Charitable Giving Information

Archive for November, 2009

Charitable Giving By Religion

It’s interesting to ponder on the possibility that many individuals have had relatives that were Masons at some point of time and didn’t even realize it. Was it because those relatives were so secretive about their involvement?, or it just went unnoticed.

It would seem that Masons, non-Masons and anti masons all have their own detailed explanation as to what Freemasonry really is. The problem is that no two explanations ever seem to agree in their entirety. In fact one Mason will give his version as to what the organization is all about, and then you can ask the next Mason that comes along the same question and you will get an entirely different explanation. You will be hard pressed to believe that they are of the same organization.

There is no definite date as to when Freemasonry became a reality. It is believed it dates back to the 1700′s during the time of the stonemasons and perhaps dealt with the influence of the Knights Templar. These were Christian warrior monks who were responsible for aiding pilgrims cross the Holly Land. They ended up forming a Grand Lodge in England and they are the administrative sector of the Grand Lodges according to sectors. In the USA it seems there is a Grand Lodge in every state and in Canada one in every province. Therefore, you can see they are not a small organization by any means. It is speculated that in the USA alone there are over 1300 Lodges.

Freemasonry spread from England to the United States and boasted of many Political figures as part of their membership such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin for example. It is said that the Freemasons played an important part in the revolutionary war. Plus it is said that many of the debates around the ratification of the bill of rights and the constitutional convention took place in Masonic Lodges.

The Lodge is the meeting place of the local chapter of Masons. The symbolic teachings that take place amongst the Mason sfocuses on the lessons that were learned during the construction of King Solomon’s temple during the biblical days. This is where the term Lodge originated. It would seem that during the winter months when the Masons were unable, to work, they would build Lodges for shelter and this is where the Lodge concept is taken from.

It’s interesting to note that the House of Commons in London depicts the layout of the Lodge. England was the founding father of the Freemasons and that which was known to spread to the USA so the English titles remained. In organizations that would refer to their leaders as president this fraternity refers to theirs as the The worshipful Master of the Lodge.

It is reported that every Lodge has their own alter that is required to hold the Volume of the Sacred Law. It is stated that in the USA and Canada that is mostly the Bible.

The backbone belief of the Freemasons is that every individual is designated to make the world a better place to live. No matter how small, one individual should strive to make the life of another individual better. Financial figures state that the Masons spend 1.4 million dollars on a daily basis for charity purpose. Donating money to Children’s Hospitals often sphere headed by the Shriners. Then there is the Scottish Rite Mason who supports a vast amount of charities. Then there are many acts of kindness that goes unnoticed, as the Freemasons reportedly do not boast of their good works.

The Masons feel it is their duty to encourage their members to be constantly striving towards the betterment of their already good qualities. They almost consider themselves a support group for the morals they believe in and stand by. It would appear they favor each other’s company because of their common beliefs.

In addition to all their charitable works, the members of the Freemasons enjoy the time they spend at their Lodges. Aside from it being an only male membership, they are family orientated and plan many family events such as picnics and outings.

There are two types of meeting that take place at the Lodges. One is the usual business meeting. These always start and end with a ceremony dedicated to the living values that the Mason stands for. There is the reading of the minutes such as would take place at any organized gathering and the voting of any applicants. There is the planning of charitable functions and personal events. The members are referred to as Brothers in this fraternity. The next type of meeting would be the initiation meeting. Here is where new members are welcomed into the Freemasonry. This done by way of ritual or formally known as degrees.

It is said that every Lodge has functions at the Lodge outside of their membership for example there are Ladies nights or bring a friend, which constitutes an open to the public scenario.

About the Author:

Discover the *ancient secrets* of freemasonry at:

http://www.SecretsofMasons.com
SecretsofMasons has over 120 rare
freemasonry books
with over 25,000 pages of illustrations, symbols and manuscripts from the masonic templar. Be among the rare few to own this highly-exclusive ancient secrets book collection today!

Source – The Secrets of Freemasons – Is Freemasonry a Religion?

ACLU Video Shows How Terrorist Finance Laws Alienate American Muslims

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Charitable Trust Balance Sheet

Eco-green hotels:

Eco-green hotels are those hotels which are meant for recreating and refreshing the visitors and also maintaining the ecological balance and saving the greenery. It is not only advantageous to the man but also the environment. We love the natural beauty. Hence by providing all the recreating services, eco-friendly hotels also tend to save our planet and atmosphere.

Ways to become eco-green or eco friendly:

*Hotels can make cloth laundry bags using retired sheets.

*Solar energy can be used for lighting and heating water for hotels.

*By buying or making some inexpensive cloth napkins instead of thousands of paper napkins.

*Reusing broken or worn resources for other purposes

*Creating areas for recycling and sorting trash from the waste in the hotel.

*By buying food and guest amenities in bulk.

*By providing bicycle to guests.

*An incentive program to encourage the staff participation in improving environmental -friendly practices.

*By donating the leftover amenities, furniture and appliances to charitable trust.

*By offering discounts to sustainable environmental organizations who would like to hold meetings at the hotels.

Ways to become visitor friendly:

*Visitors like eco-green hotels because of its cost efficiency.

*Guest really admires the idea of environmental conservation.

*Visitors like the entertainment and recreation in a natural place as that is more refreshing to do everything in green lodging.

*Visitors also get learn as to how can they conserve the environment in their personal lives.

*They get fresh air to breathe and the peace of mind which they hardly find in the hustle and bustle of the city.

*They know it’s not only good for them but also beneficial in maintaining the ecological balance and greenery on earth.

Need of the hour:

With the drastic and alarming increase in all kinds of pollutions it is not only advisable but also advantageous for hotels and other different sectors to become environmental friendly. They should promote the idea of environmental conservation to maintain the ecological balance, save greenery and maintain greenhouse effect on earth. More we plant trees more we help to reduce the global warming and help the ecology to be balanced. Hotels should adopt the following effective measures to turn into eco-friendly hotels:-

*Emphasize on the environmental conservation.

*By promoting ecological practices and sustainability.

*By considering the needs of the surrounding and the local community.

*By improving and developing environmental activities.

*By imparting information on ways to improve environmental condition to the staff members.

Green Hotel certification:

There is a globally recognized green certification program designed by the UN and the respective government certification partners specifically for resorts and hotels. Green certification awarding is done based on a point system. They reward you with a gold, silver or bronze crown green certification providing them the choice to grow accordingly or change the entire operation immediately. You get the opportunity to advertise yourself as eco-green hotel while the green certification is going on.

Criterion for the assessment of eco-green hotels:

*Consumption and conservation of water and other forms of energy.

*Handling and recycling of waste production

*Interior and furniture building

*Education and services to the guest

*Health of the visitors

*Local economical issues

Finally it can be concluded from the above discussion that eco-green hotels not only entertain the human needs but also benefit the environment by the conservation of energy and the utilization of resources. It is a wonderful step in making man and the environment compatible to each other and eventually in saving the mother earth.

For more information visit: <a href=http://www.ecogreenhotel.com target=_blank>www.EcoGreenHotel.com</a>

About the Author:

Parisi is a veteran hospitality professional with over fifteen years experience with major hotel chains, such as Intercontinental, Starwood, Hilton and Choice Hotels. Most recently, Parisi served as Vice President of Operations at New Generation Hospitality, helping to not only grow the company, but was part of the original formation in 2006.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – EcoGreenHotel-A KNOT BETWEEN MAN AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Donate Clothing Nyc

Question: Where can I donate my used clothes for money $$$?

Is there anywhere I can donate used clothes for $$$ in the NYC area? The clothes I have don’t fit me anymore so I would like to donate these clothes and recieve money to buy new clothes that fit. Thanks. Any websites, stores, companies, fondations fine.

Answer: Find a consignment store.

NY Clothing Drive

Tax Planning Self Employed

Question: Can anyone tell me whether it is possible to have two jobs, one payroll, one self employed?

I am currently working part time 15h a week, on the cards, and want to do some freelance work too to boost my income. Can anyone advise me how I go about this with the tax office etc? I only plan to work an extra 15h a week, but this could increase. Ta!

Answer: Depending on your income but if you pay basic rate on your freelance then you may overpay but you can rest easy they wont be chasing you plus if you overpay you will get a rebate
Good Luck

Tax Tips: Year-End Tax Tips December 2009

Furniture Donations To Non Profits

Question: How do I create a plan to increase donations for a non-profit?

I am a recent graduate who just started my first “real” job. I need to come up with a concrete “business” plan to show my boss how I plan to generate more furniture donations for a non-profit furniture store. I could really use some help with how to form the plan on paper so it is impressive, I already have a lot of ideas of how to generate donations but I could always use more and I am unsure of how to shape the business plan my boss wants or if it would even be considered a business plan. Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

Answer: If you use Microsoft Office, there are free templates on their website that you can download. At a quick glance I didn't see any specifically for non-profits, but you could adapt the style to your project if you're mainly looking for format ideas.

University of Illinois Alternative Spring Break 2008 helps Furnishing Our Neighbors New Orleans