DONATION LOCATIONS

A Donor's Guide to Car Donations Part-1

2006-06-08T18:58:00.000-07:00

The IRS recently issued Publication 4303 "A Donor's Guide to Car Donations" which offers advice to anyone considering donating their unwanted car to charity. "We're very happy the IRS has finally issued these guidelines," says Karen Campese, President and CEO of cars4charities, a nationwide car donation center. "They answer many of the questions potential car donors ask us."

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The IRS issues: A Donor's Guide to Car Donations Part-6

2006-06-07T18:02:00.000-07:00

"Ask questions," you should be comfortable with the charity you are donating your car to. If they are not willing or able to address all your concerns, go somewhere else.
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The IRS issues: A Donor's Guide to Car Donations Part-5

2006-06-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

4. Make sure the charity you donate to provides you with all necessary tax receipts.

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The IRS issues: A Donor's Guide to Car Donations Part-4

2006-06-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

3. Be honest in determining the value of your car. Only the fair market value can be deducted. This is usually not the same as the "high blue book value". If the fair market value exceeds $5,000, you must have a written appraisal.

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The IRS issues: A Donor's Guide to Car Donations Part-3

2006-06-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

2. Make sure you will receive a tax benefit. To claim your deduction, you must itemize on your federal tax return. In addition, there are certain limitations on charitable contribution deductions. Check with your tax advisor or the IRS for details.

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The IRS issues: A Donor's Guide to Car Donations Part-2

2006-06-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

Before donating your car, the guidelines recommend you;

1. Make sure you donate your car to a qualified organization. Not all charities are alike. Donating to a 501 (c)(3) public charity will ensure that your donation will be deductible.

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The IRS issues: A Donor's Guide to Car Donations Part-1

2006-06-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

Technology Strategy: Decision Making for Nonprofit Boards Part-8

2006-05-31T19:40:00.000-07:00

Depending on your operations, there are other technologies that might be appropriate for you to consider as you plan your future strategy and investments. These could include handheld devices and laptops if you have employees who are often out of the office. Voice recognition software can be used for dictation by disabled staff, or those who are really not comfortable with keyboards. For larger organizations, virtual private networks may be appropriate for file sharing and synchronized database maintenance.

Whatever your size, use the strategic and prioritizing "What's the One Thing . . .?" questions that I listed above, together with your estimation of current inefficiencies in staff time and resources to come up with a wish list. Then you can start to analyze the potential investments that you need to make, and the potential savings or revenue that you can realize in the longer term.

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How to Do Well by Doing Good: Generating Traffic And Profits Through Charity Projects And Community Involvement Part-7

2006-05-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

And don't forget to look for opportunities to pre-
publicize your event, especially on radio talk shows.

Fundraisers and events that benefit the community
amount to a win-win-win situation. Obviously, the
charity gets money and attention to their cause, the
station or newspaper gets points for its community
spirit, and you get publicity that would have cost you
thousands of dollars if you had to pay for it.

"Remember, do good and you'll always do well."

It's true in life. It's especially true when you want
to get free publicity in the media.
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How to Do Well by Doing Good: Generating Traffic And Profits Through Charity Projects And Community Involvement Part-6

2006-05-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

So, when you want to generate new traffic or more
traffic to your business or web site, consider hosting
a fundraiser for a charity or community organization.
Let the media know you're involved through a news
release. It's often a good idea to ask a high profile
person from the media to be your honorary chairperson.

Also, if possible, offer the media a story about
someone who has benefited from the charity. If you can
"humanize" the work the charity is doing, "put a human
face on it" so to speak, your chances of getting
coverage (that is, publicity), will skyrocket.

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How to Do Well by Doing Good: Generating Traffic And Profits Through Charity Projects And Community Involvement Part-5

2006-05-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

4. For the most part (there are exceptions), they're
good-hearted people who WANT to help others.

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How to Do Well by Doing Good: Generating Traffic And Profits Through Charity Projects And Community Involvement Part-4

2006-05-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

3. In the case of radio and TV stations, they MUST show
that they're serving the community. Otherwise, their
FCC license would be in jeopardy.

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How to Do Well by Doing Good: Generating Traffic And Profits Through Charity Projects And Community Involvement Part-3

2006-05-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

2. It's in their best interest to build goodwill by
taking part in community events.

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How to Do Well by Doing Good: Generating Traffic And Profits Through Charity Projects And Community Involvement Part-2

2006-05-25T20:05:00.000-07:00

Charity events and stories about community involvement
appeal to the media for a couple of reasons.

1. They're very sensitive to criticism that "You only
want to show bad news," and will make every effort to
show uplifting, positive stories whenever possible.

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How to Do Well by Doing Good: Generating Traffic And Profits Through Charity Projects And Community Involvement Part-1

2006-05-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

You've heard the saying a gazillion times:

"Charity begins at home."

But in this age of mass media, charity that begins at
home can also proceed straight to your bottom line--by
generating traffic to your web site or your business.

And best of all, the mass media--especially the news
media-- are ready, willing, and more than able to
partner with you.

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Technology Strategy: Decision Making for Nonprofit Boards Part-8

2006-05-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

Technology Strategy: Decision Making for Nonprofit Boards Part-7

2006-05-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

A great deal of Board business can be conducted via e-mail. This may not include actual voting (check your by-laws and legal obligations for this). But much of the background information that is provided at a typical Board meeting could be disseminated by e-mail ahead of time, thus freeing up valuable meeting time for substantive discussion.

How effective is your Website in promoting and achieving your strategy? An intranet (password protected area) can be very useful if you have staff or chapters geographically distant from your head office. It can provide training materials, mentoring discussion boards, templates for frequently used documents, etc. And, you can have a private section of your site for your Board, as an alternative to sending information via e-mail.

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Technology Strategy: Decision Making for Nonprofit Boards Part-6

2006-05-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

2. Having clear e-mail usage procedures. Sometimes it is preferable to use direct personal contact such as telephone or letters instead of e-mail - for instance, when responding to complaints, or thanking donors for gifts.

But your staff should be clear and comfortable about using e-mail to save time and resources. Sending bulk e-mail from a good database is faster and cheaper than sending bulk faxes. One association that I consulted with recently linked their staff bonuses directly to savings realized from using e-mail over fax.

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Technology Strategy: Decision Making for Nonprofit Boards Part-5

2006-05-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

Are you using e-mail as effectively as you could? There are two elements to successful implementation of e-mail:

1. Maintaining a comprehensive database of all the contacts that your organization has, including appropriate details of your dealings with each one.

This allows you to create personalized, targeted and timely e-mail messages that you can send to selected recipients, such as:

* News updates about your organization

* Special events, discount purchase offers

* Legislative alerts and tracking notices

* Fundraising appeals

* Membership renewal reminders

Of course, you should include and adhere to a privacy policy whenever using e-mail, and you must honor requests to be removed from your mailing list.

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Technology Strategy: Decision Making for Nonprofit Boards Part-4

2006-05-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

Look at the procedures that are currently absorbing staff time and resources. Is there potential to streamline these, or to recreate them in a way that would be more cost-effective?

For example, many organizations produce small informational leaflets, brief white papers, or regularly updated research findings. These are sold for a few dollars, which may not cover the true cost of printing, mailing, and check or credit card processing.

An alternative is to provide these as downloadable e-books on your Website. When the buyer enters their credit card, they gain instant access to your materials in whatever format you choose - Adobe Acrobat (pdf), Word, html, etc. Once this system is set up, you should have few maintenance or support issues, and you're in business on a 24/7 basis. You can change the documents whenever you need to, without leaving stocks of outdated print copies.

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Technology Strategy: Decision Making for Nonprofit Boards Part-3

2006-05-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

I like to use "What's the One Thing" questions for this process to help you focus and prioritize:

* What's the One Thing that you're currently doing that is most valued by your constituents? (i.e. Board, members, funders, staff, the general public . . .)

* What's the One Thing that you currently don't do that your constituents wish that you would?

* What's the One Thing that would give you maximum competitive advantage? (or fundraising edge, or
whatever is your most burning need . . .)

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Technology Strategy: Decision Making for Nonprofit Boards Part-2

2006-05-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

So, how should your Board of Directors and / or your Technology Committee approach technology planning and investment?

One technique is to start out with a "blue-sky" session. First, take an inventory of the capabilities that you currently have, what's working in your operations, and your limitations and frustrations. Then, without consideration of constraints such as cost or staff resources, list the things that you should ideally be able to do.

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Technology Strategy: Decision Making for Nonprofit Boards Part-1

2006-05-10T19:29:00.000-07:00

Many nonprofit organizations struggle, quite understandably, with technology planning and investment. New computers, sophisticated Websites and database systems can be expensive. Staff members may be resistant to change and to learning new applications.

But, to quote a famous saying from my homeland: "penny wise can be pound foolish". Sound and well-thought out purchases in the short term have the potential to save significant resources in the medium to long term.

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A Donor's Guide to Car Donations Part-5

2006-05-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

4. Make sure the charity you donate to provides you with all necessary tax receipts.

"Ask questions, you should be comfortable with the charity you are donating your car to. If they are not willing or able to address all your concerns, go somewhere else."

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A Donor's Guide to Car Donations Part-4

2006-05-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

A Donor's Guide to Car Donations Part-3

2006-05-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

A Donor's Guide to Car Donations Part-2

2006-05-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

A Donor's Guide to Car Donations Part-1

2006-05-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

Youthtec . org

2006-05-01T17:16:00.000-07:00

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We need YOUR help to continue this important work! You can support Youthtec with cash, check, credit card, autos, real estate, or computers)
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