Ways You Can Give Back During the Holiday Season

There are so many different ways you can give back during the holiday and contribute to the betterment of the world. You don’t just have to make a cash donation to charity, especially if you’d rather donate items or your time to an organization instead.



Here are some ideas for giving back this season so that you can ensure everybody has an enjoyable holiday.

1. Run a race

There are races during the season you can partake in that allow you to raise money for charity. You may be able to dress up like an elf or Santa Claus to make the race even more fun.

2. Volunteer at a local food bank

You can volunteer at a food bank in your neighborhood that’s local to your community or see if you have a Feeding America food bank near you.

3. Donate your canned goods

Do you have canned goods in your pantry that you aren’t going to use? Or do you have time to go to the store to pick up some canned goods? Look around for charities that are accepting canned goods so that nobody goes hungry this holiday season.

4. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity

Shelter is an essential human right, but not everybody has it. You can volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and build houses for people in need.

5. Visit the elderly

As long as it’s COVID-safe, you can ask your local nursing homes if you can visit the elderly to bring them some holiday cheer. Perhaps you have a talent you can offer, like teaching the seniors how to sing or giving them salsa lessons to brighten their day.

6. Volunteer at an animal shelter

Local animal shelters always need volunteers who are looking to walk dogs and clean the cages. You can also play with the dogs and cats there and make them feel less lonely throughout the season.

7. Donate your airline miles

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes to sick children. However, the organization doesn’t have all the airline miles it needs to cover the expenses to send every child and his or her family on the trip of a lifetime. You can donate your airline miles so that they can travel to the destination of their choice and have a magical experience.

8. Give to a women’s shelter

There are women and children in shelters who are victims of domestic violence, and they may not have everything they need for the holidays. Inquire about donating your time or items to the women’s shelter so that these women and their families can have a great holiday as well.

9. Provide meals to first responders

Throughout the pandemic and in general, first responders have sacrificed their time in order to help others. Ask your local hospital, fire station, and police station if you can provide food to these heroes during the holidays.

10. Fundraise for your favorite charity

You can ask your loved ones for donations or run a fundraiser campaign on Facebook to give back to your favorite charity this year.

Helpful hints to keep in mind for your taxes

To write off donations on your taxes, make sure you give to nonprofits that are registered as tax exempt. You can find out an organization’s tax-exempt status through the IRS’ Tax Exempt Organization Search Tool.

When filing your taxes, write off your donations on Form 1040, Schedule A. If your donation is worth less than $250, get a receipt from the charity and write down a record stating the charity’s name and address, the date and location of the donation, and a description of what you donated. If your donation is worth more than $250, get a written acknowledgement of your donation from the charity, along with a description and value of what you donated and if you got anything in exchange for your donation (i.e. if you donated $500 to attend a dinner).

If you volunteered for a charity, you can write off some expenses as long as the charity didn’t reimburse you already. For instance, if you need to wear a uniform while volunteering, you can write off the price of the uniform and the cost for cleaning the uniform. You can also deduct the mileage you traveled to volunteer by using the standard 14 cents per mile driven deduction or keeping a record of the exact amount of gas you used to drive to and from the organization.

The bottom line

This holiday season, there so many avenues for giving back. Choose the one that resonates the most with you, and then take advantage at tax time, if possible.

The post Ways You Can Give Back During the Holiday Season appeared first on TaxAct Blog.



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