Beware of Scams During Year-End Charitable Giving

Taxpayers have until midnight Dec. 31 to donate to their favorite non-profits. However, make sure you know who actually gets your money.

  Non-profit organizations hold a very unique status in society. Unlike corporations, non-profits can avoid payment of federal income tax–and in most cases state tax — if they organize and operate to promote certain causes, which include "charitable, religious, educational," among others. Now, with only days left in the 2012 tax year, many non-profits will make last minute requests for donations because donors also receive a tax benefit — they can deduct the value of the money or property made to the organization. However, donors unfamiliar with the work of an organization should first conduct a little research to ensure that their money goes to the right place and for the IRS approved use. All non-profits must keep strict records of how …

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About Town

A Merry Christmas to All

Here are some places that need giving most of all.

  It’s Christmas Eve, for those who celebrate, and for those who don’t, well, it’s a night with nothing new on TV and stores closing early. With any luck, all your gifts are wrapped, the baking is done and cleaned up, and you’re sitting by the fire with an egg nog in one hand, cookies in the other. That’s my idea of the perfect Christmas Eve. Of course, the 24th of December also means the year is winding down, and with all the giving you’ve been doing up till now, there’s still a little time to think about more giving. Charitable giving. End-of-the year, do-it-in-time-for-your-taxes giving. And what better way to do this than by giving close to home? Here, then, is a list of some great, local non-profits that would be happy to help you …

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About Town

Helping Out

Beede Center employee can use a hand.

  Hello and welcome to Thursday! I have something really important to talk about today, so pay attention. I know it’s the time of year that we’re running around like crazy people, buying gifts for all the people on our lists, thinking how much money we’re spending on stuff. And I also know that this time of year makes people think about how nice it is to give to others, and then we start perusing the Heifer International catalog, and wonder if it’s better to buy someone a goat or a raft of baby chicks. Or is it a clutch of chicks? I can never remember. Well, as you’re doing all that wondering, I’d like you to think a little closer to home, because there is someone right here in town who may not need a goat or some chicks, but could really …

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Janet Beyer

8:40 am on Friday, December 16, 2011

Nice thoughtful article, Stefanie. Count me in.   more ›