Since the launch of “Giving Tuesday”, nonprofits have another compelling reason to engage in year-end fundraising. Started in 2012 by New York’s 922nd Street Y organization, and supported by the UN Foundation, the “Giving Tuesday” movement has become a nationwide and global phenomenon. In just a few short years, the event has drawn huge interest and participation from individuals, for profit business, nonprofit organizations, schools and other community groups. In 2016, $168M was raised from over 98 countries (source).

As stated by the organizers on their website, “It’s a simple idea. Just find a way for your family, community, your company or your organization to come together to give something more. Then tell everyone you can about how you are giving. Be part of a national celebration of our great tradition of generosity.”

To learn more about “Giving Tuesday” and how you or your organization can participate, go to www.givingtuesday.org. You will also find out about the exciting celebrations and events planned for “Giving Tuesday 2017” which takes place this year on November 28th.

Nonprofit organizations may find the celebration of “Giving Tuesday” an opportune time to kick off their year-end fundraising or awareness campaign, launch a matching gift challenge, start a volunteer campaign in their community or simply share their organization’s story.

At the same time, you or your organization will be participating in an important global movement to bring attention to the charitable sector and the important work they do.

Originally published 2016 – Updated 11/13/17

The post Are you ready for Giving Tuesday? appeared first on Checkbox Accounting.

People tend to give to better known philanthropies such as the Salvation Army, Feed the Children, the United Way.  On a list of top-money raising charities there is Fidelity Charitable, which most people have never heard of.  Yet people have given an amazing amount of money to this charity.  Fidelity Charitable is a branch of a huge Boston based management firm and in 2012 raised more money than the American Cancer Society and the American Cross; $3.6 billion more to be exact.  This charity gives immediate tax deductions to donors, however unlike better-known charities the money sits in ‘holding tanks’.  Legally, there is no specific limit to how long the money can be kept there.

The fund is made up of 58,000 personal accounts, and other companies like Fidelity are Charles Schwab, Vanguard, and Goldman Sachs allow people to donate and collect the benefits and choose the charity they want to give to later.  They are called donor-advised funds and a recent estimate of money in these funds is at $45 billion. This is more money than the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation!  Make sure your money is going to a working charity so your money isn’t waiting in a fund.  Yes, eventually the money has to go to a charity, but there is no telling when.  Donor-advised funds have existed since 1930 and have been helpful to business owners with specifications such as, those who sell their business in December and face steep tax bills can quickly donate a large sum of money to get a tax deduction and not decide which charity they want to give to until a later time.

Many working charities were concerned with donor-advised funds:

No laws regarding donor-advised funds came into play until 2006, requiring them to disclose the amount of money their clients were contributing to donate each year.  Hopefully more laws will be put into place regarding a time limit for money to sit in the accounts.

The post Donating to Charities: Where is your money really going? appeared first on Checkbox Accounting.

The scams use different tactics. Offering charity relief, criminals often:

-Claim to be with real charities to gain public trust.
-Use names similar to legitimate charities.
-Use email to steer people to bogus websites that often look like real charity sites.
-Contact people by phone or email to get them to ‘donate’ money or give their financial information.

The IRS offers the following tips to help taxpayers who wish to donate to victims:

-Donate to qualified charities.  Use the Exempt Organizations Select Check tool at IRS.gov to find qualified charities. Only donations to qualified organizations are tax-deductible. You can also find legitimate charities at the Federal Emergency Management Agency website, fema.gov. For more information about the kinds of charities that can receive deductible contributions, see Publication 526, Charitable Contributions.
-Don’t give out information.  Don’t give your Social Security number, credit card and bank account numbers or passwords to anyone. Scam artists use this information to steal your identity and money.
-Don’t give or send cash.  For security and tax record purposes, don’t give or send cash. Contribute by check, credit card or another way that provides documentation of the donation.
-Report suspected fraud.  If you suspect tax or charity-related fraud, visit IRS.gov and click on ‘Reporting Phishing’ at the bottom of the home page.

Get more information about tax scams and schemes at IRS.gov.  You can also get Publication 526 at IRS.gov or call 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

The post Donors Beware – Don’t Fall for Charity Scams Following Disasters appeared first on Checkbox Accounting.