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Charity Begins at Home
Written by Gill Campbell
for Synergy Magazine,
September 2004
Charity begins at home,
in fact in all homes
We give at work, at the door and walking down the street
Have you kept track of the raffle tickets and the donations you give? Do you feel obliged to make a “handout” because you do not feel you are doing enough? If you are like most of us you are actually giving quite a lot, but it is not actually going to the hospital, school or international aid group that you might really like to help.
You do not have to be rich to support the charities you believe in
If you have a charity or group of charities that you would like to support – “if only I had the money”, you may want to think about planning a regular or planned donation. Canvassers are the first to recognise when someone says “I have already made my commitment to….” and leave you in peace. And, if you choose to do it, even what you currently give away is likely to be a useful contribution if you place it where you really want.
You can afford more than you think
If you, or all the members in your household, donate to registered charities you should collect charitable tax receipts. In British Columbia, for the first $200 you will receive a tax credit of about $46. If you donate over $200 (and you can save up your receipts for five years) you will receive a tax credit of $43 for every $100 extra you donate. However, you will not get this government help without the charitable tax receipts, but with their help you can make a difference without having to be wealthy.
Making your gift count
Well, the take home message is that you are probably already giving away significant donations, but perhaps not to the charities that you would prefer to support. Making a plan will put your money where you want to make a priority and collecting receipts will earn help from the government so that you can give more. The tables below shows how the government tax credits help with donations over the accumulated receipts of $200.
Donation with receipt |
Tax credit* |
Your real out of pocket cost |
$200 |
$46 |
$154 |
$300 |
$89 |
$211 |
$500 |
$175 |
$325 |
$1,000 |
$390 |
$610 |
If you give this much |
then the tax credit* is |
and it really costs you |
$280 |
$80 |
$200 |
$456 |
$156 |
$300 |
$807 |
$307 |
$500 |
$1,684 |
$684 |
$1,000 |
*in BC, the refundable tax credit is about 23% on $200 then 43% on balance for charitable donations with receipts
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