Here are some tips for choosing the right charities for year-end giving from Marketwatch. Let's start with great financial reasons to give before the end of the year:
Usually, you can take [tax] deductions on donations only up to 50% of your AGI. But because so many people donated so much for the victims of the three horrible hurricanes -- Katrina, Rita and Wilma -- you can take deductions up to 100% of the donations that you make between Aug. 25 and Dec. 31. Says James Lange, a leading tax attorney in Pittsburgh: "If ever you wanted to make a very large contribution to charity, now is the year to do it."
Yes, not only is it the season to give, but it's also a great time to lower your tax bill a bit.
But where should you give? How do you pick a worthwhile charity? Here are some guidelines to use to make sure the charity you select is using your funds properly:
Avoid smaller, lesser known, inexperienced or nice-but-not-necessary causes, whose in-the-mail solicitations pile up on your desk.
To find out which charities are the most effective to meet your needs and desires, visit the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance Web site at www.Give.org. Or www.CharityNavigator.org or www.GivingForum.org.
Focus your contributions, giving a lot to a few charities that really matter to you instead of scattering small pieces among countless causes that quickly dissipate.
And like many professionals, Tempel is wary of telemarketing. Says he: "I hardly ever make a gift on the phone."
Good advice. We try to concentrate our contributions to a few charities so we can give them substantial amounts. However, there are a few that we give smaller amounts like $100, $50, or $25.
Also, we NEVER commit to give over the phone. Even if we get called from a charity we know, we ask them to send us something in the mail. Nowadays, you never know if the call is from the legitimate charity or some scammer.
To wrap up this article, here are some interesting facts about charities in the U.S.:
Charities constitute big money: $248.5 billion was collected in the U.S. last year, and the total is expected to rise this year to $260 billion.
Nearly 90% of America's households make some charitable contributions, and the national average in 2003 was 2.3% of income, not counting the personal time that volunteers contribute.
I've written quite a bit on the subject of giving. Here are some additional posts you may want to review:
A good suggestion that someone once told me was consider some secondary charities that don't get as much attention. For example, if you want to help fight cancer, instead (or in addition to) of donating money to American Cancer Society you should donate to a charity that can help provide free mammograms or other examinations.
Posted by: jim | December 28, 2005 at 06:11 PM