Giving Tips This Holiday Season

Giving Tips This Holiday Season

The holidays are a time for many people to reach out to those who are less fortunate. Additionally, donors need to make their end-of-year giving decisions by December 31 to qualify for a tax deduction in this calendar year. As a result, half of all charitable donations for the entire year will be made between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve.

Despite the lending crisis weakening the economy and the retail industry's prediction for soft sales, we anticipate that this holiday season's charitable giving could be record-setting, with individual donors exceeding $100 billion in charitable gifts. Yet, all of this generosity will do little to improve our world unless we all commit to the pursuit of responsible and informed philanthropy. Charity Navigator offers the following guidelines to ensure your holiday contributions are well-spent.

· Help Those Hurt By the Lending Crisis: As the credit crisis continues to take its toll on the overall economy, we expect human services charities - groups such as food banks, rescue missions and utility assistance charities - to see an increase in the demand for their programs and services. Historically, one of the least-funded types of charities, human service non-profits will need an influx of contributions if they are to meet the growing needs in their communities.

· Examine Each Charity's Spending Habits: Take the time to find out how much of your donation will actually go to the charity's mission. The vast majority of the charities rated by Charity Navigator are able to spend less than 10% of their budget on fundraising costs, less than 15% on administrative costs, and at least 75% on the programs and services they exist to provide. Make sure the charities you support meet this benchmark.

· Give Without Strings Attached: Once you've identified a few well-run charities that match your philanthropic interests, trust them to determine how best to spend your contribution. Often, donors like to designate their contributions for specific projects and purposes. This is fine for disaster giving, but it's also a sign that you don't trust the charity to spend the money where it can be best used. Don't be the roadblock in your favorite charity's quest to do good work. Take the time to research your charity so that you trust them, and can give an unrestricted gift, leaving the group the the flexibility to respond to changing demands for its services.

· Give Online: No one likes to think about taxes, especially during the holidays. But if you want to deduct your charitable contributions on your 2007 tax return, you have until December 31st to make your donations. When you give online at Charity Navigator, through our partnership with Network for Good, you have the luxury of waiting until the last minute, knowing that not only will you be provided an instant receipt, but your giving records are maintained in one place, making your life easier at tax time and when you want to give again.

· Avoid Telemarketers: Even if you signed up for the Federal 'do-not-call' list, chances are your dinner is regularly interrupted by a charity seeking your support. The calls, conducted by professional fundraisers who typically keep 65 to 95 cents of every dollar they raise, are intrusive but not illegal since nonprofits are exempt from following the 'do-not-call' rules. Never give over the phone.

Charity Navigator!

National Suit Drive - Men's Wearhouse

At Men's Wearhouse, we know that not being dressed appropriately can affect employment opportunities. Although we donate millions of dollars of our slow-moving merchandise, we are not able to provide professional attire for many men across the nation. That's why we have started hosting an annual National Suit Drive during the month of September. We partner with over 200 nonprofit organizations across the country to distribute the gently used, professional clothing items we collect to men transitioning into the workforce. For many of these men in crisis, the clothing they receive will give them a first confident step towards a second chance, while the nonprofit services provided will help transform them on their road to self-sufficiency. We are confident that the impact made by helping these men become independent will positively affect their families and their communities. In order to assist the thousands of men that are unemployed at this time, we also partner with businesses and community organizations by encouraging their employees and members to donate their gently used professional clothing. Members of Congress and the American League of Lobbyists kick off the spirit of giving the suits off their backs at the Annual Capitol PurSuit Drive event on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Learn more about ourcommunity partner relationships. Participate in our National Suit Drive and donate your clothing. If you are a nonprofit or know of a nonprofit organization that would be interested in receiving clothing from the Suit Drive, click here.

PAYjr will give $5 for every person that signs up for the card.

PAYjr Fundraiser

We want to help you make money for your team or club. PAYjr will give $5 for every person that signs up for the card.

Dear Jeanne,

PAYjr supports your teams and clubs and If you would like to do a fundraiser with our financial tool, the PAYjr prepaid card, pleasecontact Jessica Stroud, Jessica@payjr.com for a flyer and a promo code to get your fundraiser started.

How it Works: You will get $5 for every person that signs up for a PAYjr Prepaid Card. All you need is a promo code so we can keep track.

Everyone Wins.

PAYjr is (as you know) all about financial education and our tool enables parents to help their teens grow into the world of work, expenses, budgeting and plastic, so they know the smart way to take care of their finances. The Prepaid Card is a great fundraiser, but is also a great tool for those teens that sign up for it. Win-Win.

The PAYjr Prepaid card

Allows Parents to: Give Teens money that is safer than carrying cash

Easily transfer money from their account to their child's card

Stay protected against fraud

Stay informed of all their Teen's spending Keep track with email or text message alerts

Help Teens budget

Help Teens keep track of their own financial habits before they go into the world of rent, student loans and credit cards

Need Clothes, Lack Cash...Try Swapping!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

A Google Search for Clothing Swaps

My Coke Rewards For Schools; Donate your My Coke Rewards!

My Coke Rewards For Schools

These days, our schools need all the support we can give them. Schools can collect points through donations from My Coke Reward members within the school community and will have a unique catlogue of rewards available only to school accounts.

Coca-Cola helps students to learn and grow stronger in all aspects of life. find your school, donate your My Coke Reward points and empower your favorite students to do, learn and discover more every day.

How does the program work?

Everytime you enjoy a Coca-Cola product, you can help enrich the education of children. Donate your My Coke Rewards points to the participating public or private K-12 school of your choice, and help schools get items they need to facilitate a well-rounded education for students.

To participate in the program, a designated School Account Manager must register their school at My Coke Rewards.

The School Account Manager can check the status of the account, change account information, and browse or redeem points for rewards exclusively for schools.

Schools can choose from creative supplies, athletic equipments, textbooks and many other rewards that allow children to learn and excel.

To donate, simply collect and enter codes from participating Coca-Cola products, then select the school(s) of your choice to donate the points. 

If you're not already a My Coke Rewards member, it's fast and easy to join. Join us in enhancing the educational experience of students.

Obamas’ Earnings, Helped by Royalties, Stayed High in ’08

Obamas’ Earnings, Helped by Royalties, Stayed High in ’08

President Obama and his wife released their 2008 federal tax return on Wednesday, showing that they paid $855,323 in federal income taxes on a combined household income of $2,656,902.
Mr. Obama and Michelle Obama also reported giving $172,050 — nearly 6.5 percent of their earnings — to 37 charities, including $25,000 contributions to CARE, a global antipoverty group, and to the United Negro College Fund.

For the fourth year in a row, most of the Obamas’ income came from royalties from his two books: “Dreams From My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope.”

Proceeds from book sales totaled more than $2.4 million in 2008, dwarfing the roughly $200,000 the couple made from Mr. Obama’s salary as a United States senator and Mrs. Obama’s at the University of Chicago Hospitals. Mrs. Obama went on leave from her job during the presidential campaign last year and formally resigned at the beginning of this year.

Earlier on Wednesday, the deadline for Americans to file their income tax returns, Mr. Obama made a sales pitch for his tax proposals, saying a tax cut in the stimulus bill would benefit “95 percent of American workers,” and praised other changes that he said would help small-business owners, parents of college students and first-time homebuyers. And he called for a sweeping overhaul of the tax code.

Mr. Obama made his remarks as conservative activists held a series of “Tea Party” protests around the country calling for lower taxes and less government spending.
The president has proposed to raise taxes on more affluent workers, and would himself be likely to pay higher taxes should his proposals go through. He has called for putting a cap on the value of itemized deductions, like charitable contributions.

Moreover, he advocates allowing Bush-era tax cuts to expire as scheduled at the end of 2010, restoring the marginal tax rate on couples’ earnings above $250,000 to 39 percent, as it was during the 1990s. That rate is currently 35 percent.

The White House on Wednesday also released the tax return for Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his wife, Jill. They reported an adjusted gross income of $269,256 and paid $46,952 in federal income taxes.
The Bidens also reported donating $1,885 to charity, less than 1 percent of their earnings. In a press release, the White House said the Bidens have made additional donations to charity not listed on the returns.

“The charitable donations claimed by the Bidens on their tax returns are not the sum of their annual contributions to charity,” it said. “They donate to their church, and they contribute to their favorite causes with their time as well as their checkbooks.”
The Obamas first opened a window onto their rapidly escalating personal wealth in March 2008, when they released seven years of their tax returns amid Mr. Obama’s effort to secure the Democratic presidential nomination.

Those forms showed that the couple’s income had spiked sharply in 2005, largely because of book sales after Mr. Obama became famous with a speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, when he was running for the Senate.

From 2000 to 2004, the Obamas had earned an average of about $250,000 a year. But their taxable income surged to $1.6 million in 2005 and $983,826 in 2006.
In 2007, as book sales rose to a new high during the first year of his presidential campaign, they earned $4.2 million. Since then, Mr. Obama’s book sales have slowed somewhat but remain lucrative, the new tax filings show.

Mr. Obama signed a book deal in January, just before taking office. The deal, revealed in a routine Senate filing last month, will pay him $250,000 for an adaptation of his memoir for younger readers. The Senate filing also first disclosed his 2008 book royalty income.

The White House also released the Obamas’ and the Bidens’ state tax returns. The Obamas reported paying $77,883 in state income taxes to Illinois, and the Bidens reported paying $11,164 in state income taxes to Delaware.

DannieLynn's Duds...

Ebay Auction to benefit Camp Kindle
DANNIELYNN'S DUDS

Larry Birkhead is auctioning off clothes owned by Dannielynn to benefit our camping program, Camp Kindle. Both Larry and Anna Nicole Smith attended Camp Kindle in 2004.