Recently in Charities Category

If you donate to charity, remember to group your donations into one tax year. So instead of giving say, $100 each year to charity, give $200 every other year.

Bundling your charitable donations into one year maximizes the tax impact, and is especially useful if you itemize your taxes. If it is a donation year for Hubby and I, we give in January and December. That way it still feels like we are giving once a year.

For a primer on donation rules, read tips from Charity Navigator, a non-profit that evaluates charities.

Get 50% off already discounted gift certificates at Restaurant.com now until Sunday, October 12, 2008. Use coupon code DISCOVER when checking out. Not sure if it is case sensitive.

With the discount, a $25 certificate that normally sells for $10 is reduced to $5. Pay attention to redemption rules before you purchase because each restaurant has different rules about days and times the certificates can be redeemed. They usually have minimum purchase requirements and exclusions. So don't say I didn't warn you!

Caveats: cannot be combined with any other discount, rebate or promotion. Cannot be applied retroactively.

A great way to help others fill their bellies without spending a dime, though it requires some time, is to pick fruit from trees in your backyard and donate them to a local food pantry. That's exactly what Natasha Boissier does, according to a recent story in the NY Times.

The story explains how Boissier expanded her idea into North Berkeley Harvest, a group of "fruit philanthropists" that make sure their home grown food does not rot on the ground.

"There was all this fruit going to waste," she said of the apples, pears and plums in her midst. "It seemed like such a natural way to deal with hunger."

Not a bad idea when in this tight economy food pantries are suffering. In Los Angeles the LA Food Bank is accepting donations. Or you can use this page at Feed America to find a food pantry near you.

Ahhh, there's nothing like exploring a well-stocked library. Just being among so many books seems to make you smarter. You can ensure your local public or school library has funds to operate and offer special programs by supporting the American Library Association. It's mission is “to provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.” Read about ways to donate. Financials from the charity info source JustGive.org show the ALA spends 88 percent of tax-deductible contributions on services.

I've really been slacking on my "daily" charity posts. I'm four behind! So here's a quick quartet of good causes. Donations for all four are tax deductible.

Special Olympics helps disabiled kids get physically fit and compete in 30 differet sports, like judo, skiing, and ice skating. Read about ways to donate, including giving miles to athletes who need to travel to a competition.

The Box Project tries to alleivate rural poverty through matching families up. Sponsor families have direct contact with the folks they are helping (a big difference from most charities) and send a box with supplies about once a month. Boxes can contain food, clothing and supplies. Read about how you can get involved. Donations are tax deductible.

The legacy of the boy who refused to grow up lives on at the Peter Pan Children's Fund. The fund uses the example of Sir James Barrie, who in 1929 gave the Peter Pan copyright to a children's hospital in London, to encourage others to support children's hospitals. Make a donation here.

The LA chapter of United Cerebral Palsy Spastic Children's Foundation is in the Valley. The chapter was founded in 1945 by parents who wanted community-based services for their children with disabilities when there were not a lot of options. Today the chapter helps more than 1,000 children and adults with disabilities. Check their list of resources or donate.

Homelessness is a problem we all see everyday. Well, maybe not that often in the West Valley (though there are a few guys who gather near the Woodland Hills post office), but regularly. The National Alliance to End Homelessness is dedicated to "solving the problem of homelessness and to preventing its continued growth." According to JustGive.org the non-profit spends 92-cents of every dollar donated on services. Pretty good record. Read about what you can do to support them.

File this under coziest charity. Through Project Linus you can give a new, handmade and washable blanket as a gift to seriously ill and traumatized children. In 2006 the organization donated more than 1.9 million blankets to needy kids. Doesn't that make you want to snuggle? Project Lunis is 100% volunteer and a non-profit so your donation is tax deductible. Find a chapter near you. Project Linus also accepts homemade blankets and some chapters may even accept scraps (for all the quilters out there). One of the things I like best about this charity is that because it is all volunteer 98-cents of every dollar donated goes directly to services. Amazing!

Here's a charity that helps fill the bellies of kids across the country and abroad. I know I love it when my belly is pleasantly full, so just imagine that feeling multiplied by the number of kids you help! Feed the Children: Kid's Stuff USA distributes food and supplies that you package in an old shoe box to needy families. Decorate the box and fill it with these suggested treats and supplies: stuffed animals, balls, books, games, puzzles, dolls, toy cars, shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, gloves and hats.

On top of each box, put a sticky with one of the following labels so they know the age/gender the box is appropriate for: "Tiny Blessings Box," "Kid's School Days Box," or "Kid's Holiday Box," plus mark whether it's for a boy or girl and a target age. Read the full instructions on how to prepare your box.

Last year the 28-year old nonprofit organization shipped 129 million pounds of food and other items to children and families to all 50 United States and to 43 foreign countries. Send your box to: Feed The Children's, Kid's Stuff USA, 29 N. McCormick, Oklahoma City, OK 73127. To cover the cost of mailing your box into the needy family, slip a fiver in the package. Got questions? Email kids.stuff@feedthechildren.org.

Gift giving for animals has skyrocketed in recent years, so I'm betting many pet owners (or pet guardians as they call them in West Hollywood) give to organizations like the American Humane Association that benefit furry critters. AHA is much smaller than the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but its spending record is a tad better. The ASPCA spends 76.8 percent of donations on services while the AHA spends 79.7 percent. Read more about the AHA or find out ways to donate.

I really screwed up. Last week I forgot to write about a charity Thursday, then my day off Friday I also slipped up. To help me remember I put a sticky on my computer and to make up for past lapses I'll write about three charities today. First up is the Family Violence Prevention Fund, which helps combat domestic violence around the county. The org has been around since 1980 and spends 86 percent of contributions on services and 14 percent on administration and other expenses. Read all about there on JustGive.org, which lets you search for charities by topic, region and other factors.

Second up is Girls Inc, a group I know first hand because my sister worked for them tutoring second grade girls. I visited her class once and was struck by how Girls Inc trained her to react to the girls in a positive light, encouraging their strengths and instilling them with the people skills and confidence to grow into strong women. (Or maybe it was just my rockin' sister. Probably some combination thereof.) The Girls Inc. mission is to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Read their background.info on JustGive.org here, which includes stats that.the org spends 80 cents of every dollar on services, and 20 cents on administration and other costs.

Last but not least is the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which "brings together over 1,400 humanitarian, peace, disability, veterans, medical, development and other groups of all kinds in over 90 countries who work locally, nationally, regionally, and internationally to ban antipersonnel landmines," according to JustGive.org. The group spends 81 percent of each donation on services and 19 percent on administration. You can read about landmine history and soluctions here.

Ding a ling, ding ding a ling. How could I forget that familiar sound of the holidays? The Salvation Army bell ringers politely reminding you as you go about your shopping that the less fortunate have things on their wish list, too. The coins and bills you slip into the red kettle goes to services like youth programs, homeless shelters, adult rehabilitation, social services, emergency disaster relief, and prison rehabilitation. The Web site says more than 80-cents of every dollar you donate goes to services and donations are tax deductible. Read about ways to donate.

Here's a fun story about how receiving a pair of brown shoes from the Salvation Army as a boy stayed with Ed Nelson.

Yikes! I forgot to blog about a charity yesterday so I'll make up for that oversight by writing about two today. First up is Catholic Charities LA, which helps those in need through a variety of services like job training, crisis counseling, immigration services, a homeless shelter for youth, childcare, community thrift stores and case management for the elderly. Give to this charity and you know you are helping your neighbor. Read about how you can help, including how to earmark your donataion for local fire victims. According to the site, 90 cents of every dollar you donate goes to services, with 10 cents going to administration and fundraising. Read more about the organization here. Donations are tax deductible.

Second up is Amnesty International, the Nobel Peace Prize winning human rights organization. Their issues include AIDS/HIV, Darfur, children's rights, conflict diamonds, international arms trade, refugees, torture, and others. They have a long list of things you can do in addition to donating. Getting involved makes you realize how cruel and sad the world is, but it can also relieve suffering. Read their mission statement here. Donations are tax deductible.

Helps kids learn by buying them the classroom supplies they need through Donorschoose.org, a charity that matches teacher requests with "citizen philanthropists." You can search for requests by subject, cost to complete, grade, type of resource, region or type of school.

A science teacher at John Burroughs Middle School in Los Angeles made this request for an LCD projector. "In the classroom, it's never enough for a teacher to stand in front of the room and go over content. Number one, students don't want to hear us go on all period- they want to see stuff, cool stuff! Secondly, we all have different styles of learning and its only fair to provide images to those who learn visually. Help me to bring Jupiter, Betelgeuse, and Antares into my room. You'll allow me to provide images to my students that they'll never forget! "

Read the specifics of how it works here. Donations are tax deductible and you can partially fulfill teacher requests with whatever size donation you wish..Thanks, Liz!

Today's charity de jour is Children of the Night, a group in Van Nuys that helps child prostitutes regain their lives. The privately funded non-profit was started in 1979 by Lois Lee, a scholar and social policy expert who also trains detectives at the LAPD's police academy in how to detect, treat, and rescue children involved in prostitution. The organization's Web site has information about making a donation, including a breakdown of where the money goes. You can also make a donation of clothing or toiletries by looking at their wish list. Read FAQ's about child prostitution here. Contributions are tax deductible. They are at 14530 Sylvan St. in Van Nuys. (818) 908-4474.

A reader gave me a heads up about Free Wheelchair Mission, which gives a new wheelchair to poor disabled people in developing countries for $48.35 each. They don't distribute chairs in the US because the liability insurance is so high, whereas it costs them just a few thousand dollars abroad. Their stated mission is to "transform lives through the gift of mobility to the physically disabled poor in developing countries as motivated by Jesus Christ.” A mechanical engineer named Don Schoendorfer designed the cheap, durable chair after seeing a crippled woman crawling through the dirt in Morocco in 1999. Donations are tax deductible. Thanks, Geri!

I'm going to feature one charity on the blog every weekday for the month of December, when a lot of folks make donations. Giving to charity may not be a "bargain" by many definitions, but giving to the less fortunate certainly makes the world a better place.

I'll start with my favorite charity, Heifer International, which lets you "buy" goats, chicks, or a cow for poor people, who sell the animals' milk, eggs, or wool. The animals range from $20 for a flock of chicks to $500 for a dairy cow. You can also buy a "share" of an animal for $10. Read their catalog here.

Heifer was started in 1944 by a midwestern farmer who handed out milk rations during the Spanish Civil War and realized the hungry children didn’t need a cup to drink, they needed a cow. Read more about Heifer's origins here, and their mission statement here.