MCas4380 Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 This will be my second year using LOR. I see that a lot of you collect for different charities and I’m considering doing the same this year. I would like to collect donations to a local Autism organization. I have never done this before. What do I need to do to insure everything is legit and keep myself out of trouble? Is this a silly question or are there forms to fill out first? Or do I just get permission from the organization and run with it? so I’m looking for any pointer that you all could share with me. Thank Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
columbus27 Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 I would just put out a generic donation box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtoyeah Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 +1 can the city fine you for something stupid like not getting a permit or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCas4380 Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 Well has what i'm trying to figure out. What proves I'm not a crook? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
columbus27 Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Can good are easy. That's what I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 You definitely want the charity's permission to use their name. I've never heard of needing any kind of municipal permit for accepting collections, but that doesn't mean YOUR municipality doesn't have something stupid like that. Depending on how you handle the money and the status of the organization which receives the funds, there may be some tax issues, however. Ask a local expert for advice.We discourage food donations due to it being below freezing in December around here. We troll for cash, and aggressively promote the fact that every penny donated goes to our local Food Shelf - which makes for a nice non-controversial type of charity that everyone can get behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don Gillespie Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 I don't collect anything, if some one wants to donate I tell them to go the charity of their choice, IMO I think it looks tacky to have a donation box out front people seem to think you are collecting to buy more lights, because I have a very successful business in town I don't need the stigma of a greed monger, but there are a lot of folks on here that are very successful with donation boxes, so I say to each his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightsinMaine Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 That is the exact reason I do not collect $$. Only food and toy donations for the Ronald McDonald house Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCas4380 Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 I don't want to do food because my National Guard unit does a food drive the same time. I youngest son has Autism and i would like to support a local Autism group that provides learning aid to children with Autism. I spoke with the person in charge and they would love the support but didn't know what i should do to be legit.George any idea who to look for as a local expert? what type of person/ Job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Noe Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 I dont know if it was the "right" way or not, but for the first few years, I just kept a completely separate savings account and deposited donated funds every day, then cut one check at the end of the event to my charity to empty out that account. However, for the last few years, I've been fortunate enough to have a local bank provide the donation box/safe, and they come empty it. That way they get to be a "sponsor" and I'm completely out of the funds gathering portion, which eliminates any questions about the cash and reassures people that it's going where I say it's going. I realize that might not be an option for everyone, but if you have a neighborhood bank, they might be able to hook you up. I would suggest contacting your local charity chapter as they usually have pretty good contacts for these sorts of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 George any idea who to look for as a local expert? what type of person/ Job Any type of tax accountant or income tax preparer should be able to answer any tax questions you might have, or provide you with advice to avoid and/or deal with tax issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdeepfundraising Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 hi i raise money for a local school here in the uk and have been for 2 years and all i had to do was speak to the head master of the schooland have his permission to use the schools charity number and he sent me a headed letter saying that im raising monies for the school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsMeBobO Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 My wife and I collected for charity during our Halloween display for many years. The charity actually sent out a representative to our house with flyers and invited others to attend. People were invited to look at the brochures or ask questions. While I dont have any legal backing for this, my understanding is asking for a donation is not the same as charging money as if you were a business. When I called the city about it they said the halloween display is in the category of 'block party' and allowed without a permit. My insurance agent is the one who advised me that my policy covered all guests no matter how many as long as I was not charging money. We often had police cars and officers present and none ever said a word about our collection. Our sign clearly stated that 100% of donations went to the charity. We encouraged personal checks as they would get a receipt mailed to them and a thank you from OurLittleHaven.org For Christmas we have decided not to collect for charity as it goes on for too long and I dont want to monitor the donation box every night. For Halloween we only collected on that one night. Guests often ask me if I am collecting and I tell them I appreciated their generous offers but I prefer they pick their own charity give directly to them instead me passing it on for them. One last thing.. if you are interested in attracting the attention of a newspaper or tv news. Just saying you have a light show wont work very well. (unless its huge like Georges) But if you have a prominent charity who will be there at the same time the reporter is.. then you have a hook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCas4380 Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 Thanks everyone, maybe i don't have too much to worry about then. I will contact my tax gal and make sure i'm good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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