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Information on Charitable Gifts |
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A gift may seem like a small token of kindness to you but to the minds of the receiver, it can mean so much more. According to a study carried out by the CNN, it appears that in most-cause related marketing; about 90% of the donations elude the charities altogether. So you need to be sure that whatever you are gifting reaches the intended recipient and will not be broken down or compromised in any way.
- Buy, but with care
There are many products out there that represent and draw attention to causes. Some may be worthy purchases and some may not be so. Here are some well-known examples of such gifts:
- New Orleans Food Cookbook- helping in recovery efforts in New Orleans
- Red 4-GB iPod Nano- proceeds contribute to fighting AIDS and hunger in Africa
- Giant’s Women’s NFL Women’s Pink Ribbon Hoodies from Reebok- for breast cancer awareness
What you need to figure out is just what percentage of the money you spend will ultimately reach the charity. It’s not mandatory for companies to issue such figures and percentages or for the charities to disclose how much they actually received from the sales of a certain product. But if a company is sincere in its effort, if should not have a problem in providing such information and allowing you to confirm such figures elsewhere. Your best bet is to find out the charities involved and inquire the facts and figures from them.
We should not assume that companies that carry out extravagant launchings and ostentatious marketing campaigns are doing anything extraordinary. For all we know, they may be spending more money on the marketing and advertising aspects than on the charity itself. Learn to separate the real from the fake. For instance, it’s easy to copy logos and pass on a product as the real thing. Informative sites like thinkbeforeyoupink.com can help you to be vigilant.
- Don’t fall for affinity cards
Think of a credit card that donates a fraction of the price you paid using it, to a particular establishment dealing with charity. This is what the affinity card stands for. The catch? Even if these cards are affiliated with well known charities like the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), their interest rates are so high and the charity only gets about 1 percent of the purchase amount. It makes more sense to take a general rebate card and to send the rebate (usually around 5%) to the cause you care about.
- Charities online
As with everything, charities too have their websites and provide a lot of opportunities for you to get involved. Some sites like charitablegiftgiving.com search websites for worthy products. You may prefer to the websites hosted by a specific charity and check out the gifts that can be bought online.
- Charitable gift funds
Companies such as Fidelity Investments, Vanguard Group hold funds which are marked for charities. When you open an account and make contributions, they can directly be donated to a charity of your choice, in part or whole. You enjoy immediate tax deductions with such funds. |
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