(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Giving Tuesday with Poll [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-11-28 I hate shopping. Black Friday fighting over toys. Cyber Monday selfish consumerism. Yuck. I still wear my clothes from the 1980s, and I regret much of what I purchase. But Giving Tuesday seems like a good idea. Today, by the way. We all have other things to do today, but picking a charity and sending a few dollars both does good and feels good. If you are a confused young person who believes that ‘virtue signaling’ is worse than actually doing evil, then you can simply donate and not tell anyone. (And you’re wrong, because you should encourage others to follow your example and donate too). This may seem really basic and simple, but I learned that not everyone knows how to give to charity or worthy causes. First, you can donate to this site by purchasing a subscription. Just create an account or log in and look for ‘subscribe to hide ads’. You can also gift a subscription. If you want to give more, you can send a check or donate via ActBlue. Info is here. DailyKos is simply the best blog to stay informed about and connected to the reality based community. Second, you can donate to the Democratic Party, Joe Biden’s re-election campaign or to any number of specific candidates. One way is to find the Democratic Party in your state and go from there. If you don’t want to end up in a Tr*mp Gulag, you might want to consider giving earlier and more than usual. Third, you should give in a tax smart way. Political donations, like those above, are not tax deductible. Nor is giving money to go fund me, pan-handlers, lending to your brother who never pays you back, internet scammers, my own blog, or buying Girl Scout cookies to eat. If you donate to an actual charity, you are helping make the world a better place, and you deserve a tax deduction. Every year, I donate items that I don’t use (and regret buying) to Goodwill. Please don’t give them trash, broken things, dirty clothes with holes in them, etc. Look up what they will take before you begin. Generally, they want things that are easily sold, as they also employ many people in need of jobs. They will give you receipts to fill out based on fair market value, and tax software, Goodwill and other sites will help you estimate. Research your charity. GuideStar, Charity Navigator and Charity Watch are three sites that will confirm that a charity is reliable, effective and actually doing what you expect. Even overseas, you can find similar 3rd party charity ratings sites. You can confirm their physical address, read more about them, and get their charitable tax id which you will need for your tax deduction. Often, I’ve found myself looking for one charity and winding up donating to another one that does more with less. Some fortunate people can set up a charitable fund with their bank or brokerage. Why? You may have bought or inherited some stock years ago, and if you’re lucky, it may have become valuable. You could sell it, but you would end up paying taxes on the gains. If you set up a charitable fund, you can donate the appreciated stock, get a tax deduction for the full amount, and then donate the cash equivalent from the fund. Another reason to set up a fund is to take a big deduction in a windfall year but spread out your donations over years when you owe less taxes. Of course, once you donate to your fund, you can’t take the money back. For the truly forward thinking, you can leave money in your will. Many universities will help you set up a bequest. But research the tax benefits to your estate, if any. Folks here are very generous, but you need to do your due diligence. If someone here you don’t really know asks you to send money to a friend of theirs to help them out of trouble, please consider whether your money might do more good in the hands of a registered charity with a tax deductible id. Don’t be gullible. (Did you know that the word ‘gullible’ isn’t in the dictionary?) I have been charitably defrauded. I used to give money to a pan handler regularly, who always looked me in the eye and explained what he needed the money for. Nicest guy you can imagine. Also, I happened to see him and his girlfriend drinking out of empties behind a bar at night and once he approached me high as a kite. When I was very much down on my luck, my neighbor used to cook me meals around the holidays. I gave him cash. Then I realized that he was lying to my face and getting the cooked meals for free from a local charity. He also tried to sell his SNAP food assistance to me, which is not allowed. I could go on, but I’m embarrassed to admit the worst cases. In my defense, I’ve learned to be more disciplined about my giving. When someone describes a charitable need, I look for a registered charity that has a proven track record helping people in those circumstances and give to them instead. The only times I give to a go fund me campaign is when I actually know the fundraiser personally. Anyways, I hope this helps. I hope you donate to a worthy charity for a well-deserved tax deduction. And I hope you share your tips and suggestions in the comments. Thanks. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/28/2208483/-Giving-Tuesday-with-Poll?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/