People are always asking for different ways they can contribute. Here are a few tips:
Donate Items –
From Charity Navigator: Spring is here! Along with warmer weather, blooming flowers, and the beginning of baseball season comes another tradition: Spring Cleaning.
It is tempting to get rid of excess stuff that has accumulated by donating it to charity. After all, you don’t need it anymore!
So, how can an informed donor, clean up the house and give away non-cash items to charity while still remaining respectful of the charity’s needs?
Think Locally –
Always remember to think locally first – it makes little sense for either you or the charity to travel long distances hauling bulky items that might not even be useful to the charity.
Ask First –
Be sure to contact the charity first before showing up with a bunch of items you wish to donate. Let them know what you have to offer, so that they can decide if the donation is something they find useful.
Consider Tax Implications –
There are specific IRS rules for the tax deductions of noncash donations and the tax benefits of giving!
Donate Items – for Rockwall County Helping Hands, we accept items for both our Food Pantry and our Thrift Store. In 2017, you kept your Rockwall neighbors fed by giving out over 210,910 pounds of food that you helped to donate. You also helped to raise over $1 million in funds by donating gently used clothing and home furnishings to the Helping Hands Thrift Store and Boutique that were then sold.
Donate Financially – Cash is King!
In most instances, a cash donation is far superior to a non-cash one (especially when responding to disasters). Monetary donations give charities the flexibility to spend on what they need, rather than forcing them to use items that may not be ideal. One solution is to hold a garage or yard sale to convert items to cash first, and then donate the money to the charity directly.
Donating Financially – for Rockwall County Helping Hands this can be a monthly donation or by participating in a fundraising event such as the annual golf tournament or Festival of Trees. In 2017 over 1,500 people enjoyed celebrating with our community at these events and helped to raised much needed funds to serve 10,000 Rockwall neighbors in crisis.
Donate Your Time & Talents – You are a hot commodity!
We are socially responsible and work to keep our expenses down. One way we achieve this is through our volunteers. Look into volunteering your time and talents to your favorite local charity!
Donating Your Time & Talents – for Rockwall County Helping Hands this can be at our Food Pantry or in the Thrift Store or even at one of our events! There are many ways to give of your time and if you have a talent such as repurposing used furniture or fixing broken items, there just might be room for you at the Festival of Trees as well.
Be sure to reach out to one of our staff members if you have more questions. We’d love to get you plugged in and share more about what we do!
Enjoy the spring, and always give intelligently!
