Ruth'S Reusable Resources

“3rs bylaws were amended and the amendements were approved by the board in june 2024. Article iv: section 4: action without a meeting was replaced in its entirety to state clearly that actions "in writing" include electronic communications and to expand delivery of such communications to include electronic forms of delivery. Article iv: section 5: telephone and remote meetings was updated to expressly include video conferencing. Article iv: section 6: notice of meetings was amended to expressly add email as an acceptable form of commmunication. The amendments also changed the organization fiscal year to run concurrent to the calendar year beginning january 1, 2025. There were no other substantive changes to the bylaws.”

“After the initial draft of the form 990 was prepared for the 2023 form 990 (tax year ending june 31, 2024), the draft was circulated among the board's active officers and voting members. The 2023 form 990 was filed with the irs after all board members were given an opportunity to review and approve of the return.”

“Members of the organization's board of directors are required to submit to the organization a signed and dated conflict of interest statement on an annual basis. The organization's conflict of interest policy and statement requires members of the board to be aware of and compliant with the conflict of interest laws governing maine non-profit governance, as set forth in maine revised statues title 13-b, section 718; the organization's adopted and formal conflict of interest policy; and all associated policies and guidelines. Board members who become aware of a potential conflict of interest are required to disclose the conflict to the organization and to the board as they become knowledgeable of the conflict in a timely manner. Furthermore, such conflicts are to be documented in the official minutes of the organization's board meetings, and any board members at risk of being in a conflict of interest are to recuse themselves from any deliberations, transactions, or votes regarding the topic potentially in conflict.”

“The organization's conflict of interest policy mandates that any voting member of the board who receives compensation from the organization, either directly or indirectly, is precluded from voting on matters pertaining to that member's compensation. Additionally, the board reserves the right and power to independently review and adjust the executive director's salary and the compensation of key employees from time-to-time, including on an annual basis. The board may impose adjustments to these salaries as the board sees appropriate. The board considers comparable wages paid by similar organizations, the fair market value of the services performed, and the required minimum compensation mandated by applicable state, federal, and local laws when determining any payroll adjustments.”

“The organization's governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements are made available to the public upon request.”

“Ruth's reusable resources pursues its core mission to provide students with the supplies necessary for a quality education through five primary programs: 1. The teacher store 2. The computer re-life program 3. Tools for school backpack program 4. The 4public store 5. Environmental stewardship”

“The heart of 3rs operations, the teacher store functions as the hub of the organization's primary mission to provide school supplies and educational tools to teachers for use by students in their classrooms. Schools throughout new england may become a "member school" of 3rs. Membership allows teachers from member-schools to visit the store to "shop" (at no cost to the teacher) for school supplies, materials, and equipment. 3rs maintains a vast and wide variety of all manner of educational materials. Through its teacher store, 3rs is able to bolster and equip hundreds of classrooms with the supplies necessary to provide a quality education while lessening the financial burden placed on member-teachers. During the past fiscal year, 3rs provided teaching supplies to 178 schools, serving nearly 67,000 students.”

“Ruth's reusable resources occasionally receives used, slightly dated, but still functional computer equipment from area businesses. The computer re-life program tests and cleans these donations for distribution to schools and other nonprofits throughout new england. The computer re-life program allows schools and non-profit organizations to acquire quality, ready-to-use computer equipment at costs far below market value. Without this program, many schools would not be able to offer adequate technology resources to their students. As online-learning and the need for internet-enabled technology becomes ever more ubiquitous, the computer re-life program's importance to 3rs and the community will only continue to grow.”

“Tools for school is an annual program in which 3rs fills backpacks with new school supplies and distributes them to low income students throughout the state of maine. The backpacks and many of the supplies to fill them are received as in kind donations. However, 3rs does purchase supplies in bulk when necessary to ensure that each backpack contains exactly the same supplies as every other backpack for a given grade range.”

“The recraft recreate & reuse center is a small, thrift-type store that is open to the general public. It is located in the same building as the teacher store, but is not limited to teachers. The recraft recreate & reuse center presents an eclectic selection of vintage merchandise, glassware, household supplies, party and wedding supplies, art and craft supplies, and more. The store provides a treasure trove for crafters, artists, and bargain hunters of all walks of life. Proceeds from the recraft recreate & reuse center help support 3rs' core programs while being a service to the community. While ultimately a small part of 3rs' overall operations, the recraft recreate & reuse center continues to further 3rs' missions of environmental stewardship and the reuse of discarded materials, while also funding 3rs' primary exempt mission. Online sales (amazon and ebay) was added as an extension of the recraft recreate & reuse center beginning in january 2024.”

“3rs solicits, collects, and redirects office materials, business and school supplies, and computer and scientific equipment away from landfills and into classrooms across new england. 3rs maintains a warehouse specifically designed to process, clean, and then redistribute donated items. Any materials that are not fit for educational purposes are broken down and repurposed or recycled. This process extends the life of still useable items, such as unwanted binders, notebooks, or slightly outdated computer equipment. By fulfilling its goal of environmental stewardship, 3rs is able to simultaneously provide supplies to students and teachers who could not otherwise afford to acquire them, while also reducing landfill waste. All products redistributed to schools or to the community through ruth's reusable resources were received as donations and gifts-in-kind; 3rs does not purchase any of its recycled or distributed supplies or equipment, with the exception of some nominal school supplies to ensure consistency and sufficient inventory to maintain the tools for school backpack program.”