10 Ways to Make Tax Deductible Donations to Haiti

Yesterday, Haiti was sadly struck by another earthquake. As we have all heard in the news, the island was devastated by a series of massive earthquakes on January 12^th. The disaster left thousands of Haitians injured or dead, and the relief efforts have encountered all types of problems. There are dozens of organizations working to provide assistance to the people of Haiti, and to help encourage all my readers to make a donation I have put together the following list of ways to contribute as well as a brief explanation of how you can deduct the contributions from your taxable income next year.

Donations are Tax Deductible

With tax season beginning, finances are probably on everyone’s mind. Keep in mind that all charitable contributions are tax deductible. Reach into your pockets a little deeper to donate as much as you can to the relief efforts. Just make sure that you keep records of your donations for next tax season.

Top 10 Ways to Make a Donation

1. Cell Phone Donations

If you cannot afford to make a sizeable donation to the relief efforts then you can make a small and easy donation from your cell phone. You can text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross, or text HAITI to 25383 for a $5 donation to the International Rescue Committee. You will see the charge on your next phone bill, so be sure to keep it stored with your other tax documents.

2. Larger Donations to the Red Cross

If you want to donate more then $10 to the Red Cross, and do not have time to send a dozen text messages, then you can use a credit card to donate either over the phone (1-800-REDCROSS) or by visiting their website. If you would like to mail a check then you can send it to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013.

3. Clinton Bush Haiti Fund

In a sign of bipartisan support for Haiti, former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush setup the nonprofit Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. As of today, the fund claims to have received over 126,000 contributions. You can donate through their website, or text QUAKE to 20222 to make a $10 donation through your phone. You could also mail donations to The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, c/o William J. Clinton Foundation, Donations Department, 610 President Clinton Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72201.

4. Music for Relief

To encourage younger generations to donate, popular music artists including Linkin Park, Dave Matthews Band, Alanis Morissette, the All-American Rejects, Enrique Iglesias and other teamed up with Music For Relief. Their site offers a free music download, but prompts users to make a donation after downloading.

5. UNICEF

UNICEF works in over 150 countries to provide children with nutrition, education, and emergency relief. To encourage taxpayers to donate the U.S. Fund for UNICEF is “absorbing all associated administrative costs so that 100% of every dollar you give to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF will support UNICEF's relief efforts for children in Haiti.” To donate check out this link on their website, or call 1-800-4UNICEF.

6. National Nurses United

Over 10,000 nurses have reportedly already volunteered to go to Haiti to work with relief organizations. However, National Nurses United still needs more funding to send them to Haiti. You can make a donation through their website, with all proceeds going directly to the fund to send nurses to Haiti.

7. AmeriCares

AmeriCares is a nonprofit organization that provides disaster relief by supplying medicine and medical supplies to victims. They have already sent over $6 million worth of supplies to Haiti, and are actively seeking more donations. You can make a contribution by dialing 1-800-486-HELP or visiting AmeriCares.org.

8. Doctors Without Borders

Another nonprofit group that has been active in Haiti is Doctors Without Boarders. They are using funds to repair hospitals and send doctors to create temporary emergency centers to treat victims in Haiti. Go to Donate.DoctorsWithoutBorders.org and you can make a donation from $35 all the way up to $10,000.

9. World Water Relief

Sadly, clear water is scarce in Haiti and the people need clean water not only for drinking, but also for sanitation and medical treatment. World Water Relief has already sent a team with 18 self-sustaining portable water flirtation units to Haiti, and they are already planning their next effort. 100% of donations go to the cost of sending water systems to Haiti, and you can help by making a donation through their website.

10. Hope for Haiti Telethon

Tomorrow (Friday, January 22) actor George Clooney is hosting the Hope for Haiti Emergency Fundraising Telethon from 8 to 10 pm. Guests will include Mary J Blige, Robert Pattinson, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Zac Effron, and many others. The telecast will air on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT, without commercial interruption. You can tune in, and make a donation over the phone using your credit card.

Interesting Opinion on Charitable Contributions

The New York Times posted an interesting new opinion on charitable contributions by Ray D. Maddiff. Below is a snippet of the opinion, but you can check out the full text at: Dog Eat Your Taxes?

“The latest news from the Palace, that Leona Helmsley left instructions that her charitable bequest of as much as $8 billion be used for the care and welfare of dogs, rubs our noses in the tax deduction for charitable gifts and its common vehicle, the perpetual private foundation. Together these provide a mechanism by which American taxpayers subsidize the whims of the rich and fulfill their fantasies of immortality.

The charitable deduction enables people to donate as much of their assets as they like for charitable purposes without paying a tax. While some choose to contribute to broad public goals, the law does not require it. In recent years, charitable status has been recognized for organizations with purposes as idiosyncratic as promoting excellence in quilting and educating the public about Huey military aircraft. Indeed, Mrs. Helmsley might have limited her beneficence to the Maltese breed of dogs she favored, and that, too, would have been allowed as a “charitable” purpose.

If this were only a matter of Leona Helmsley wasting her own money, no one would need to care. But she is wasting ours too.

The charitable deduction constitutes a subsidy from the federal government. The government, in effect, makes itself a partner in every charitable bequest. In Mrs. Helmsley’s case, given that her fortune warranted an estate tax rate of 45 percent, her $8 billion donation for dogs is really a gift of $4.4 billion from her and $3.6 billion from you and me."

Charitable Donation Changes to Remember

The IRS has posted an article on their website with detailed guidelines on making charitable donations this year. There were several tax law changes made last year with the passing of the Pension Protection Act. The new law gives the government and taxpayers greater certainty in determining what can be deducted as a charitable contribution, and also provides retired taxpayers a new way to donate to charity. For more information on the Pension Protection Act check out this article on the IRS’s website.

Payroll Deduction Contributions

With the Pension Protection Act of 2006 changing the record keeping requirements for charitable contributions, many taxpayers are wondering how to deduct contributions taken directly out of their paycheck without losing their tax credits. The Internal Revenue Service addressed this issue by announcing that "the taxpayer should retain a pay stub, Form W-2, or other document furnished by the employer that shows the total amount withheld for payment to charity, along with the pledge card that shows the name of the charity." For more details visit the article on their IRS’s website by clicking here.

Advice on Charitable Donations

‘Tis the season to give! For advice on making a charitable contribution check out this article on MarketWatch.com.