Today, there are many charitable nonprofit foundations formed to help vulnerable children across the world. The charities can’t run smoothly without donations and other support from beautiful people like you. Children’s charity foundations reflect society’s heart, sacrifice, and hope. Donating to the cause of children’s aid foundations will reward you in several ways. For instance, you will feel good having participated in something bigger that gives hope to those who without your help would have no hope..

Making donations is also a good way of teaching your children the importance of generosity. You don’t have to be rich to donate to a cause in which you believe in and care. Here is how you can make your donations to children’s charities.

MAXIMIZING THE IMPACT OF YOUR DONATION: DONATE IN POORER COUNTRIES:

If you want to maximize the impact of your donation per person, give to charities that work in poorer countries. For example, the Teach Them To Fish Foundation builds schools in Cambodia and builds schools in Uganda. In Cambodia and Uganda, the cost of building a primary school in Cambodia Uganda is a fraction of the cost of building a school in western countries Even a pair of shoes only cost around $2.00. School supplies are cheap, too. Approximately $50 will provide school supplies for a child for a year. Approximately $45.00 will feed a family of four for a month.

The Teach Them To Fish Foundation has made a meaningful global impact record. We have constructed eight school buildings in Uganda and Cambodia and taken over others in situ, educating over 4,000 students annually. We have helped to save thousands of girls from human trafficking and fed over 100,000 children. According to UNICEF, we enabled more than 100,000 children to continue their education, provided over 650,000 individuals with food and clean water, and restored 150 healthcare facilities damaged during natural disasters.

IF YOU WANT TO DONATE IN THE UNITED STATES:

The Teach Them To Fish Foundation also works with the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation leaders to offer Native American children suicide prevention programs, educational support, and advanced education opportunities.

We provide food, clothing, winter coats, and shoes. We helped renovate the Bear Cave, a safe house where children may go when they might find themselves at risk for suicide, physical abuse, and homelessness. According to the Bear Project, we have saved more than 4,700 children’s lives.

Last year, we finalized a new program where we pair Native American students with St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. We raised millions of dollars so the children’s tuition, room, board, clothing, transportation, and family visits to St. Paul’s will be free of charge.

WAYS TO DONATE TO A CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE:

• CASH: Making contributions by check are common. As long as you have money, this donation idea is fast and convenient. You are also able to support the charity without worrying about tax liability. You have a ready record of your donation, your cancelled check. Also, most charities, like the Teach Them To Fish Foundation, will send you a Donor Substantiation Letter immediately by email verifying the amount of your donation and notifying you and the IRS that no good or services were exchanged for your contribution, making 100% of your donations tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.

• ATTENDING A FUNDRAISER EVENT: Charitable giving should be an activity full of fun and happiness. Attending enjoyable events to raise money for the charity of your choice is a way of having fun while donating. Think about events like fun runs or walks, dinner dances, sporting events, and silent or live auctions. Such events will also connect you with friends and relieve you from unnecessary psychological issues like stress.

• GIVE ONLINE: Most charities, like the Teach Them To Fish Foundation, have websites that accept online donations. For example, we offer a number of ways of making online donations.

a.      PayPal: PayPal allows you to donate using your personal or business PayPal account or using your personal or business credit cards. This is a fast, easy, and safe way to make a donation, PayPal also sends you its donation receipt. We, at the Teach Them To Fish Foundation, automatically transmit a Donor Substantiation Letter evidencing your donation upon PayPal’s notification to our secure servers. The downside is PayPal charges a transaction fee. The Teach Them To Fish Foundation, however, offers donors the option to pay the transaction fee for the charity.

b.     PayPal Giving Fund: PayPal Giving Funds allows you to use your PayPal account to make a donation to verified charities, like the Teach Them To Fish Foundation, without charging you a processing fee. However, PayPal Giving Fund does charge the charity 1.99% of your donation.

c.      Credit Cards: Using your credit card allows you to make online donations and gives you a record of your donation. Again, most charities, including the Teach Them To Fish Foundation, will automatically send you’re a Donor Substantiation Letter concurrent upon your credit card charge. You will also receive reward points. Perhaps the biggest downside to your using your credit card is credit card companies charge the charities transactions fees. Again, the Teach Them To Fish Foundation offers the donors the option to pay the transaction fee for the charity.

d. Text-To-Give: While most charities do not offer this option, we give donors the option to use their smartphone to make a donation by simply calling our text-to-give telephone number: 202-952-2877 and making a donation safe and securely direct from your telephone. You cannot get more simple than that.

• CROWDFUNDING: Crowdfunding is becoming common as the internet continues to grow.. Online giving is a form of crowdfunding encouraged by many charity foundations. Online giving is a convenient option for people who don’t like attending fundraiser events. There appears to be a number of downsides. There are so many people using Crowdfunds, charites get lost in the crowd. Also, we have heard anecdotal stories that there are fraudsters claiming to be children’s aid foundations. So, if you use Crowdfunding, take time to verify the reputation of any charity group you meet online. A legit charity, like the Teach Them To Fish Foundation will provide their Employer Identification Numbers (EIDs), be registered with IRS, and provide donation tax receipts.

• ESTATE PLANNING:

a.      Last Will & Testament: The IRS issued a Determination Letter to the Teach Them To Fish Foundation that allows us to receive a bequest of property or money through your Last Will & Testament. When you create your Last Will & Testament, designate the Teach Them To Fish Foundation as a beneficiary of your asset and assign us a gift. Be sure to let us know that you thought of us in your estate plans. Gifts to qualifying charities like the Teach The To Fish Foundation are exempt from inheritance taxes to the extent permitted by law.

b.     Living Trust: Gifts left to a charity from a revocable living trust at the donor’s death generally qualify for federal estate tax charitable deductions under Section 2055 of the Internal Revenue Code because the amounts are included in the donor’s gross estate and considered transferrable to the charity by the donor.

c.     Charitable Gift Annuity: A charitable gift annuity is a contract between a donor and a charity that allows the donor to make a gift to the charity using cash, securities, or other possible assets. In return, the donor becomes eligible to take a partial tax deduction for the donation, plus the donor receives a fixed stream of income from the charity for the rest of the donor’s life.

In its simplest forms, a charitable gift annuity works like this. The gift is set aside in a reserve account and invested. Based upon the donor’s age at the time of the gift, the donor will receive a fixed monthly or quarterly payout for the rest of the donor’s life. At the end of the donor’s life, the charity receives the remainder of the gift. The minimum gifts for establishing a charitable gift annuity may be as low as $5,000 but are often much larger.

d.     A Donor Advised Fund (“DAF”): A DAF is an estate planning vehicle. It is a separate fund, usually in the donor’s name established at a public charity or investment institution. The donor or the donor’s family serves as advisors to the public charity about where the proceeds from the charitable grants are distributed. There are a number of advantages to the DAF. There is not any cost to the donor to set up the DAF. It is easy to set up. There are no separate IRS exemption applications. The DAF is established by a simple agreement with the public charity. DAFs are easy to maintain. There are minimal ongoing annual administration costs. The donor is not required to file separate tax returns or annual taxes. Investments are provided by the sponsoring charity, often with the advice of the donor. There is a lower minimum investment. The sponsoring public charity has extensive knowledge of potential grantees. The sponsor provides education and resources about effective grantmaking. Members of the donor’s family may be fund advisors. The grants may be anonymous. There are a number of tax advantages to the donor, too. Donors get a current income tax deduction for the gift to the public charity. For cash donations to the DAF, the amount is up to 50% of the donor’s adjusted Gross Income or AGI. The donor is able to deduct the appreciated value or fair market value of the assets up to 30% of the donor’s AGI. There is a five-year carry forward. There are also disadvantages to a DAF. The donor cannot make grants to individuals in need. The donor cannot receive reimbursement for fundraising activities. The DAF often ends after one or two generations.

CAVEAT: Of course, many of the foregoing rules are subject to change by the tax laws. Donors are advised to obtain advice from their financial advisor, CPA, or tax attorney.

IN-KIND DONATIONS:

a.      Donate Clothing: 

Giving out the clothes you don’t wear is a good idea to make your charitable contributions. Not all charity groups give out donated clothes to needy children and families. Some sell them to thrift stores and use the money to cater to other needs like food and education. Ensure that you donate clean and well-maintained clothing. If the clothes are torn, repair them well and replace the broken zips or missing buttons. Contact the charity group first to know the type of clothing it accepts as donations.

b.     Donate Food and Household Goods:

Charities also accept donations of food and household items like furniture and appliances. Several things can make it easy for you to donate food. One of them is by joining food pantries. Food banks and pantries collect groceries, fruits, and other foods for donation purposes. You can also buy chef meals and take them to the needy in the charities.

Donating to any charity is a noble mission for everyone with society’s interests at heart. Besides enabling the charities to perform their routine tasks, donations touch the individual lives of the needy. Ensure that you donate to an honest charity group that will use your contributions wisely. At the Teach Them To Fish Foundation, we address social problems like poverty and human trafficking in developing nations by building primary schools for orphaned and disadvantaged children and girls at risk for human trafficking. We also work with the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation leaders to offer Native American children suicide prevention programs, educational support, and advanced education opportunities.

Make a generous donation today to help us improve the lives of children in rural Cambodia or Uganda or Native American children on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.