Charities Blog

Giving Something Back

Quick Tips To Bear In Mind When Donating To Charity

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Some people are naturally generous. You know this type. Anyone who approaches them on the street for help, they’ll help. If they receive a letter in the mail asking for a donation, they’ll do so without any hesitation.

A friend comes to them for help, they’ll give without any questions.

There is nothing wrong in being generous, but you ought to know that giving to charity should also be done with caution. It wouldn’t do if you’re being scammed, would it? Here are some quick tips that will help you give to your heart’s content without sacrificing the spirit of giving.

Come up with a list of charities that you wish to give to. This is the safest course you can take. There are so many charitable organizations out there – some of them are not legitimate, we have to face it. As such, you ought to check out organizations that you can be sure of, and stick to them.

Make sure that you know all about the organizations that you are giving to. Do research. Check them up with the Better Business Bureau. Talk to your friends who also make it a habit to give to charity.

When doing your research, make sure that take a look at whether or not the organization is a good fit for you and the causes close to your heart. Do not immediately put your trust in an organization just because it looks good. Take a thorough look at the activities and methods of the organization before you commit to anything.

Originally posted on April 11, 2010 @ 12:48 pm

Christmas Charities Start Coming In

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Whenever the last quarter of the year comes in, expect a lot of charities to be put up. While most of us are planning on what stuff to buy and what food to prepare on Christmas, there are people who are sulking in a corner, wondering what Christmas would be like this year.

A lot of them are made up of orphans and old people who have been abandoned. For orphans, they never really experienced what the true meaning of Christmas truly brings. They only hear about it through the papers or from stories by people who visit them but as far as really enjoying the season of giving, majority are clueless on how it is like.

As for elders who have been abandoned, they have at one time enjoyed the spirit of the Yuletide season. They know how much joy it brings to any home and while they are sure that past experiences are cherished memories, the fact remains that they have to spend Christmas differently from hereon.

Social community services have been put up to try and share the spirit of Christmas to these people. It is not simply about giving gifts. It is about being there for them since they really have no one else to celebrate anymore. Even if you ask them, it is about fighting off the loneliness that they experience during these times. Apparently, it all comes down to making do with what they can this coming holidays and rest assured, being loved or having company around is more than enough for them this time around.

Originally posted on December 21, 2008 @ 8:33 am

Hugh Jackman Announces Charity Winners

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hugh-jackmanI love it when high profile people take advantage of their status to help others and donate to charity. While I still find it more impressive when celebrities give without announcing it to the rest of the world, I think that taking advantage of technology and their high profile status is just as good.

I am pretty sure that you have heard about Hugh Jackman’s recent stunt – he announced via Twitter that he would be donating $100,000 to charities. The rule of the game was that people should tweet about their favorite charities, and that the best tweets would be used in determining the winners. The world’s sexiest man of 2008 said on his Twitter that people should name their favorite charity and why – all in 140 words. He also encouraged people to show just how passionate they are about their favorite charity:

“The more passion shown for your charity the better! Get the support of your friends and teach them the importance of giving.”

Yesterday was the big day as the actor many associate with the Xmen character Wolverine announced that he and his wife Deb have chosen the two winning charities. They are Charity Water and Operation of Hope. His tweet is below:

“Thank you for all of your passionate responses. I have chosen www.charitywater.com and www.operationofhope.com Keep your generous spirit flowing!”

While I did not have the chance to join the contest – I know, bad tweeter, bad giver, my conscience is punishing me already – I am happy for these two charities and quite proud of everyone who joined in.

Originally posted on April 25, 2009 @ 4:20 pm

“Friends” Get Together To Help Women In Congo

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041207_aniston_400X400They were the best of friends in the long running TV show Friends, and they are really close friends in real life as well. I am sure you know the people I am talking about – Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox. These girls have taken their friendship to great lengths, and now, they are getting together to extend a helping hand to some women who need it the most.

The friends are currently busy with a project which is aimed at empowering women in Congo. More than giving their verbal and public support, Aniston and Cox are actually spending time to help the cause out. One activity they engaged in was to take part in a dinner which helped raised awareness for their charity. They were joined by Sheryl Crow. The friends are now working on catching the attention of Senator Hilary Clinton.

The organization is called OmiPeace, which is actually a humanitarian fashion brand, and is run by Mary Fanaro, another friend (not a TV “Friend,” as I am sure you know). Courtney Cox is really passionate about what they’re doing. It was quite touching to read what she said: “OmniPeace was created to give back. I can’t think of a better way to support my best friend and all the work that she and OmniPeace do to donate to causes supporting peace, education, human rights and the end of extreme poverty by 2025. Mary’s passion is so contagious and wonderful. It has taught me that anything is possible with enough perseverance and tenacity.”

To find out more about OmniPeace and how you can help, visit www.omnipeace.com/.

Originally posted on November 8, 2009 @ 4:02 pm

Beware Of Bushfire Charity Scams

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Person putting coin into donation box

And you wonder why some people are averse to giving to charitable causes. Every time we hear of a large scale catastrophe, we also hear of charities stepping up and doing their share to help the people who have been affected. But then, we also hear of those unscrupulous people who try to take advantage of the whole situation.

Take for example the latest disaster to hit parts of Australia. Bushfires have left countless of people homeless. Others have lost more than their homes; they lost family members and friends to the raging fires. Naturally, charities are stepping up their efforts to raise funds to help those in need.

Then scammers enter the picture. Late last week, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission sent out a public warning that “scammers could take advantage of the situation.” Live News reports:

In the wake of previous disasters, such as the 2003 Canberra bushfires, scammers collected money after pretending to represent legitimate charities.

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel has warned that scammers could use door knocks, emails or even approach people in the street asking for money.

While giving to charity is admirable, you should not leave yourself vulnerable to scammers. What can you do to avoid being victimized?

One, always ask for appropriate identification. This, however, is not foolproof. IDs can be forged any time. It would be better to seek the official channels of charity and give your donations there. Instead of merely handing out your donations to anyone who approaches you, look for registered charities and make sure that the money or goods that you donate reach the appropriate people.

Originally posted on February 17, 2009 @ 2:32 am

New Search Engine For Charities

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DGG_Browser_SmileyI have always believed that technology is something that can be used for great good, and this latest development from Infospace is the perfect example. Infospace is based in Bellevue, WA, and is an Internet search provider. In line with their business, the company has launched a new search engine which focuses specifically on charities!

Dubbed Do Great Good, the web site’s URL is www. DoGreatGood.com. So how does the search engine help charities? In fact, the new search engine compiles search results from Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Ask. Half of the revenue generated by the search engine then goes to charity.

Here’s “how it works” from the web site itself:

Like other search engines, Do Great Good makes money when you search the Web on our site. And only Do Great Good lets you support causes you care about at no cost to you by donating half of that money to charity! The more you search, the more you help. It’s that simple!

I have to admit that I am a slave to Google. I can’t even use Yahoo to search because I am not satisfied with the results. Plus, I am so used to seeing the interface of Google that it just doesn’t seem right if I don’t use it. Then again, I think I just might try using Do Great Good for a bit, if only for the charities that will benefit. Also, it might actually give me more varied results since it compiles results from several search engines.

What say you?

Originally posted on July 23, 2009 @ 5:30 am

Charity Blogging At WordPress

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socialvibe_blog_thumbThe average blogger I know has not made it big time like those high profile probloggers we all hear and read about. Truth be told, not everyone has goals of reaching that status; many blogger friends that I have are content with how their blogs are faring. And while they are not making big bucks with their blogs, they do find ways to spread their blessings around.

One idea a friend alerted me to is this new widget from SocialVibe, which offers bloggers a chance to help a specific charity. Bloggers who use the WordPress platform can sign up for this widget and configure it to benefit a charity. Here are the specifics from Media Post:

As a result, WordPress bloggers can now sign up for a SocialVibe widget, choose a specific charity and corresponding brand sponsor, and then embed the ad unit in their blog to start earning micro-donations from the brand once readers interact with the sponsored units.

It’s much like ads but instead of merely earning money for your blog, the benefits go to the charity you choose. And what kind of “interaction” from the readers is needed? This part I like: people can go watch a video and rate it – that sort of thing. It is not merely clicking on a link for the sake of clicking. Another nice thing about the widget is that it keeps track of your “donations.” For example, you can see a line like “My blog has donated so and so number of books to students in need.”

Originally posted on June 30, 2009 @ 3:30 am

Gates Foundation Battle Recession – But Not For Long

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16th International AIDS Conference Held In Toronto

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has established itself as the world’s biggest charity and even as hard times hit the world, it continues to do its work the best it can. In fact, Bill Gates, the co-chairman, has released a statement to the effect that they are going to increase spending during the recession. The rationale is that it can make a stronger impact on the world by doing so. However, he also gave a disclaimer – that they cannot keep up this kind of spending for more than a year, unless the economy improves.

MSNBC featured the foundation and quote Gates:

“I believe that the wealthy have a responsibility to invest in addressing inequity,” Gates said in his letter. “This is especially true when the constraints on others are so great. Otherwise, we will come out of the economic downturn in a world that is even more unequal, with greater inequities in health and education, and fewer opportunities for people to improve their lives.”

“We’re seeing just impact after impact as that rolls through the economy,” he said, blaming “pension liabilities, absurd assumptions and bad accounting.”

“I’m still optimistic that things will get back on track” within five to 10 years, Gates said, but he acknowledged that the financial crunch was likely to put a squeeze on the foundation’s spending in coming years.

We might not be as wealthy as Bill Gates. We may not have the world’s biggest philanthropic organization. But we can adopt the same idea as Bill Gates has – we can perhaps spare a bit more here and there to help in our own little way. What do you think?

Originally posted on January 28, 2009 @ 4:52 am

Social Media Becoming More Useful For Charities

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twitter_fail_whaleCharities have long had to adjust to the changing landscape surrounding them. Gone are the times when even the average person gave freely to charities. There are many reasons for this, perhaps the harsh economic atmosphere worldwide being the foremost. In any case, whatever the reason, charities – especially the smaller ones – are hard pressed to find ways and means to generate more funds.

One way by which charities are adjusting is by using social media. Twitter is one of the most popular tools that charities are making use of to reach out to more people who might want to give cash, goods, and services to help those who are in need. Of course, there are other social media platforms which can be used, such as Facebook.

So how can your charity take advantage of technology in this respect? Social media platforms have a worldwide reach. By creating an account for your charity, you can expand your reach to the other side of the world without expending extra money. Maybe a little effort is needed, but the benefits far outweigh it.

Think about all the “lost” friends that have reconnected through social media. These reconnections may very well serve as potential donors. Even those who may not have heard of your charity before may very well be moved to help out your cause due to your regular tweets and updates on Facebook. The idea is to get the word out to as many as possible and nothing beats social media when it comes to that!

Originally posted on October 30, 2009 @ 1:25 pm

Tax Deductible Contributions

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Were you aware that not all contributions are “tax deductible”? Just so that you don’t get an unpleasant surprise after you donate larger sums of money, it pays to understand the mechanics of this.

For starters, know the difference between “Tax Exempt” and “Tax Deductable”

“Tax exempt” does not necessarily mean “tax deductible.” A tax exempt organization is one that does not have to pay income taxes. Contributions made to certain tax exempt organizations may be deductible on the donor’s federal income tax return. While the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) defines more than twenty different categories of tax exempt organizations, contributions to groups in only a few of these categories are tax deductible.”

According to the Better Business Bureau, there are more tips to keep in mind when you contribute to a worthy cause. Here are some of them:

1. Contributions are deductible for the year in which they are actually paid or delivered. Pledges are not deductible until the year in which they are paid.

2. The value of volunteer time or services to a charitable organization is not deductible. However, out-of-pocket expenses directly related to voluntary service are usually deductible.

3. Contributions for which the donor receives a gift or other kinds of benefits are deductible only to the extent that the donation exceeds the value of any benefit received by the donor.

4. Direct contributions to needy individuals are not deductible. Contributions must be made to qualified organizations in order to be tax deductible.

5. Contributions made directly to foreign organizations are not deductible, except in the case of some Canadian organizations as specified in an agreement with that country. Also, donations to charities located in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other U.S. possessions are deductible. Such organizations must meet the requirements for exemption under the income tax laws of the United States.

6. The “fair market value” of goods donated to a thrift store is deductible as long as the store is operated by a charity. To determine fair market value, visit a thrift store and check the “going rate” for comparable items. One cannot take a deduction if the goods are sold on a consignment basis whereby the original owner gets a percentage of the final sales price.

7. Donated property may generally be deducted at the fair market value of the property at the time of the contribution. However, there are special rules for the donation of cars and other vehicles. Also, in certain situations, additional details concerning the property’s worth may need to be filed with the IRS in order to make a deduction on your federal income tax forms. Also, gifts of appreciated property are subject to special rules. See a financial advisor for additional details.

Originally posted on July 9, 2010 @ 6:37 pm