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The learning and connection with readers at SmarterGivingGuy.com over the last two years has put us in the position to develop www.SeriousGivers.org (SGO) — an expanded site that includes data on almost 300,000 charities plus lots of great donor information. Moving forward, I’ll be focusing my efforts on SGO. I look forward to seeing [...] Giving to fewer charities can result in more of your money going to programs you care about. Read more about this, tax-free IRA donations, avoiding scams and other year-end giving tips. Charity identities matter. Among other things, scam “charities” adopt names confusingly similar to legitimate groups — and siphon off dollars needed for good works. Using an EIN is the quickest path to successful charity research. While charity names can be similar, no two charities have the same EIN. Read the SGO call for charities [...] Your Car? Ever thought about donating a car? SeriousGivers has just made available a free, expanded report on charity car donations. It’s an eye-opener. Don’t donate your car until you’ve read it. Read the “Serious about Charity Car Donations” report. Leap of Reason: Managing to Outcomes in an Era of Scarcity by Mario Morino urges all nonprofits to “manage to outcomes,” and provides advice on how to do it. A nonprofit that manages to outcomes asks itself “To what end?” when analyzing its mission and results; it defines goals, measures how it’s doing, and [...] Individuals are again by far the top category of givers in the U.S. — giving more than $254 billion (or 87%) of the 2010 total — as reported in Giving USA 2011 from the Giving USA Foundation. Here’s the breakdown: Individuals (direct) gave $211.77 billion Individuals (bequests) gave $22.83 billion Individuals (through family foundations) [...] You’ve likely heard about the “Gates – Buffett Giving Pledge” — a terrific program that invites the wealthiest in America to commit the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. Now available: the giving pledge for the rest of us. Individuals and families donate more than $250 billion a year. If we’re serious about how [...] SeriousGivers.Org (SGO) has just issued an eye-opening report on donation of cars to charity. The SGO report spells out important questions you should consider before donating a car. It also examines the overall benefits — and shares conclusions on whether a donation will be a win, loss or draw. Among other things, the SGO [...] The Oregon Attorney General is challenging the operations of “charities” that seek donations in Oregon but spend little on their missions. A report in The Oregonian focuses on the activities of Shiloh International Ministries, which led the AG’s list of “20 Worst Charities” for 2010. Shiloh International Ministries is based in La Verne, California; its EIN [...] The IRS just published a handy list of eight tips for deducting charitable contributions. Why not print it out and keep it with your charitable contributions “stuff” — and take a look at it before you make a donation? IRS Tip #1 — make sure you are giving to a charity. You can use [...] |
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Copyright © 2012 Edward W. Long | The Smarter Giving Guy | All Rights Reserved |
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