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Charity donations basics
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By Mansi gupta
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Charity is perhaps the best feature of humanity. It is a perfectway to support the downtrodden. There are many types of naturaland man-made evils in our society. So, there are variable causesfor which the blessed ones can and should donate. Unlike before,nowadays there are numerous charitable institutions across theglobes that are working in different areas. The main aim of acharitable organization is to help the people in need and workfor their development. For instance helping in therehabilitation of victims of natural disasters like famines,tsunami, earthquakes etc., working for prisoners of war or anyoppressed community, child education, women upliftment and soforth are some different tasks taken up by these organizations.So, charitable organizations can variously be literary,religious, scientific and so forth. These organizations largelyrely on government grants and the charities/ donations by thewell-to-do section of society in order to function or continuewith their respective social service. However, people may havedifferent motives behind donating money in these charitablefoundations. While there are those who contribute for the sakeof human welfare there are others who do it to earn recognitionand save tax. Tax wavier possibly is one of the foremost reasonsat the moment that instigates many affluent people,multinational companies, and corporations to give money in theseinstitutions. However, those who donate for the purpose ofsaving tax should keep in mind that every charity is not taxdeductible.
There are basically two types of non-profit organizations.
1. Charitable institutions that are exempted from paying taxes.
2. Institutions to which the donations made are tax-free. Suchorganizations are registered under the 501 (c)(3) category ofthe Internal Revenue Service. Once you make a donation to anysuch organization, get a receipt made as evidence to assist youin tax deduction.
But besides enlisted in the 501 (C)(3) category, several otherthings about an organization should be considered before makinga donation.
? Check the annual report of the organization. Annual reportwill brief you with the requisite crucial details such ascurrent work, situation, finances etc. of the organization.
? Also take into consideration the institutions aims and meansproposed to achieve them.
? Notice the amount of donations the charity receives annuallyand its sources.
? In case of door- to- door solicitations, prior to parting offwith your money, try to wrinkle out the important details (thename, full address, goals, licensing, tax deduction and soforth) of the organization. If that person is unable to presentthe details, he might be fake, trying to befool people.
Charities can be made in different forms. Giving cash is oneway; other ways include giving those items that the constitutionrequires. For example if the charity is working forrehabilitation of tsunami victims then facilitating it withtents, food stuffs, clothing etc. will be an appropriate ratherwonderful charity. Generally people are under the illusion thatonly large sum of money can be given as charity, but this is notthe case like. Donation can be as small as 10 or 20 dollars. Theamount does not actually make a difference, what actuallymatters are your philanthropic feelings and desire tocontribute.
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