Houston Chronicle--

(There has been a) seasonal increase--25% at the Salvation Army (and Goodwill)--this year, over last year.

Question: how is it that a nation experiencing economic collapse, with 30-40% unemployment, with rampant homelessness and "tent cities" filling the landscape, can these charities see this kind of increase?

In the last couple of years my family has donated three (count 'em, three!) horses to an organization that takes kids whose parents are in prison on horseback camping trips into remote areas...why didn't we eat those horses?

We just sent off (another) care package to our adopted GI in Iraq with maybe $200 worth of amusements and snacks and socks and Lord knows what else...why didn't I use that money to pay the heating bill?

Any lib care to explain?

Tokie

That's not quite what the article says. And funny, someone in the article also helps out with a charity that offers horse rides. Nice Try Tokie.Dec. 28, 2007, 9:43AM
CHARITY
Salvation Army, Goodwill see donations surge during holidays, often because of tax deductions
A spirited display of give and take


By BRAD HEM
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

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You can keep that old sofa without the cushions, but don't hesitate to donate obsolete computers, turntables and other electronics, local officials at the Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries say.

Just don't try to tell the Internal Revenue Service they were worth hundreds or thousands of dollars when the true value might be closer to the spare change you drop in a bell ringer's bucket.

Between Thanksgiving and the end of the year, charity thrift store operators see a big spike in donations from people who either feel the spirit of the holiday season or are looking to boost their tax deductions before Dec. 31.

"People don't know what to do with it, so they give it to us," said Jim Thompson, director of operations for Goodwill in Houston.

For those with tax deductions in mind, the charities issue receipts for donations, but it's usually up to donors to estimate the value of what they've given. The IRS has an extensive list of values for household goods on its Web site, but the agency can't ensure that everyone follows it.

"There's always a possibility that a taxpayer will be audited," said IRS spokeswoman Lea Crusberg, although she added that fewer than 1 percent of taxpayers are audited each year.

But even in an audit, it would be difficult for the IRS to question the value on a bag of clothes, said Rick Yartz, a Houston tax lawyer.

"It's pretty loosey-goosey," he said.


Using IRS guidelines
Houston resident Jimm Williams said he uses the IRS valuations to estimate his tax deduction. He dropped off a couple of bags of clothes at the Salvation Army last Friday. That was a fraction of what he's donated this year. After his mother died, he donated an estimated $12,000 worth of furniture and housewares, he said.

Although he's interested in the tax benefits, Williams — who runs the nonprofit SIRE, which offers therapeutic horseback riding for disabled kids and adults — said he believes in the charity's cause.

"You know it's going to good use," he said. Revenue from Salvation Army thrift stores funds the group's programs, said Patricia Zepeda, spokeswoman for the Houston Salvation Army.

Workers at Goodwill donation centers have extra receipt books on hand at this time of year, and they often have to stay open later at year-end because donors want to get the benefit for the tax returns they'll file in the coming weeks, Thompson said.

"They're seeking that piece of paper," he said.

With the seasonal donation increase — 25 percent at the Salvation Army — comes more, for lack of a better term, junk.

"Do we get more trash? Yes, but only because we get more donations overall," Zepeda said.

Both charities hold weekly auctions where buyers can bid on electronics and appliances in bulk for their spare parts, so an old computer might have value to someone. It doesn't cost the charities much more to deal with people's garbage unless donors ask items be picked up at their homes.

"We err on the side of 'give it to us,' " Thompson said. "We like electronics, even old turntables and typewriters."

If the equipment really is junk that wouldn't sell at auction, Goodwill sends it to local companies that recycle it.

That said, Zepeda advises donors not to drop off items known to be absolutely worthless. She recalled the story of a woman upset the Salvation Army wouldn't take her old couch even though her dog had thrown up on it.

"You'd be surprised at some of the calls we get," she said. "We don't want the sofa if it doesn't have any cushions."


Prints by Dali
On the other hand, there are donors who give far more than forgotten stuff buried in closets and attics. One Houston woman recently gave the Salvation Army six prints by renowned surrealist Salvador Dali. The charity is having the works appraised and will sell them in a special auction, Zepeda said.

Both the Salvation Army and Goodwill said the number of vehicle donations has dropped significantly since the IRS changed a rule in 2005. Donors used to be able to deduct the Kelley Blue Book value, but under the new rule they can only deduct the charity's actual resale amount.

"We saw a dramatic, dramatic decrease in the donation of vehicles," Zepeda said.

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The difference? The Libs put dresses on their horses, put them on the View, and call them Rosie.

Goodwill and salvation Army do more good than Welfare, Food Stamps or Social Security Combined.

Private Charity works!

Forced Charity does not.

__________________
"It is the Right of the People to alter or abolish the Government"
Declaration of Independence
"Never trouble another for what you can do for yourself."
Thomas Jefferson
"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand."
Milton Friedman

Really. I had a house fire once. Lost almost everything, and was having trouble coming up with the deposit, first/last month rent on another place. Single working mother with two young children. Salvation Army was the only one willing to help. They LOANED me $100 that had to be paid back in 30 days.

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National Write Your Congressman

la la la la la la la........we'll just ignore everything and chat over here :-)

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If you don't KNOW where you come from...you WILL wind up going nowhere.

That goes for Ideas, institutions as well as individuals :-I

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PSI TECH INVESTIGATIONS and LAW ENFORCEMENT

Life is about choices. You apparently do not know of the numbers of Charities in America that would have helped you out. Secondly, you prolly made some horrible choices in your personal life, and felt the aftermath of that.

You also should have had Insurance on your home. If you didn't that is your fault and noone elses for losing anything.


Catholic Charities USA
Independent Charities of America (ICA) - America" Finest

Among others.

But hey, I'm a college dropout who makes 19 bucks an hour. Who rents a house, and does not live beyond my means. I manage to save money, invest for my future, and pay for rental insurance should my house burn down.

What do I know.

__________________
"It is the Right of the People to alter or abolish the Government"
Declaration of Independence
"Never trouble another for what you can do for yourself."
Thomas Jefferson
"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand."
Milton Friedman

Well...there it is folks. The redacted version, anyway.

My version says: "With the seasonal donation ncrease -25 percent at the Salvation Army-...."

My economics are not always up to snuff, but it's my vague recollection that an "increase" means that MORE is coming in.

I guess in the Keynesain economics of the left, more is less?

As for the horses...wanna put some of your trustfund divvie up where your fat, flapping gums are?

Say...$5,000 of it? What's that, only one month's payout?

Well?

Tokie

Can you say "va jay-jay"?

Tokie

Apparently, Sat, you DON'T know that Americans are the stingiest people on the planet according to the UN...'cuz we don't give as much as the Swedes to UN scam-charities like Unicef (tho we give far, far too much to that one, allowing UN soldiers to travel the world finding little children to rape and turn into sex slaves).

You see, it all depends on what your definition of "is" is.

And if it's: "I give to American charities to help AMERICANs," then you are clearly a stingey, miserly ogre.

The other thing is that conservatives give to charity, those that help people, not bait and rats, more than libs by something like 80% yearly.

Since you din't know that, either, this just adds to your bad karma.

You don't know squat about politics, and that's the fo'schizel, but hey...you seem to have it together more than most other people, myself included, on the economic front.

Tokie