Saturday, June 25, 2011

Donations to Charities

There are thousands of wonderful charities doing amazing things. This post isn't to pass any comment about charities and how deserving they are of contributions. The purpose is to highlight some issues facing the elderly and offer some solutions.

Problem #1
The frequency of repeat requests for donations from the same organization is one problem people encounter. Before you realize it, you've given donations to the same charity multiple times in the same year. Obviously you wanted to give money to this organization in the first place, but you may not have wanted to give four times in one year.
Solution
Track your contributions. Not only will it come in handy when it comes to tax time, it will keep you from making unintended multiple contributions. For those that use one of the personal finance software programs such as Quicken, it's easy. If you aren't a computer user, keep a file with the acknowledgements, receipts or just a note from yourself. Then, check that file before sending in additional money.

Problem #2
It seems that once a contribution to an organization is made, the amount of requests from different organizations increases exponentially. Mailing lists are shared and/or sold resulting in getting swamped with mail. It can become especially overwhelming to the elderly. One elderly client of mine read each one of these requests, took them all to heart, and made donations to each. Not only did it start to have an impact on his finances, he began to have to take a tote bag to his mailbox in order to get his mail back to his apartment.
Solution
Each person needs to decide where their charitable dollars will be allocated. One idea is to pick one medical, one religious and one social organization. As difficult as it may be to do, any solicitations from other organizations are ignored.

Problem #3
An organization sends you something - a calendar, an address, book, some note cards-and then a week or so later you get a bill in the mail. You didn't order it and had thought it was a gift because you made a contribution. Now, either you have to pay for it, or figure out how to mail it back.
Solution
This is a way for an organization to make additional money. They get the items in bulk so the whole thing costs them almost nothing over and above the postage. You have a choice to make. Do you want to keep the item? If you do, you have to pay for it even though you didn't order it. If you don't and still have the box or envelope, return it by writing 'Return to Sender Did Not Order' on the outside and give it back to the mailman. If you don't have the mailing paraphernalia, you'll need to pack it up yourself. The next time one of these items comes in the mail, you'll recognize it, not open it, and give it right back to the mailman.

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