1 min read

Donating to Disaster Relief Charities

With all of the wildfires, hurricanes and other weather related damage that have occurred recently, you may be approached by a charity to help contribute to the relief efforts.  Although there are many organizations helping in the areas affected by the wildfires, hurricanes and other weather events, there will also be many criminals that will try to take advantage of the devastation.  Criminals will not only take money that a person has donated to the “charity” but may also try to steal the person’s identity.

Criminals may use one or several fraudulent schemes to get an individual to donate to their “charity”.  Several of the ways that an individual may be solicited include telephone calls, social media, email or in-person solicitations.  Through the solicitations the criminals may request an individual donate money to the “charity” and/or provide personal information including social security number, credit card number, bank account numbers and passwords.  Criminals may also request donations be made in cash which the IRS suggests against since there is no documentation for a cash transaction.  It is suggested that a donation be made either by check or credit card so that documentation is available for both security and tax purposes.

To be sure that you are donating to a legitimate charity the IRS has a search tool on its website that allows donors to look up qualified charities.  The IRS provides this tool to help donors make informed decisions on donations made to charities.  The website for the tool is https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organizations-select-check.  

Posted by Patrick Runge

State Unemployment Wage Bases

State Unemployment Wage Bases

Taxable Wage Bases 2021 – 2024

Read More
Navigating New Challenges in the Construction Industry

Navigating New Challenges in the Construction Industry

Among recent shifts in the economy, construction firms find abundant opportunities for new projects. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act alone...

Read More
Construction Industry Outlook for 2024

Construction Industry Outlook for 2024

Despite a sluggish start to the year, experts anticipate that forthcoming interest rate cuts in the latter half of the year will catapult several...

Read More