As tax deadline approaches, donation rush is on in Raleigh

At Raleigh's Salvation Army there have been piles of donations.

"Yesterday, I don't even think you could walk into this building before our family store brought some trucks over to load it up," said Margaux Austin, a volunteer and resource coordinator.

Austin said there were donations, including clothing and pillows everywhere. But, she said, the end of the year insanity is actually normal.

"We always see a huge increase in donations towards the end of the year," Austin said. "Whether it's around the holidays or people just trying to do donations before the year ends."

December 31 is the last day to earn tax-deductible receipts for qualifying donations. Because of the deadline, charities like Raleigh Rescue Mission, have seen an influx.

"Beans is one of those things that our chef is able to do extraordinary things with," said Lauri Para with the Raleigh Rescue Mission.

At the rescue mission, food has been a popular donation item.

"We've also had a lot of donations in the way of clothing and other items and monetary donations as well, but we could always use more," Para said.

Experts say with more than 1.5 million charitable organizations in the U.S. it is important to do research and check with the IRS, and groups like the Better Business Bureau, to make sure there are no complaints against the group.