42 — Wednesday, December 25, 1991 - North Shore News HELP’S AT HAND HELP’S AT Hand, by North Shore Community Services (NSCS), is a forum for discussing government policies and pro- grams, benefiis, consumer and legal rights, taxation and public services, Answers are intended only as a general guide and should not be applied to individual cases without further consultation. Question: [ am un elderly per- son living on my own, and tike most people my age, | am on a fixed income. I like to make small doeations to charity, but I find the requests around this time of year just overwhetming. Some of these charities are fa- mifiar to me and sound very wor- thwhile, but others Eve never heard of. Is there any way of checking them out? How does a person in my position deal with all of this? Answer: The Christmas season does seem to be an_ especially popular time to ask for money. Most people find the calls and re- quests difficult to deal with, and as someone with limited finances, it’s understandable that you would find it particularly hard. “Remember that you are under no obligation whatsoever to make a donation to anyone who appeals to you. Unfortunately, there are some people seeking donations who will expioit the goodwill of someone like yourself. Practise saying no, and if that is difficult for you, try rehearsing a script with a friend, having your friend play the part of the tele- phone solicitor. This may sound strange to you, In order to do this, make sure that you get an official receipt and file it away until tax time. The tax receipts can be collected and claimed for up to five years from the date of a donation, so if your single donations are not substan- tial enough to mean much as a deduction in one year, they can be accumulated over time until they do. Also keep in mind that there are many ways to give besides finan- cially. Helping a neighbor, volun- teering some time to a charitable organization, and simply making friendly gestures to others are ail valid, though often unrecognized, means of giving. If you are interested in vojun- leering some of your time, you can call NSCS for more informa- tion. If you want to stop receiving direct mail, you can write to the Canada Direct Mailing Associa- tion, Mail Preference, No. 1-607 Concord Gate, Den Mills, On- tario, M3C 3M6. We understand that it is necessary to do this every two years. This column is prepared with financial assistance from the Notary Foundation. For more in- formatien call NSCS at 985-7138. but it can be a really helpful way — § of learning to say something we find difficult, Most callers will respond to a simple statement like: ‘‘No thank you, I am not in- terested or able to give at this time.’’ ; Many of us have a hard time turning down a request for our help, even if it is in our best in- terest to do so. If you are inter- ested in learning more about the skill of assertiveness, you can call NSCS at 985-7138 for a list of places that offer courses and workshops. “If you live alone, it is best not to let any strangers seeking dona- tions into your home, regardless of how convincing or harmiess they seem. Since you would like to make some donations, we would suggest that you have a plan for doing so. For example, decide on a realistic amount that you can give per year and then don’t exceed your chari- ty budget. Commiiting to donations over the telephone, or to someone who comes to your door, can be a form of impulse spending; we do not have the time to really con- sider whether it is a good idea. To avoid this, you could ask for a copy of their literature and some time too think about it, or simply say no. It may be helpful to choose one or two causes that you make an- nual contributions to, or to give to a charity like the United Way which then distributes your dona- tion among its member charities. The decision on who to donate to is a very personal thing and what is meaningful for someone else may not be at all relevant for you. You can do a few things to in- vestigate charities that you haven't heard of. Try calling the Better Business Bureau (BBB) at 682- 2711 and Revenue Canada at 689-5411 or toll-free at 1-800- 267-2384. The BBB provides information on how long a charity has been in operation, its objectives and activ- ities and amounts spent on charitable activities. If the organization you donate to is a registered charity, meaning that it has a charitable tax number, you will be able to claim the donation as a deduction on your income tax. 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