Category: Charities

Perhaps donating cash to a charity of your choice is what you do every year. Sometimes this can be a bit taxing, especially taking into consideration the economic crises and financial difficulties most people are experiencing at present. Taking all this into consideration, you also probably want to still continue making donations to this charity. A more viable method might be donating stocks instead of hard cash. This is not only easier on the purse, but might also enable you to up your donation to the charity.

In order to donate stocks towards a charity of your choice, you have to be in the 15% federal income tax bracket or above it. It is important that you also have adequate tax deductions that can be itemized rather than experience the normal deductions on your personal tax return.
Once you have chosen the charity you want to donate to, make sure that it is registered under the 501c3 nonprofit label with the IRS, otherwise your stock donation might not be deductible.

Next, analyze all the stocks you have under your name. The stocks you want to donate must be listed under your name for a minimum period of one year and have risen fairly significantly. This does not necessarily mean the stock must be one company’s stock, but must be under your name for at least a year.

If the stock you want to donate has risen in terms of value, then your donation to the charity is more than what you put down money for. For example, if you paid $5,000 a year ago, and at present if it is worth $20,000, then your donation to the charity is four times more than what it actually cost you.

Next, it might be worthwhile for you to do the math and take into account the amount of tax savings you have made. Here is an example:

Sold stock ($) Capital gains tax/15% Tax savings
$10,000 $9,000/15% $1,350 ($9,000×15%)

Putting together a children’s charity, just like setting up any other charity requires a lot of commitment, dedication and perseverance. There are also a number of things you need to do in order to ensure that your charity is recognized by the government, its agencies and other potential donor groups.

Step One: First, figure what kind of charity you would like to establish. It would be a good idea to analyze the area and decide on what is needed for the children. Amongst yourself and your group, research the legalities and required paperwork which is required by the Internal Revenue Service. You will also need to ensure that your charity is able to report back to the relevant authorities regarding the earnings and expenditures.

Step Two: Next, you need to figure out the mission and the goals of the charity. It is at this stage that you need to ensure that you secure a group of volunteers and start looking into funding mechanisms. A well-worded mission is necessary for this. Ensure that it not only outlines the scope of your charity, but its functions as well.

Step Three: Put together the Articles of Incorporation. This document is one of the legal steps that are necessary when setting up a children’s charity. The Articles of Incorporation just requires you to provide basic information regarding the charity, its name, purpose, scope, structure and other important facts.

Step Four: Define bylaws for your charity. These will outline the manner in which the charity will operate, how the hierarchy will be responsible for all major decisions and how you intend the charity to be run.

Step Five: You need to fill out the necessary paperwork that will qualify your charity for non-profit status. You can contact the state authorities directly for the required paperwork.
Step Six: You will need to get yourself a Federal Employer Identification Number. This is utilized by the IRS to identify your charity, and is a prerequisite for all IRS paperwork that would help in obtaining grants as well.

Step Seven: It is important that your children’s charity is recognized by the IRS so that your charity will avail all benefits made available to it. This is where the Articles of Incorporation and bylaws come into play.

Step Eight: Choose a board of directors and a registered agent who will be responsible for overseeing the operations of the charity.

Setting up a children’s charity is not as easy task, and it is important that you seek expert legal advice during the process to ensure you get everything right.

Private foundations are not-for-profit organizations and are usually non-government organizations too. These organizations have a principal which is managed by a group of trustees or a board of directors. Private foundations maintain a range of activities including educational, charitable and even religious causes via grants meted out to other non-profit organizations.

The Internal Revenue Service Code defines a private foundation as a US or foreign charity that is exempt from all taxes. In other words, public charities are organizations that are not private foundations as stipulated in Section 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Service Code.

The difference between public charities and private foundations is that charity organizations usually gain funding and other support mainly from the general public, and also receives grants from the government, individuals and private foundations. It is only a handful of charities that partake in grant-making activities, while a majority of them carry out direct services and tax-exempt initiatives. Private foundations are different. Their funding comes from one source, like for example, a family or an individual or even a corporation. They are more commonly not grant makers nor do they get funds from the general public.

Keep in mind that just because an organization has the word ‘funding’ in its name, that does not necessarily mean it is a private foundation. The word has no real legal meaning. It would be helpful to take a look at the manner in which the IRS defines an organization and their criteria for filing either Form 990-PF which needs to be filled out annually by private foundations or Form 990 which should be submitted by public charities and non-profit organizations on an annual basis.

New survey results from the October Pew Research Center state the 57% of Americans seem to feel an income shortfall against the ever-increasing cost of living. This of course calls for a fair amount of trimming on expenses that could be considered unnecessary, but does charity come into play here? Charity credit cards are great this way, they enable you to give, even if it is a little donation without having too much of an impact on your tight budget.

Also referred to as cause credit cards, these cards donate a fraction of the transaction to whatever charity is connected to the card. Most cards are branded with the name of the charity, like for instance the American Heart Association cards from the Bank of America – while other cards let you choose your charity for donation. This way, you can even divide your donation among say, five different charities.

The contributions made through each transaction are minute and amount to as little as 0.3% to 1% per transaction. However, when each transaction donation adds up, taking into account the number of cardholders, the donation does add up to a sizable sum. If you feel this donation is not enough, then there are some cards where you can offer an initial donation ranging from $10 – $50 at activation – these are available at CardPartner, OneCause and Chase.

A good example of a charity which benefits from charity credit cards is a tiny, private school which manages to raise approximately $6,000 every quarter by the OneCause credit card, a shopping site and a toolbar feature. The money raised goes to finance the school’s scholarship program.

There are various strategies to raise funds for charities – it just depends on what works for whom. The charity itself, its patrons and who it serves should be the deciding criteria for your fundraising strategy. However, here is a list of fundraising ideas that seem to have worked for a large majority:

Large scale events – This could be anything from a marathon to a walk-a-thon to a gala. Big events are sure to raise ‘big’ money if organized properly. The event is not only big enough for the entire community to take part in, but also becomes a social event of sorts and if caught on by the media, could generate a lot of publicity as well.

Trivia night – Small events such as a trivia night could also work. It is a fun way to raise funds and also create awareness for the cause you are supporting. You can conduct the event at a pub or even a small restaurant and it is a great fundraising idea for a group of ten to fifty people. You can make it work for a bigger crowd; that is up to you.

Live, silent auctions – If hosting a charity dinner or gala event, a silent auction is another great way to add to your fundraising that night. If you manage to get some great auction pieces, this could prove to be quite popular amongst attendees.

Direct mail fundraising – Letter campaigns can be successful, but depends largely on the organization and the audience it is focused at.

Grants – Most charity organizations depend heavily on grants, and thus pursue them quite keenly. Organizations ranging from national foundations to corporations and even community foundations all provide grants.

Saving money – Discount card books or coupon books are great ways to raise money for your charity. It not only gives your supporters the opportunity to make a donation, but also gives them great ways to save their money.

Other methods of raising funds include conducting raffles, raising funds online via the charity website, specialty sports tournaments or simply just asking for donations. Take your charity and its mission into account and then decide what would work best for you!