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Re: Charitable Donations
The holiday season of November and December brings an increase of snail mail solicitations along with phone call solicitations from charities. Recent congressional action regarding the “Do Not Call” website (www.donotcall.gov) exempts political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors from compliance.
Recent disclosures of illegitimate and fraudulent charities lead me to compile a list of ready resources whereby you can access reliable information about questionable solicitations. Somewhere I read that a mere ˝ of 1% of charitable receipts is required to be expended for the charitable purpose of an organization.
http://www.irs.gov/charities/index.html This Internal Revenue Service “charities and non-profits” page has links to Charitable Orgs., Churches and Religious Orgs, Contributors, Other Non-Profits, Political Orgs., and Private Foundations. Here you can verify the tax status of the charity or non-profit in question.
The American Institute of Philanthropy (www.charitywatch.org) is a watchdog group with the purpose of helping donors make informed giving decisions. Their site reviews 500 national charities. Special features focus on top salaries, top-rated groups, and most popular causes.
www.give.org The BBB Wise Giving Alliance offers guidance for donors about making informed giving decisions. Click on “Charity Reports” in the upper left margin of the page to select a charity evaluation. After you click on the charity of your choice, a report will appear and you may scroll down the page to learn more. Clicking on the website link will take you to the official site of the charity.
www.guidestar.org The National Association of State Charity Officials (NASCO) includes a list of US Charity Offices with links to state-specific information.
For how you can help Veterans, visit http://www4.army.mil/comrel/support/.
Source: "The View" published in The Red Nose Newz, a monthly newsletter of the Rose City Clown Alley (November 2007 issue) Article copyright by Freddy Lou Barneburg
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