Fast Solutions for Hard Hit Charities

Hope for Hard Hit Charities!

Tough economic times cause charities to suffer. Two new websites, Inlieuofagift.com (which coordinates charitable donations and gift-giving celebrations) and Inlieuof.com (which coordinates charitable donations in memory of a decedent) hope to increase individual donations in an effort to offset decreasing corporate donations.

DAVID CAY JOHNSTON of the New York Times wrote on May 20, 2009:

Many charities face not just tough times, but disaster. At some organizations, volunteer trustees, especially those on the finance committee, have grown accustomed to monthly projections of income and expenses that are soaked in ever more red ink.

Nationwide, charities are reporting that donations are flat to down sharply, especially for organizations that rely on gifts of appreciated stock. This year, Americans are likely to harvest $426 billion in capital gains, less than half of the nearly $875 billion harvested in 2007, according to Citizens for Tax Justice, which calculated its own figures after the Congressional Budget Office decided in January not to issue its annual estimate.

Universities and community foundations have seen their endowments ravaged, meaning they have less to give. The United Way, whose network of local organizations raises money mostly for social services, youth and health, has seen drops in donations across the country.

WITH tax revenues falling, governments are tightening up on contracts with nonprofits and delaying or canceling new grants even though pleas for help are rising among social service agencies.

In this environment, your past generosity makes you appealing to many organizations, regardless of what your investment statement says this month. As requests pour in, the combination of shrinking net worth and job uncertainty can be immobilizing.

What'ss a donor to do

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/business/businessspecial3/21give.htmlscp=8's38;sq='s38;st=nyt

Inlieuofagift.com links celebratory parties (birthday, anniversary, bar mitzvah, etc.) to charities via electronic invitations with a Donate Now button attached to each invitation. The host selects his favorite charity and sends out the invitations. Each invitee receives an electronic invitation with all of the party details as well as a message stating that in lieu of a gift, a donation may be made to a specified charity via the Donate Now button. The site lists the names of the donors, and the total amount raised, but not individual amounts (to respect donors's privacy). Tax receipts are generated instantly and sent to the donor via e-mail.

Young children'ss parties are different. The site randomly chooses one guest to make a donation. All of the other guests bring traditional gifts. That way, the child who is the party honoree sacrifices just one gift, and all the children attending the party learn a lesson in philanthropy.

Inlieuof.com offers customized electronic memorials consisting of a photo, obituary, guest book, service date and time, and directions. Most important, it offers a Donate Now button at the bottom of each obituary that links friends and family directly to the charity of the deceased'ss family'ss choice. Tax receipts are generated instantly and, as is the case with Inlieuofagift.com donors's names and total amount raised are listed on the site (individual amounts are not posted). The site gives friends and family a private, non-commercial space in which they may find important information, share fond memories, and honor the deceased with a memorial donation in his or her name.

Owners Brian and Jennifer Falvey of New Canaan, Connecticut began developing the websites two years ago, but the timing couldn'st be more critical than it is right now. Jennifer says, If we can just get the word out, hopefully individual donations will add up to the amount the charities stand to lose from corporate donors. As tough as times are for all of us, they'sre even worse for the needy.

The websites have no advertisers and the owners are committed to keeping it that way for the memorial site, Inlieuof.com although they hope to attract advertisers to the party site. There is no fee to use the sites, regardless of how many invitations/announcements - one or one thousand or more - are sent out. Recipients pay nothing to the site and their donations are 100% tax deductible. Donations are made to Justgive.org a 501 (C) (3) organization that disburses the monies to the individual charities, and which is completely independent of Inlieuofagift.com and Inlieuof.com. Jennifer Falvey says, I knew we needed to ensure ease of use, convenience, and accountability, but I was adamant that the money not come through us. At first we were simply going to provide links to the charities but there were problems with that model.

The Falveys learned that direct links to the charities would negate their ability to create tax receipts, donor lists, and total amounts raised, all of which encourage greater participation and donations. It also cuts out the neediest charities, most of which are not set up to accept electronic donations.

Instead, Inlieuofagift.com and Inlieuof.com work with Justgive.org a 501 (C) (3) whose sole purpose is to collect donations and disburse them to designated charities. The entire amount is tax deductible. Paypal is also available. Donations can be tracked back to the individual charities via a confirmation number. Justgive.org was founded in 2000, partners with several Fortune 500 companies, and has an excellent reputation.

People going to our sites are thinking of new and creative ways to use them all the time. We'sre really excited about the charitable potential, says Brian Falvey. Our objective is to get more money to more charities. I hope the ease of use, convenience, and accountability offered by Inlieuofagift.com and Inlieuof.com will help to do exactly that!

Jennifer Falvey

652 Weed Street

New Canaan, CT 06840

203-966-0444

www.inlieuofagift.com

www.inlieuof.com

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

This article has been robotically scanned and tagged by Prnewsnow with the following search tags. No human manipulation of these tags take place.
| " | Food Wine | |

4922 readers online...

, Local News

Subscribe in a reader