This is a true story. Names and images have been changed to protect privacy. What happened to Mrs. V is a big part of why I created CharityCheck101.org. A local police department asked me to help them figure out what had happened to money of an older woman (I’ll call...
The best charities for you combine four elements: strong charities, focused on your top causes, working in your top locations, and passing your screen tests. So, what's a "strong charity?" It's a charity that meets each of the nine prerequisites spelled out in What's...
Available now on Amazon Kindle Free sample . . . It’s your money. It’s your right to dedicate it to the work that matters most to you. Life is too short to donate your hard-earned dollars to charities that waste your money or focus on things that don’t matter to you....
Do one or more of these express how you feel about the charity mail or email you receive? “I’m upset at what I consider a waste of money by the charity doing the mailing — money that was likely donated to the charity.” “I don’t like it when a donation ‘thank you’...
Here’s our list of the 99 nonprofits with the highest revenues as they’ve reported to the IRS (United States Internal Revenue Service). You’ll see some familiar foundation, health system and university names (Kaiser, Stanford, Yale, Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, etc.). Revenues range from $3.6 billion to $68.1 billion (yes, billion). How many names do you recognize? Continue reading
Here’s our list of the 99 wealthiest nonprofits based on the book value of total assets they report to the IRS (United States Internal Revenue Service). You’ll see some familiar foundation, health system and university names (Kaiser, Stanford, Yale, Gates, Harvard, Fidelity Charitable, etc.), Thrivent Financial for Lutherans tops the list. Continue reading
Fake charities a year-round plagueWhether tying themselves to a prominent cause or preying on compassion related to a natural disaster, fake charities are a year-round plague. And fake charities do double damage — they steal from you and they steal from those you want...
Question #1: You use your credit card to donate to a qualified charity on December 31 this year. You don't pay the credit card bill until January next year. For which year do you get to take the charitable contribution deduction on your federal (IRS) income taxes? Of...
Give and Grin. If you are age 70½ (70.5) or older you can donate from your IRA directly to the Qualified Organization (see below) of your choice -- tax-free! This special IRA donation rule allows you to give up to $105,000 in a calendar year. $105,000 is a $5,000...
Individuals (that's you, me, our friends, our neighbors) donate more than $366 billion to charities a year (direct giving (including bequests) in 2020). And that doesn't even include what individuals give through family foundations. Individuals as a group are by far...