Charitable Giving Information

Fundraising Ideas For Schools

Question: what are some cool unique fundraising ideas for high school?

what would you be willing to go to and want to do to raise funds for your class? we need money for our prom and i need some unique fun ideas that people would actually go to.

// ;
;
;
;
// ]]>

Answer: A karaoke night/competition with a twist. Everyone has to dress up as the opposite sex.

Fundraisers, fundraising ideas, school fundraising, wowgree
// ;
;
;
;
// ]]>

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

Year End Tax Planning Tips

Question: How can I get back on track (get healthy)?

I’ve been run down now for about 4 – 5 months. I’m a second year law student who at the end of my first year – this past May – burned out. I started working at a large firm this past summer and was extremely stressed out every day. I also started a new relationship this summer, and while wonderful in many ways, it is also very taxing on my energy reserves. I used to work out daily but I no longer do. It’s been about a year since I’ve had a consistent workout schedule and “healthish” diet. I’ve gained 20 lbs. in the past year. Can you can give me some tips on getting my health/life back on track? Also, if you have a detailed plan, could you tell how long it will be before I feel better.

Thank you so much!!

Answer: maybe if you see a nutritionist i heard that is a good idea! i know someone that did that and they lost all kinds of weight the healthy way! good luck!=)

Tax Tips: Year-End Tax Tips (ASL, Captions & Voice Over) - December 09

Tax Planning For 2009

Question: Getting married and I own a house. Does my fiancee qualify for the $8000 tax credit?

We plan on closing prior to the wedding but I will still be a co-borrower on the mortgage. I am selling my house before the wedding as well. Can she still get the credit? We will be married by the time we do 2009 taxes.

Answer: As long as you close on the sale prior to the 11/30/2009 deadline AND prior to your marriage AND your fiancee claims the credit by amending her 2008 return she will be able to claim the entire $8,000 credit.

You will NOT be able to claim it on your 2009 return since you will be married by then. When the buyers are married to each other, BOTH spouses must qualify for the credit.

The financing details are irrelevant to the issue of eligibility for the credit in this case.

Edit: From the TD ratings it's pretty obvious that there are plenty of clueless folks lurking in the background. When 2 unmarried persons purchase a home they can split the credit any way that they wish. If only one of them is eligible for the credit, that person may claim the ENTIRE credit on their return.

As a deviation from normal policy the $8k credit for purchases in 2009 CAN be claimed on the taxpayer's 2008 return as long as they close on the purchase BEFORE claiming the credit. If they have already filed their 2008 return they can amend by filing Form 1040-X and attaching Form 5405.

Edit 2: For your benefit and that of the mullet heads who seem to think that this is a bad answer, please see the following link: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb09-06.pdf Scroll down to page 446 (it's about half way down) and it will explain it all to you in excruciating detail. This is an IRS bulletin that proves that this is a CORRECT answer.

Luscombe: Year-end Tax Planning for 2009

Charitable Giving Software

Everyone spends his or her money differently. While one person may find eating out a necessity, another prefers to put a little extra aside for faraway vacations. How you ultimately spend your paycheck is up to you. However, when applying for a mortgage, or other large loan, you financial institution will be looking at some important spending ratios to determine if you qualify. It’s important to try and stay within these limits on certain spending items. Check with your particular lender for limits.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Spending Survey, most American consumers spend the following amounts on the following items:

Food: 14.1%
-At home: 7.7%
-Away from home: 5.4%
-Alcoholic beverages: 1.0%

Housing: 32.9%
-This includes mortgage/rent; utilities; insurances and upkeep/maintenance.

Transportation: 19.1%
-Vehicles: 9.1%
-Gasoline: 3.3% (In 2003)
-Insurance: 6.7%

Apparel and Services: 4.0%
-The cost of new clothes, dry cleaning expenses, etc.

Healthcare: 5.9%
-Doctors, dentists, eyewear expenses; over-the-counter-medications, medical co-pays and deductibles. This does not include healthcare premiums.

Entertainment: 5.0%
-Movies, outings, vacations.

Personal Care products and Services1: 1.3%
-Haircuts, salon fees, etc.

Reading: 0.3%
-Magazine subscriptions, books, etc.

Education: 1.9%

Tobacco Products: 0.7%

Miscellaneous: 1.5%

Cash Contributions: 3.4%
-Religious tithes, charitable contributions, etc.

Personal Insurances and Pensions: 9.9%
-Health insurance premiums, 401K contributions, life insurance, disability insurance, etc.

Every family’s expenditures will be different. However, if you notice one of your own spending accounts in excess of these national statistics, it may be time to reevaluate why you are spending so much in a particular area.

Some areas that may be cut, according to most financial experts include:

Transportation: if your transportation (car) costs are much higher than the 19.1% national average, the odds are you own too much car for your budget. Try downsizing to a less expensive vehicle. You’ll not only save on monthly loan payments, but also on insurance premiums, upkeep and gas.

Miscellaneous accounts can be a budget killer for many. This is where we spend on the most frivolous items: morning coffee; specialty items; expensive gifts; etc. Try and keep this percentage under 1.5%, warn experts.

Entertainment can be a budget buster for some. While the average percentage is 5% f your annual bring-home salary, that amount can be excessive, especially for higher wage earners. This is an easy area to bring down expenses. While it’s fun to g out every weekend with friends and pick up the tab, try staying at home or having a quieter, more low-key (and less expensive), get-together with friends instead.

Food. Most Americans spend more than 14% of their monthly income on food – regardless of their family size! Considering that more than half of that amount is spent eating out at restaurants and fast food joints, it ma be time to hit the grocery store and eat at home in order to save a bundle at the checkout.

Saving money doesn’t have to be difficult. Taking the time to see where the money waste in your household is spent can be a great way to streamline expenses and learn to save.

About the Author:

Want To Own a Website? Get Your Own Successful Niche Site Network at http://eWebCreator.com. Adsense Websites with eWebCreator.com

Source – Personal Finance – What Does The Money Get Spent On

The Gift of Love – very unique and painless charitable giving program

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