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    Real police charity, bogus solicitor, don't give cash

    Tampa Bay police apprehended two bogus solicitors using the name of a recognized police charity. The couple had also been active in Orlando, and when apprehended were headed to Louisiana.

    While the report doesn’t mention it, I’m guessing they looked for cash donations. If a donor wrote a check to the police charity, the scammers would [...]

    Donors - Start thinking like grantmakers

    Are you a “regular” donor who wants to be more thoughtful and strategic in your giving?  Why not learn from the work of the professional givers? There are some terrific learning resources out there, including publications created by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO). A few favorites from GEO

    Tax-free IRA donation rule expires December 31, 2009

    Interested in donating to a charity before year-end? Have money in your IRA that you can give? Until December 31, 2009, you can donate to that charity directly from your IRA totally tax-free!

    Come January 1, this rule is gone.

    Read the details.

    IRS to focus on charitable foundations of very wealthy

    The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that the Internal Revenue Service has started a new audit program that will try to stop very rich individuals from using “complex financial arrangements” — including private foundations — to avoid paying taxes.

    Read The Chronicle of Philanthropy report.

    Maximize Your Joy of Giving

    To maximize your joy of giving:

    Give to charities that focus their efforts on causes you care about. The causes each of us care about are uniquely personal, based on our life experiences and view of the world.
    Give to charities that are highly effective in their work. Many are well managed and produce verifiably solid results [...]

    Smarter Giving Now Pays Long-Term Dividends

    Chances are you’d like each dollar you donate to do the greatest good it can. You want to avoid weak and poorly run charities that waste money. You want to find strong, well-run and effective charities, and support them.

    If you become just 20% more effective in your investing, you’ll produce significant benefits for your pocketbook. [...]

    Class: 13 Things to Know Before You Give to a Charity

    We’ve created a new and unique 25- to 60-minute class, great for service clubs and other community groups that have regular speakers. Here’s our brief description:

    Create Your Charity Scout Report

    Use our free Charity Scout Report form to track your charity scouting work. A few tips about using the form:

    Organization names are often similar. Obtaining its employer identification number (EIN)

    Your Recent Giving Inventory

    Creating an inventory of your recent giving can be a great way to start focusing your giving. Who did you give to? How much? What triggered the donation? What’s their mission? Where do they do their work?

    Create your inventory using our Inventory Form.

    Question: How can I do a good job selecting charities?

    Answer: To do a good (as in thorough) job, you have three tasks:

    Focus your giving on what’s important to you by examining what you value and care about, what you’d like to see done better or changed, and whether you want to help locally, regionally, nationally or internationally.
    Create a short list of charities whose missions and [...]