Christmas – Buying Presents for the People at work

Ah, Thanksgiving has come and gone and now for the mad rush of Christmas shopping. But the question is, what do you buy the people that you see at work day in and day out? Does Susan, your receptionist, really need another scarf or a box of chocolates?

How about donating the money you would spend on someone to the needy? Or how about adopting a tree in the rain forest http://www.worldlandtrust.org/

or a child www.worldvision.com

or a star in that persons name http://www.stardome.org.nz/adopt.html

How about donating to save some wildlife at www.worldwildlifefund.com

But in donating to a charity there are a few things you need to be aware of

-Be sure its not a scam, check into the organization thoroughly

-There literally thousands of charities to donate to – such as charitable organizations, social welfare organizations, veteran’s organizations, fraternal and business organizations, or political parties.

-Another thing you might want to consider is actually how much of your donation will actually go to charity, while some give 100% of your donation to the cause, but most do not. Charities have to be up front about how much actually sees what it’s meant for with the other going for office expense and the like. So do some research (you can start by looking at the IRS) and find out the one that makes you the most comfortable.

And finally, never send cash. For security and tax record purposes, always send a cheque and write the official name of the charity on the cheque for your records.