General

Dealing With The Wrong Type Of Charity? How To Find Out?

CHICAGO - SEPTEMBER 10: People leave Elijah's ...

What should you do if you have second thoughts about the suitability of the charitable organization after you have made a contribution? Ideally speaking, one should assess the seriousness and commitment of the charitable organization before contributing money or time. However, this does not mean you should simply let things go.

You may be requested to contribute money or your time at a later date. Or, you may be asked to provide references who may be interested in giving money. In such a scenario, not having answers to all your doubts and queries may prove to be a big mistake.

For starters, have a word with the charitable organization and explain your doubts in the nicest manner possible. Something may have given you an impression that the organization is not serious. Having a word with the management is the best way of getting the official position. If your core doubts and queries are not answered, you can then resort to other ways and means to find more information.

You can log on to the internet and check out whether the charitable organization has a website. You can find out whether other individuals have contributed to this site in the past. If you find that other individuals too have the same doubts as you have, it is a clear indication that something is not right with the organization.

Once confirmed, insist on satisfactory answer to queries before any further contributions. A firm and clearheaded approach is more than enough to get to the truth of the matter. This will help you ensure that your contributions are made to the right organization at a later date.

Filed Under: General, Society Tagged With: Charitable organization, Internal Revenue Service, Non-profit organization

Not Volunteering Due To Lack Of Time? Here Is How To Stop Making Excuses

CHICAGO - SEPTEMBER 10: Seventy-three-year-ol...

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Would you love to volunteer for a charitable cause? Nine out of ten persons would answer in affirmative but will come up with excuses or reasons why they cannot commit time immediately. Well, you will never have time to volunteer for a noble cause. Let us face it, we all like to live life to the fullest and rarely, if ever, have free time in our hands. If you are going to wait until you have free time in your hands to charity, you will have to wait forever.

People counter this by pointing out that it is not fair for those who are needy for an individual to commit time but not to fulfill the commitment at a later date. Definitely. To promise something and to back out at the last moment is not the hallmark of a decent individual.

When the promise has been made to help certain needy persons, it becomes even more important to fulfill the same properly. However, what is the point of hiding from commitment simply because you feel you may not be in a position to fulfill it?

After all, how difficult can it be to take one hour to take out of your busy schedule in a week? Many persons point out that they may be in a position to take out an hour immediately but may not be in a position to do so next week.

Why always think of the future when it comes to committing to a charitable cause? The fact that you can give one hour of your precious time today is what matters. Who knows whether tomorrow may exist or not?

Filed Under: General, Seasonal Volunteering Tagged With: Charitable organization, Leisure, volunteer

The Harsh Truth – Those Who Do Not Volunteer Are Not Keen On Charity

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Many persons like the idea of doing charity but are not keen on getting their hands dirty. In the long run, you would be in a position to do good for maximum number of individuals only if you are prepared to contribute much more than money. However, this does not mean that you should stop at money alone. There are many ways to volunteer for charity without actually dealing with the poor and needy people who make you so guilty.

Why don’t you offer to design the website of a charitable organization? You can work from your home and can put in your best skills and efforts to set up their website. The website will help the charitable organization establish its online presence. It may even succeed in receiving donations through the internet.

Do not bill them for your work done and let that be your charitable contribution. Setting up a website is like doing labor to set up a shelter home for the poor and needy people. It will be an asset that will help them for a very long time. As long as the charitable organizations can pay for the hosting charges, it will have an online presence and will be accessible to web surfers from all over the world.

Once you start thinking on these lines, you will realize that your hesitation in volunteering is because you do not want to do charity. Many persons don’t like to think themselves as uncharitable. However, the truth is that the most of us are very selfish and greedy. How else would we explain the condition of poor people all over the world today?

Filed Under: General, Uncategorized, Volunteering Tagged With: Charitable organization, Poverty, Volunteering, Website

Little-Known Benefits of Working for a Charity

Starting a career working for a charity or not-for-profit organization is not always a new job seeker’s first choice. However, there can be many benefits to working in the non-profit sector that can pay off in the later stages of a career.

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With a charity, job seekers can often have the opportunity to transfer from a volunteer position to a paid position. Unlike internships in the corporate world, volunteer positions are not as competitive or difficult to obtain. Volunteering can put you in the right place at the right time, and you can have the advantage of a foot in the door that outsiders don’t have. It also allows you to develop professional contacts and networking opportunities for paid positions.

With some larger or national charities, there is the opportunity to start at a local branch, even as a volunteer, and obtain a paid position at a regional or national office. If your career goals include working at a large corporation or Fortune 500 company, experience at a national headquarters, even of a charitable agency, can be very impressive.

The experience you gain from working at a not-for-profit agency can result in transferable skills which can help you in the business world. Because local charities tend to be small, it’s an ideal way to gain experience in many facets of operation, including database management, marketing, supervision and project administration. Experience with a charity can also get you invitations to join Boards of Directors or provide consultation to charitable start-ups. In some cases, student loan repayment programs are available to those who commit to working for certain non-profit agencies for a fixed number of years.

Filed Under: General, Habitat for Humanity Tagged With: Charitable organization, Non-profit organization, Volunteering

Suggestions for Donations: Clothing Guidelines

It’s an assumption of simplicity: offering your once loved styles to charity seems to be a quick process, demanding nothing beyond a smile. Reality requires precision instead, however. There are rules to adhere (and good sense to follow):

Conditions and Care

The desire to donate is a worthy one. That worthiness shatters, however, when you offer pieces that are burdened by stains, rips and gaping button holes. All items — from Coogi clothing to those kitten heels you used to favor in the office — must be wearable. They should be cleaned thoroughly and mended of any tears. This is not a law of charity but it is one of decency.

Trekking With Totes

It’s an all too easy impulse: stuffing clothes into garbage bags, shoving them into the already hastily filled confines of your car. There can be no harm in this, you’re certain. Wrinkles are no great sin. They are, however, a great frustration. Donations should be brought to centers with care. All pieces should be folded neatly into baskets or boxes (consider offering these as well, if they serve no purpose within your home). They should also be labeled, allowing employees to sort them quickly.

Drop-off Demands

The span of a clothing bin seems endless, tempts you to toss all of your items inside — including ones that aren’t made of fabric. When dropping donations at a charity site you must be certain to obey the rules. Garments aren’t to mingle with glass; accessories aren’t to be flung in with furnishings. Keep all items divided instead.

Remember these guidelines before making any donation. They will save all charities time, effort and aggravation.

Filed Under: General, Natural Disaster Relief Tagged With: Charitable organization, Clothing, Coogi, Donation

Churches: Heaven on earth

Church is the place of worship. No matter of the age, sex, creed or color all the people gather in one place with one thought and one mind to worship the Lord. The people in choir will guide the members of the Church in singing. All the gathering will sing songs and worship the Lord. After the singing is over the Father in the church will read the Bible.

The scripture is taught in detailed to the gathering. Father in the church teaches about the teachings of Jesus Christ and about his holy life. Love the neighbor as themself is one of the teachings of Jesus Christ. All the people are taught about the forgiveness of sins and how Jesus Christ died for others sins.

Once in a month all the members of the church take part in the Holy Communion. Holy Communion means all the members of the church who are baptized will be given bread and wine. Bread indicates the body of the Lord Jesus Christ and Wine indicates the blood of Lord Jesus Christ. This is to remember that he died two thousand years ago for the sins of the people. And he rose up on the third day. His resurrection gave great joy to the people, which is celebrated as Easter.

And he is expected to come back to this world again to gather the righteous people to heaven. So till his second coming the church is supposed to take part in the Holy Communion with Holiness in the body, soul and spirit. All the members of the church are supposed to confess their sins before taking part in the Communion. There are different churches the Catholic Church, Protestant church, the Lutheran church and many more churches.

All the churches differ according to the name and administration. But the foundation teaching is same in all the churches.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Catholic Church, Eucharist, Jesus

Some Important Tax Deduction Options

In this tough economical system people are very much conscious to get proper financial security. Earning money is not enough for you. Side by side you have to conscious to pay taxes in time. You can deduct the amount of taxes if you choose some essential path. There is various tax deduction options are available to choose from. If is recommended to go to good financial advisor who can inform you about the right way to minimize tax. When you are running a business you have to conscious about how to deduct the amount of tax.

Everyone should be careful to keep all the receipts properly. Make it a habit to collect each receipts of your purchase. It does not matter if the purchase is big or small you have to take the receipts. Incomplete receipts are not useful at all. When taking the receipts you have to make sure that vendor’s name and date is written on it clearly. At the time of paying taxes these receipts will help you to calculate your tax and how to deduct it.

Though premium for life insurance do not allow for tax deduction in some countries but paying insurance for property and other thing can be tax deductible. Keep all the receipts of premiums so that these can help to reduce tax amount. The cost of labor and materials that are required to maintain machinery or other properties from which you can earn are tax deductible. If you are running your business by taking loan then you can deduct tax. You need to have all the documents regarding loan. People have to calculate some home maintenance cost which can help to minimize the amount of tax.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Tax, Tax deduction, TurboTax

Make Your Peace Corps Application Shine

Not everyone gets into the Peace Corps. It takes some serious credentials to get this prestigious volunteer position. While most applicants are at least interviewed over the phone, not all make it to the invitation. There are some things you can do that will help you stand out, however, and help your application rise above the rest.

Language skills

Skills in Spanish and French are most in demand. The Peace Corps operates in several French and Spanish speaking countries worldwide. Knowledge of Swahili, Russian, Mandarin, or Portuguese will narrow your country choices, but will give you a leg up as a candidate. Formal training or native fluency in the languages is usually necessary for Spanish-speaking countries.

Educational background

If you have a masters degree you’re almost guaranteed a spot in the Peace Corps. Demand for university-level teachers (requiring post-graduate degrees) is high. An undergraduate degree is expected of most candidates, though someone with only a high school diploma with considerable volunteer or specialized experience will be considered.

References

Make sure you get great references. Former volunteer supervisors will count the most. Typically applicants choose college professors or high school teachers to writer their references. The Peace Corps also accepts one reference from a close friend.

Medical/legal background

Don’t worry if you have a health condition – this doesn’t automatically disqualify your application, it only restricts the countries where you can serve. Some health conditions however do disqualify applicants such as being HIV positive. Check with a recruiter before completing your application. If you have any marks on your legal record – misdemeanors, etc – this will impact the Peace Corps’ decision to invite you to serve. To save yourself time, explain your situation to a recruiter and ask their opinion on how your legal background may affect your candidacy.

Filed Under: General, Volunteering Tagged With: Peace, United States, volunteers

Taking a Stand: More Peace Corps

Since 1961 the Peace Corps has been sending volunteers to developing countries for two-year stints to work in education, youth development, agriculture, environment, HIV/AIDS awareness, food security, health, and business development. Since its inception, the number of Peace Corps volunteers has dwindled to nearly half of the number serving in the 1960s. Currently there are roughly 7,000 volunteers. When President John F. Kennedy started the organization he envisioned 100,000 volunteers serving, a far cry from today’s 7,000. The advocacy group, More Peace Corps, brings light to this issue and aims to get government change within the industry. Based on research from numerous interviews with returned Peace Corps volunteers, More Peace Corps set a list of aims for improving the organization.

Bigger

There are several reasons why numbers have dwindled in the past few decades. The long and extremely competitive application process prevents meeting volunteer demand quickly. Also,

More Peace Corps wants to increase the number of volunteers by lowering some of the restrictions on service. For example, since 1961 volunteers have been required to serve two years consecutively. More Peace Corps advocates shorter volunteer terms to encourage people to join. More Peace Corps also calls for the U.S. Government to increase the Peace Corps budget.

Better

One of the Peace Corp’s little-known offshoots is Peace Corps Response, a crisis-response team comprised of former volunteers who serve as need dictates. More Peace Corps wants to open this program to first-time volunteers and increase its funding. Other improvements include a stronger training program.

Bolder

More Peace Corps encourages the general public to help them in their mission to better the Peace Corps. Writing letters to your representative or holding fundraisers are just two ways in which you can get involved. There are state chapters for those looking to volunteer their time telemarketing, distributing flyers, or fundraising.

Filed Under: General, Volunteering Tagged With: John F. Kennedy, Peace, volunteers

Best Ways for Young Professionals to Volunteer

Sometimes it can be tough for young professionals to find ways to volunteer, especially if they’ve recently moved to a new city or started a new job. But don’t despair! Here are three fun and rewarding volunteering opportunities for young professionals.

Join a junior board
Junior boards, sometimes known as associate boards or auxiliary boards, are becoming increasingly common for charities. While most charities are run by the executive board, which is usually comprised of the founders and highest donors, the junior board is an opportunity for young professionals to have a say in the growth of the organization. Junior boards often plan fundraising events, coordinate volunteers for various events, and raise awareness about the charity.
Run for a reason
If you’re athletic, consider getting involved in your city’s next 5k, 10k, or half or full marathon to raise money for your favorite charity. Not only is participating in a run a great way to promote your charity and fundraise, but it’s also an opportunity to meet other philanthropically minded individuals and get in shape. Many charities make it easy to raise money for them by offering personalized webpages to fundraise online; still, even if a charity doesn’t offer this tool, there are many online fundraising websites runners can use to collect donations.
Organize or participate in fundraising parties
Fundraising parties are also incredibly popular among young professionals; they provide the chance to explore the city’s nightlife, meet others, and have a great time, all in the name of charity. They’re also quite easy to organize, as many bars and restaurants will be willing to donate venue space, provide appetizers, or offer discounted beverage packages in exchange for publicity.

These are just three simple ways that young professionals can get involved with charitable organizations. If you’re looking for another way to volunteer, contact local charities to see what they need help with most.

Filed Under: General, Volunteering Tagged With: Fundraiser, Fundraising, Volunteering