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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview with Bennett Weiner
Aired November 15, 2003 - 07:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as you know, the holidays are just around the corner. And for many people, part of the celebration involves donating to charities. But whether you're giving money, clothes or toys, how do you know that you're donating to the right place?
Bennett Weiner is with the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance and he joins us now to talk about being a smart donor.
Thanks so much for being with us, Mr. Weiner.
BENNETT WEINER, BBB WISE GIVING ALLIANCE, WWW.GIVE.ORG: Sure.
COLLINS: A lot of questions probably come to you at this time of year. What are some of the most important questions people have about donating to charities?
WEINER: Well, I think certainly there's a lot of need out there and we encourage people to give generously, but with confidence. There are some red flags that people need to be aware of to make sure that their contribution is going to be used appropriately.
One of the things is watch out for cases of mistaken identity. There are over 850,000 charities out there and there are some with similar sounding names. So the one soliciting you might not necessarily be the one that you have in mind.
Watch out for excessive pressure in fundraising. Any charity that is demanding an on the spot gift should be looked at warily. Take the time to find out more about the organization and its cause. And watch out for overly emotional appeals that go on and on about a problem, but don't specifically tell you what the charity is going to be doing about it. And, of course, we always recommend that people take the time to find out more about the organization that is asking them for support. Go to the Better Business Bureau to find out about local charities and go to the BBB Wise Giving Alliance at give.org to find out about national charities that are soliciting you and to see if they meet our recognized charity accountability standards.
COLLINS: But let's talk about, if you're at home and you just get that phone call from someone who says hey, you know, it's holiday gift giving time, would you be interested in donating to such and such a charity. What kind of questions do you need to ask in that very phone call to find out if this might be a legitimate organization?
WEINER: The best advice about a phone appeal is to ask the caller to send your written information about their programs and finances. Legitimate charities will be happy to do that and the questionable causes will go on to the next potential giver. But, also, don't give out your credit card number, your checking account number or any other personal information to unknown telephone solicitors. Just because a charity is soliciting, you should not put your guard down.
And remember that charities are not covered by the national do not call list directory. So if you've already signed up for that, you will get charity calls and they will be soliciting you.
COLLINS: Sure. So as you're saying, the most important thing to remember, don't give anything over the telephone. Wait till you get that information on paper in the mail.
WEINER: Absolutely right.
COLLINS: Let me also ask you about some tax benefits now. When you're putting together, let's say, a huge bag of clothes that you're ready to give away to some sort of charity, how well do you have to keep track of what you're giving away? I mean should you be taking pictures? Should you be making lists of all these things in order to receive the tax benefits? Or what are the rules on that?
WEINER: When you're donating gifts to charity, the burden is on the contributor to keep a record of what they're giving to the organization and the fair market value of each piece they're giving if they want to recognize a tax deduction. In other words, what would the used items sell for, let's say, in a thrift store if it were sold today?
But also find out how the charity is going to be using your item. You want to give with confidence, again. There are some charities that actually operate the thrift stores themselves. Some do it by contract. For example, in major metropolitan areas, you will see these large metal bins that accept used clothing. Some of them are operated by charities doing good work and some are operated by actual for profit entities. You don't know who you are giving to unless you take the time to find out more. And as long as you're making the contribution, you probably want to make the most of it.
COLLINS: Sure. Absolutely. Some great advice this morning. And we certainly do appreciate it.
Bennett Weiner of the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance.
Thanks for your time today.
WEINER: Thanks for having me.
COLLINS: Perfect timing with the holidays coming up.
We do want to give you a little bit more information now about the Wise Giving Alliance. It's a merger of the National Charities Information Bureau, the Council of Better Business Bureaus Foundation and its philanthropic advisory service. Non-profit groups meeting certain standards can feature the organization's seal on their Web site and promotional materials. You can look for the seal to find national charities that meet the alliance's high standards for giving.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 15, 2003 - 07:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as you know, the holidays are just around the corner. And for many people, part of the celebration involves donating to charities. But whether you're giving money, clothes or toys, how do you know that you're donating to the right place?
Bennett Weiner is with the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance and he joins us now to talk about being a smart donor.
Thanks so much for being with us, Mr. Weiner.
BENNETT WEINER, BBB WISE GIVING ALLIANCE, WWW.GIVE.ORG: Sure.
COLLINS: A lot of questions probably come to you at this time of year. What are some of the most important questions people have about donating to charities?
WEINER: Well, I think certainly there's a lot of need out there and we encourage people to give generously, but with confidence. There are some red flags that people need to be aware of to make sure that their contribution is going to be used appropriately.
One of the things is watch out for cases of mistaken identity. There are over 850,000 charities out there and there are some with similar sounding names. So the one soliciting you might not necessarily be the one that you have in mind.
Watch out for excessive pressure in fundraising. Any charity that is demanding an on the spot gift should be looked at warily. Take the time to find out more about the organization and its cause. And watch out for overly emotional appeals that go on and on about a problem, but don't specifically tell you what the charity is going to be doing about it. And, of course, we always recommend that people take the time to find out more about the organization that is asking them for support. Go to the Better Business Bureau to find out about local charities and go to the BBB Wise Giving Alliance at give.org to find out about national charities that are soliciting you and to see if they meet our recognized charity accountability standards.
COLLINS: But let's talk about, if you're at home and you just get that phone call from someone who says hey, you know, it's holiday gift giving time, would you be interested in donating to such and such a charity. What kind of questions do you need to ask in that very phone call to find out if this might be a legitimate organization?
WEINER: The best advice about a phone appeal is to ask the caller to send your written information about their programs and finances. Legitimate charities will be happy to do that and the questionable causes will go on to the next potential giver. But, also, don't give out your credit card number, your checking account number or any other personal information to unknown telephone solicitors. Just because a charity is soliciting, you should not put your guard down.
And remember that charities are not covered by the national do not call list directory. So if you've already signed up for that, you will get charity calls and they will be soliciting you.
COLLINS: Sure. So as you're saying, the most important thing to remember, don't give anything over the telephone. Wait till you get that information on paper in the mail.
WEINER: Absolutely right.
COLLINS: Let me also ask you about some tax benefits now. When you're putting together, let's say, a huge bag of clothes that you're ready to give away to some sort of charity, how well do you have to keep track of what you're giving away? I mean should you be taking pictures? Should you be making lists of all these things in order to receive the tax benefits? Or what are the rules on that?
WEINER: When you're donating gifts to charity, the burden is on the contributor to keep a record of what they're giving to the organization and the fair market value of each piece they're giving if they want to recognize a tax deduction. In other words, what would the used items sell for, let's say, in a thrift store if it were sold today?
But also find out how the charity is going to be using your item. You want to give with confidence, again. There are some charities that actually operate the thrift stores themselves. Some do it by contract. For example, in major metropolitan areas, you will see these large metal bins that accept used clothing. Some of them are operated by charities doing good work and some are operated by actual for profit entities. You don't know who you are giving to unless you take the time to find out more. And as long as you're making the contribution, you probably want to make the most of it.
COLLINS: Sure. Absolutely. Some great advice this morning. And we certainly do appreciate it.
Bennett Weiner of the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance.
Thanks for your time today.
WEINER: Thanks for having me.
COLLINS: Perfect timing with the holidays coming up.
We do want to give you a little bit more information now about the Wise Giving Alliance. It's a merger of the National Charities Information Bureau, the Council of Better Business Bureaus Foundation and its philanthropic advisory service. Non-profit groups meeting certain standards can feature the organization's seal on their Web site and promotional materials. You can look for the seal to find national charities that meet the alliance's high standards for giving.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
