MAGNOLIA

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VICK SBURG POST

VICKSBURG , MS

Circulation = 14245

DAILY

12/06/2009
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~y~C 'Stamprgvidsg-,easy-w-use tooltocheCK out Charities

In a Decerilbetin'q0d?
Feeling generous?
Walletempty~ _,.
,;,' , There are also jlen.ty ojcon
the state to try to tell you whether
it's on the leveL It's a free country.
Anyone can ask fOr mOlley.
Not a p'l'obiem, sayS Bin MOaIt,c artists whose o1!ily pr~ority is What the annual reports do
preSide-ntoftb,e-'B,etter' I"t~ines,s separating youjromyour mon- ' show is how much money a group
Buteau of Missis'Slppi: < , ' - ' raised in the most recent year,
Give time. ey. The harder.t~ey plJ1,ck your the cost of raising the money, the
"The penlRn!il rewatdSfb(yoJUlli ' cost of administrative staff an d
teering, esPe~iiUiy during tIleMhi ' , '
heartstrings, tkerriQrelikely the amount actually spent for the
day seasop"[can;be'-$s'il'Jll!9rtanfto they Can get acheck. stated purpose.
charities 'as:a cash COrilTIl:>11tlon,"
Moaksaid:
And ' '

hand, eSP "

t,Th.ere;~,y~f)lf~ 'iteerJ $ qccepted - from a Missts­

fl;QUISPIDe:op-e,whQ , tlwy"d:ever )lad.

"
ority is separating you from your
sthatcriwdh'tuse a slp~(cliuTcli -=- fheftrst whe~i~hairs -money. The hatder they pluck your
heartstrings, the more likely they
It does cost money to raise money,
, so it would be wrong to hoId an staff
salaries or fundraisiu g expenses
against a charity.
If, however, a report shows a char­
has a bltpf exp ' "' ': eiitiy: - 'It'sti~pressive-'how neighborly
cart geL~ check. ity spent 75 cents or more of every
plum -slioot­ Mississippians tan b€. ,
Anotl;1er 'term bogus groups like donated dollar on overhead - and
ing, bo c, :gtl}e~.:h~ve,;!1oti~ed, too; .a nd,
to emPloy is "law enforcement" or a surprising number do -- wary
Ifnothjp.g ,,' ,,0 7satlly;tlle~ol:ld,lbt:' charities h as
"first responders_" Every honest donors might choose to give their
cookies and take them '"be\;o]:n~mfe*~ WithpredatCl"l's: person is grateful. for law enforce­ checks to organizations that mini­
of an orgart1pat!pnYQ:g; '- Xhe~~: are , grQups;-and indlvid;u~ ,::ri;lent ~.Jidknows first responders mize their internal costs to maxi­
dOing goOd wotkm :j,ls ,who make ffortunes by usiIlg save llY¢s'>So it foHows that scam­ mize their effect.
nity.You.spend$5 ,', he ~ts ;deceptionitogllln ,t·he c()J).1passlon ·mars <ire not shy about tapping Back to a BBB idea. Moal<. says, and
somefhmgftlvalu.able,~ avoteol ; gfoW.Y~'" into thatgratitude.ln turn, they do it's true, that charities are limited by
encouragement.~
Missili\sjpp'
' .' ;'1'
~ l'iqtlf,i~tl,1lJ\ S ~s tlieir feeding very lin]e, if anything, to actually
ptijl' ; sea~qpj ' ," support law enforcement or first
the tax code on how much, if any,
lobbying they can do. Volun teers,
ant ' , " " ,e've ' $~ry@t ~q you tell if a donation responders, however, can be their advocates and
been told th for years. ,k. " wlllactually do :what you want it The second step is using a tool
write letters on their behalf,
ing is ba~ed0h gi'vinjasap(} ~t~ ',:f6 d()?.; " , ,, ~' an invaluable tool- the Missis­
If people have money to give, the
age0fincori'h~TepOrted to.,the " , ~er, ," i\first Iltep c'otild be called the Sippi Legislature has made avaiJ­
best advice is to gi ve it close to
nal Revenue seT'?ice.: 'ri1~ii)ct w~ ,.:,';nlUl;l~test." It works alrbost as well able totl)e public through the Sec­
home to known, trusted individuals
are a statewtt4a lotuflo~"!llsXl~e I ~,a iliatlfematical formula. Here it retary of ~tate's Office (WWw.sos.
and. organization$. Any group solic­
people ~d ,alQt 9f chUft;tn;-gQlp.g .is:J!le)tjoreemotlon-packed words state.ms_US) for several years.
iting a gift by mail, telephone or oth­
tithers llrovidespaJ.1; of tliee~pli.t¥ - ,! m;;the: 'organi 2a~i0i1'S n ame, the An annual report on all (;harities erwise should be checked out. The
nation. But !:tot @ otit. Pe~pleM' ,illpre likely·th(! organization is not registered to ask for money from state makes it pretty easy to do.
at
this state willre.i.tllyrally:, ' . ,~ a<ihllriJy all Hence, if the mai!­ Mississippians (and registration is And remember money, as BBB
I saw whadndiViduWs, fori1ial and " tiJa,nbl'ifigs you ~ solicitation from required) is available online in full says, is not the only thing that has
informal.or!gaHiZatl.ons aliclnongov­ : the' " SQ.cf~br to' PTovide Kittens.to and searchable formats, Most public value. Time does, too. As do words
ernment ~etict~s'ilitfir( tbi iftei: :. the BliUd:J3abies efDeafVeterans," liQrmies have printed versions, and actions showing support.
math ofHllrticaiie Kittriha:Dozehs II Clluesti6I1ing eyebrow should go When contacted and asked to give
of group fed thouscu\ds o6peopie , },1p,''fli~e are plenty of iegitimate ,money, a citizen can check the reg­ Cha rlie Mitchell is exeMive editor of The
for weeks, , . ' . ' ch,iu:iti~1;; that really aid animals, istry before donating, Vir;ksburg Post Write!J) him at Box 811668,
I watched in a iiUQuTlJau B~lidad -~i'on'lmpaired children and really , If the charity isn't listed, it's oper- , Vicksburg, MS 39182, or e-mail {mit<nelh,'
commumty 'cei)ter ' as :patjUyz:ed ' "i!ssist yeterans. But there are also atingillegally. vicksbu,!!po$t.com.
'" .f>lenty bf:con artists whose only pri­ If a charity is listed, don't expect