Sunday, December 20, 2009

How To Avoid Holiday Scams And Make Your Donations Count: Changing the World One Penny and One Minute at a Time

America is the a lot of “kind and giving” nation on the planet. Last year, Americans gave added than $240 billion to the added than 700,000 charities that accost your donations anniversary year. From the adverse Tsunami that hit the Pacific Rim and Southeast Asia in backward December to the calamity of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, Americans dug abysmal to abutment local, regional, civic and all-embracing abatement efforts. People aswell tend to accord added during the anniversary season, which makes the anniversary aeon a admired ambition of scam-artists, acquisitive to carry your acceptable will for their own egocentric gain.

-- America is the a lot of “kind and giving” nation on the planet. Last year, Americans gave added than $240 billion to the added than 700,000 charities that accost your donations anniversary year. From the adverse Tsunami that hit the Pacific Rim and Southeast Asia in backward December to the calamity of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, Americans dug abysmal to abutment local, regional, civic and all-embracing abatement efforts. People aswell tend to accord added during the anniversary season, which makes the anniversary aeon a admired ambition of scam-artists, acquisitive to carry your acceptable will for their own egocentric gain.

“It pays to be alert if you accomplish your donations,” says Dr. Rhonda Hackett, architect of Nivek, an alignment which has anon helped added than 100,000 humans active in poverty. ”It’s important to be abiding that the money is traveling to a accepted charity, and that a lot of of your dollars wind up in actuality allowance those programs and humans you intend to help.”

Her new book, Making A Difference: Changing the World One Penny and One Minute at a Time, suggests some astute belief in ascertaining the amount of any alms accumulation afore any money is given. She recommends blockage out advantageous websites like the Better Business Bureau (www.give.org), the American Institute of Philanthropy (www.charitywatch.org) which ante a alms on banking achievement and budgetary responsibility, and GuideStar (www.guidestar.org), which facilitates acceptance to advice about the operations and affairs of non-profit organizations.

Among the a lot of important “Do’s & Don’ts,” Dr. Hackett says:

- Never accomplish a donation on the buzz or over the Internet, but appeal a accounting address that includes the group’s allotment advice aural your State of residence, and affidavit of accountability.

- Where a third-party telemarketer is involved, accounting aftereffect is even added important, alternating with a acquaintance amount for the alms accumulation to ascertain the authority of the telemarketing firm.

- Never accommodate acclaim agenda advice over the buzz or online, and never accord cash.

- Be decidedly alert of any declared non-profit with a name that carefully resembles that of a added accustomed charity. That happened broadly with both Tsunami and Katrina abatement efforts.

An important allotment of Dr. Hackett’s bulletin addresses our charge to apprehend that millions of American accouchement are hungry; bags of men, women and accouchement are abandoned and active on the street; and added families are active in abjection than at any time in our history.

“To accomplish accurate change, we have to crop affliction of those in our own backyards first,” she emphasizes. “Helping others brings abundant added to your activity than you could anytime accord in dollars alone. There are bargain and able means anniversary of us can help, starting with an online seek of the assorted types and names of amusing account agencies in your community.”

Dr. Hackett again suggests allotment one or added groups that badly charge every bit of advice imaginable. Included are: Helping seniors active in poverty; extensive out to the homeless; agriculture the athirst through soup kitchens, aliment pantries and sandwich lines; animated your ablaze at low-income day-care centers and schools; and affair the appropriate needs of women and accouchement residing in calm abandon shelters.

“Each one of us can advice in abounding ways,” she says. “Everyone should accept their own abundant ‘Make a Difference’ plan. This will advice you accept your ‘need,’ and ultimately advance you to actualize the claimed success and achievement you crave apropos your abode in the world, and ultimately against authoritative a aberration in your community--your world--that is able-bodied placed and successful.”

For a analysis archetype of the book or to set up an account with Dr. Rhonda Hackett for a story, amuse acquaintance Jay Wilke at 727-443-7115, ext. 223

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