Never mind all the viral videos of Black Friday fisticuffs in Aisle 5.
This is still the season that brings out the best in most of us.
In fact, 30 percent of the projected $300 billion in total annual donations to charities are made during December — and 10 percent, or $30 billion, come during the year’s last 48 hours.
For all the handwringing about crass commercialization of the holiday season, millions of Americans are still eager to financially help those who help others.
Eileen Heisman, CEO of the National Philanthropic Trust (which provides “philanthropic expertise to donors”), explained, “Americans’ tendency to wait until the last minute, coupled with the warm, fuzzy feeling you have during the holidays, create the perfect storm of American giving patterns.”
Well, sure. But there is also a less starry-eyed factor in the year-end surge in philanthropy: taxes. Dec. 31, of course, is your deadline to maximize your tax deductions for this year.
But due diligence is as vital in charitable giving as it is in any other part of your financial life.
To be sure to get the full fiscal benefit of a tax deduction (and, of course, know that your hard-earned cash will be put to good use), certified financial planner Joel Isaacson suggests “selecting two or three recognized 501(c)(3) charitable organizations that you have an intimate knowledge of and making the donation on your credit card so that you’re able to show you were charged before the 31st.”
Heisman advises against giving to street-corner solicitors, some of whom create false charities and lever out the dollars by claiming to solicit on behalf of cancer research, veterans or wish-fulfillment for sick kids.
Instead, make sure the organization’s background checks out, that it is IRS-certified as a charitable organization and that it has produced results in its selected cause.