An Overview of Charitable Donations in 2010
An Overview of Charitable Donations in 2010 Welcome, dear visitors, to your educational and cultural platform (eklil almarfh). We welcome you among the flowers of creativity and the nectar of brotherhood. And we hope that your visit to the platform will be of benefit and achieve the required purpose of the visit.
According to “The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2010,” complied by Giving USA Reports, an organization that reviews charities in the U.S. shows a rise in charity donations by American citizens, corporations, and foundations after a steep decline in 2008 and 2009. This is a welcome relief, noting that the economy has not fully recovered and that many individuals and organizations are still suffering the effects of the recession. This increase in charitable giving, in spite of the economic conditions, shows that philanthropy is in the heart of Americans. This charity report provides various details on the 2010 charity donations and some of the points noted from this report are provided below:
Charity Rises in 2010
According to the aforementioned report, charity donations rose by 3.8% in actual amount between 2009 and 2010 and after considering inflation, the rise reduces to 2.1%. According to the report, the rise from 2008 to 2010 was at 3% in actual funds and 4.2% when inflation is included into the numbers.
Declines in 2008 and 2009
The rise in the donation funds (both in actual dollars and after considering inflation) is a good sign, especially coming after a drastic drop in 2008 and 2009. After the mortgage crunch in 2007 and the economic recession that ensued in 2008 and beyond, many individuals and organizations withheld donations, which lead to the drop. However, given that the economy is still not fully recovered, the recorded rise has come as a welcome relief to may charity organizations.
Percentage of Giving According to the Various Groups
According to the report, individuals gave the most to charity in 2010 by donating 73 % (about $211.77 billion). Foundations gave $41 billion, (14% of donations), bequests accounted for $22.83 billion (which was 8%), and the corporations gave the least, at $15.29 billion, which was 5% of the donations made in the year.
Who Received These Gifts?
Of these donations that were made in 2010, religious organizations took the lion’s share of the donations, according to the same report. These religious organizations received donations to the tune of $100.63 billion, which is more less, 35% of the total donations made for 2010. The educational institutions were a distant second, receiving $41.67 billion, which translates to14% of donations made in the same year. Foundations received $33 billion, which accounted for 11% of donations made.
Volatility of Bequests
According to the report, bequests were the most volatile figure for the three years that the report referred to – years 2008, 2009 and 2010. The bequests were erratic, as the amount depended on the number of estate owners who died. Some estate owners had significant amount of estate funds and their deaths impacted significantly on the numbers for these bequests.
Donations and Taxes
Donations to a qualifying tax exempt organization is tax deductible with no cap placed on the donation amount. However, when the donation does not correspond with ones income, this becomes a suspicious transaction; a red flag for an IRS audit. The IRS maintains a list of tax exempt organizations that qualify for the tax exempt. They continually update the list to remove organizations that may default on their non exempt status. Qualifying donations may be in cash or in non-cash donations. For donations that exceed $500 in value, a taxpayer needs to file a Form 8283, “Non-cash Charitable Contributions Form” and submit it with the tax returns claiming the deductions. For items that are more than $5,000 in value, a qualified valuer must value the items for them to qualify for tax deduction.
Source by Rob L Daniel
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