an estate buyer would pay, once processing and refining charges are taken into consideration. In almost all cases this is much more than what a commercial buyer would pay making Gold 4 Good the smart and feel-good choice for your old heirloom.

We’ve discovered a new kind of alchemy. We transform gold into impact.

We currently accept items made of gold (24K, 18K, 14K, or 10K). We also accept platinum.

We currently do not accept silver, gold-plated, or gold-filled items.

Almost all gold and platinum is stamped with a purity mark, usually 18K, 14K or 10K. Other purity marks for gold are 750, 583, 417 (for 18K, 14K and 10K, respectively). Hallmarks (purity marks) for platinum are usually PT, PLAT or 999, 950, 900, or 850 (for 99%, 95%, 90% and 85% platinum, respectively).

If you’re fairly confident that your jewelry is gold or platinum but cannot find a purity mark, feel free to send it to us anyway, and we will assess the purity once the assay report comes back from our refiner. Please be aware that if your jewelry is not gold or platinum, we will not be able to return it - the assay report comes after the jewelry is melted.

Due to the weight, volume, comparably low cost of silver, and elevated refining charges, we are not currently recycling silver items.

Stones are also recycled by our refiner, but no value is attributed to them as they are usually damaged in the recycling process. If you would like your stones back, we can deduct $100 from your donation to cover the cost of stone removal and shipping. We will send you any undamaged stones. Please note, stones are frequently damaged in removal, and there is no guarantee that yours will not be damaged in removal.

We ask you on the shipping label order form to let us know which city and state or which chapter your favorite nonprofit belongs to. If you are still unsure, every nonprofit has a unique EIN (Employer Identification Number). You can use https://www.guidestar.org/search to search for your nonprofit. Please make sure to choose the location relevant to you. You can then choose to add this information in the comments section of the order form, but this is optional, as long as you mention the city and state or chapter name.

Please allow 2-3 weeks for transit, processing and refining.

Each check issued to nonprofits includes a detailed explanation of the transaction. You will receive an electronic copy of the check and this description that is being sent on your behalf to the nonprofit. It is the nonprofit’s responsibility to send a receipt letter for you if you request one. Otherwise, feel free to keep your electronic copy that we send as a record for your transaction.

You will receive an emailed copy of your final donation amount to your nonprofit.

Yes. Included with the check to your designated nonprofit will be your information so that they can recognize you if that is their policy.

Yes, just choose the “anonymous” option when you are filling out the Gold 4 Good online form for requesting your mailing label.

Absolutely. It is estimated that there is over 96,000 metric tons of gold in the form of jewelry. Recycling this gold is far superior to mining fresh gold under questionable circumstances and conditions in the poorest regions of the world. So recycling gold is the environmentally AND socially responsible thing to do. Furthermore, you are creating real impact for the nonprofit of your choice through this process.

You will receive your choice of

A.) a scannable bar code to show on your phone at your local UPS Store,

B.) an emailed label that you can print at home to take to your mail location, or

C.) a regular mailed label to your house that you can then take with you to your regular mail location.

Please note that Gold 4 Good pays the shipping charge, but you’ll be responsible for the packaging.

This is extremely uncommon, but if this happens, we will file an inquiry with UPS.

Gold 4 Good pays for all of the shipping charges, and receives standard insurance on all packages (currently $100). In the highly unlikely event that UPS loses a package, the value of insurance on the package will be donated to the designated nonprofit.

All donations are considered final once they are accepted by the mail carrier.

Gold 4 Good is a Public Benefit Corporation whose mission is to turn unwanted items into charitable donations. It is not in alignment with our mission to provide cash-for-gold type services.

Our refiner tests, weighs, and processes the donation. Once the process is complete, they calculate the value of the gold or platinum content of the donated metals based on the daily price (spot price).

Gold 4 Good is a public benefit corporation (sometimes referred to as a B-corp) which requires us to operate with a socially responsible mission that goes beyond just maximizing shareholder value. Similar companies that are public benefit corporations are Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, Allbirds, Warby Parker, Cotopaxi, Toms, and The Body Shop.

Not a problem. That’s the perfect reason to donate it.

Broken chains, out of fashion designs, irrelevant name or monogrammed jewelry, unmatched earrings and cufflinks, broken watches all make great donations. Think about your grandfather’s old nugget ring, or your grandmother’s cameo necklace. Brooches, tie bars, a bent omega chain, pocket watch chains, that jumbled mess of chains…all perfectly good for making a donation to impact your favorite cause. We even accept engagement rings, tennis bracelets, and eternity bands.

We understand. Most likely, the items are worth many times what your grandparents paid for them. They’d be surprised about the current value of gold and would be even more surprised about how far their old jewelry could go to impact a life. Whether you’ll be helping animals, children, the environment or any other cause, your grandparents would be moved by your giving nature and even more impressed with the size of the impact of their old jewelry item. Donating to their favorite cause is a wonderful way to honor their legacy.

Your donated jewelry is assessed for gold content by our refiner, and a value is assigned to your item or batch. Usually, the jewelry is melted down for use in the jewelry industry, however, we reserve the right to resell the occasional item to a third party. We have a duty to maximize the value of your donation to your preferred nonprofit.

When you take your shipment to your local mail store, just choose a small sturdy box or reinforced plastic envelope and make sure the donated jewelry won’t bounce around in the box. This is usually accomplished by enclosing the jewelry in a plastic sealed baggie and padding the package (if in a box) with tissue or other padding material.

That’s fine. Each donation shipment is assessed for purity when refined. This process reveals the total amount of gold or platinum of your donation. Please note, however, that the lower the percentage of your total jewelry batch donation that is gold or platinum, the greater the refining charge, which will reduce the total value of your donation. So, yes, you can send mixed items, but please try to avoid sending non-gold or platinum bulk if at all possible to ensure your nonprofit receives the maximum impact of your donation.

There is not a minimum amount, but we reserve the right to not refine your donation if the estimated contribution would be less than the estimated processing and refining charges (estimated at less than $50 for very small items ).

That’s great news! That just means that your donation will have even more impact for your designated nonprofit! And if gold starts going down, then it’s best to send your donation sooner rather than later, for maximum impact.