Standard 14: Charitable Giving

Following are several tips about making contributions to organizations. Which of the following is NOT recommended?

• Avoid responding to telemarketers who call asking for contributions.
• Do not make donations in “cans” or “jars” sitting next to cash registers.
• If you get an e-mail asking for money, only send a check or ask if they take credit cards.
• Listen or read carefully to understand the organization’s name; it could be a “sound alike” organization instead of the one you want to support.

Which of the following provides the MOST reliable information about a charitable organization?

• Speaking with the president or director about the mission of the organization.
• Visiting the organization’s Web site.
• Reading the materials mailed out by the organization.
• Checking out the organization on one of the philanthropy Web sites such as guidestar.org.

Organizations tend to view volunteer workers as

• valued members of the team to accomplish the organization’s mission.
• extra help that will do whatever the paid employees do not want to do.
• nuisances who get in the way of doing “real” work.
• people who show up once in awhile to help out as needed.

Sarah wants to volunteer at a local food bank. Before starting, she should

• talk with the manager to explain what she wants to do.
• make an appointment with the manager to explain her skills.
• walk in an announce she is there to volunteer.
• visit with the manager about their needs and how she can help.

Being classified as a non-profit means an organization is

• a legal entity that provides services without commercial or monetary gain.
• any organization that collects donations to help others.
• a legal entity that provides services to the community.
• any organization that provides benefits to the community.

Charitable contributions come in many forms, including all of the following EXCEPT

• donating personal property.
• paying someone to work in your place.
• volunteering your time.
• making cash donations.

Depending upon your level of income, you

• have the right to deduct all of your donations from your personal income tax.
• can avoid paying any personal income taxes if you donate enough money to charitable organizations.
• may be able to deduct all or part of your donations from your personal income taxes.
• may need to increase deductions to offset the cost of making cash contributions to charitable organizations.

Charitable contributions

• should be a part of your budget or monthly spending plan.
• are a personal matter and should not be included in a budget or financial plan.
• have a negative impact on your budget and should be avoided.
• Should be a low priority unless you have a lot of money to throw around.

In-kind contributions refers to

• giving your time to charitable organizations.
• giving to people when working with charitable organizations.
• donating things you do not need to an organization.
• donating items of value to the receiving organization.

Most people make charitable contributions because

• they want to feel appreciated.
• it makes them feel good when they do.
• it makes them look good in the community.
• they want to avoid paying personal income tax.