giving % to charity. how to prove?

[jord0690]

So iv been trying to figure out a way to collect more scrap. E waste or cars primarily.



Theres already a program in my area called "kidney car" where they pick it up for free and give a donation to the kidney foundation. I was thinking of doing something along those lines, except donating what i would pay them, to a carity of the customers choice. (maybe from a list?) but iv thought of a possible issue. How would you prove that youll actually donate? Too many deadbeats have ruined the trust by scamming other people. Im obviously not gonna scam anyone.

[Mechanic688]

I believe you have to have an agreement form with the charities before hand, And I think in the fine print that the companies that are doing the advertising only have to give like 10 % to them.

[jord0690]

And I think in the fine print that the companies that are doing the advertising only have to give like 10 % to them.

Really? The guys up here say they give a 300 tax recept. Ill look into that.. Seems like it could be an alright deal. Especially for something like e waste.

[parrothead]

Before you can use the name of any charity for fundraising, you will indeed have to get their permission to do so. That is a start.

As far as providing proof to the people that you pick up from, I would suggest maybe having a duplicate form that gets filled out when you do a pick up. You fill out the form with information such as where it came from and a description of the items picked up. Maybe both parties names on it. You give them a copy of it as well as a stamped envelope addressed to the charity that they have chosen. They can drop it in their mail box and now know that you will be contacting them to settle up.

Sound cool? I've been thinking about that for awhile myself.

[jord0690]

Before you can use the name of any charity for fundraising, you will indeed have to get their permission to do so. That is a start.

As far as providing proof to the people that you pick up from, I would suggest maybe having a duplicate form that gets filled out when you do a pick up. You fill out the form with information such as where it came from and a description of the items picked up. Maybe both parties names on it. You give them a copy of it as well as a stamped envelope addressed to the charity that they have chosen. They can drop it in their mail box and now know that you will be contacting them to settle up.

Sound cool? I've been thinking about that for awhile myself.

Thats a really good idea. Iv been trying to come up with an idea that will give me an edge over other scrappers in my area. Theres so many in my town... Soo many lol i need to think outside the box.

[Mechanic688]

Thats a really good idea. Iv been trying to come up with an idea that will give me an edge over other scrappers in my area. Theres so many in my town... Soo many lol i need to think outside the box.

Or maybe team up with your local school and advertise for a recycle day with a percentage going to the local school. Maybe people would turn out better with helping the local school. Someone on here did that and posted it on the forum.

[beardo]

I am planning on doing the same thing when I form my LLC and get rolling more seriously this spring. I am doing for two reasons. #1. I want to give back and I live well on my day job so my scrap $$$ is extra. #2 I have moved to a small rural community. As an outsider I am at a disadvantage and don't have a large network. I believe advertising the fact that I'm giving a % will help people see past the giant beard and tattoos and show my commitment to the community. As far as transparency I am going to post either the money order or tax receipt on either a company facebook page or tumblr page. They are both free and i plan on doing it quarterly (blacked out personal data). So that's only 4 posts a year. Also I will keep the information in a binder so if, let's say, I'm talking to a city council member or local company about a large deal, bam! here is our commitment to charity. Or if someone calls me out, I just need a few minutes to set them strait. The language I'm going to use is "local school system" and "veterans" organization. Each quarter half will go to the school my kids go to and half to either wounded warrior project or IAVA. I will at anytime be able to show what to date has been donated and to whom.

[jord0690]

Beardo, sounds like a great idea as well, but your post has pointed me towards another issue on my end. I dont have a licenced business for scrap. I work a 9-5 and do this part time. I didnt even think about the tax man till now. Seems like i can get myself into a bit of a bind if i dont claim any taxes on what I bring in. With some going to charity, that would leave a paper trail. Im going to look into it all and see if i should/need a business licence to do this.

[beardo]

Well this is were it all comes down to local, state and federal law. I don't want to give any direct advice because there is to many variables. I would recommend meeting with the SBA or some other agency, there are many free ones. Some local goverments have programs as well and find out exactly what you need and how much it costs and any free classes about managing the taxes. When you dig in to things there is a lot of free help and organizations to get things moving in the right direction. Don't stress about taxes. I know a lot of folks who were not as successful as they could be in ventures because they feared the paperwork side. For me personally I track what I earn, my expenses and my deductions.It's to easy. If it gets hard that just means I can afford an accountant.lol.

[webuyselltradestuff]

It's actually pretty simple....I do this with my school electronic recycle events. I use a simple spreadsheet to track what I take in for each school or group...you can even weight the stuff right there and give them the going rate for it if they are a bit funny...mine have not been.

I then write a CHECK and label it DONATION and get the receipt they have as a 503c (non profit)...even our schools have those. So pretty simple, they know what was taken in and how much they are getting donated and give you a donation slip. To hedge your bet, on the donation slip REFERENCE the spreadsheet printout or just staple a copy of where the items were sold in case of an audit. At least it is easy to say, I made $1000 and here is my donation to XYZ for $500 Mr. auditor.....and remember, I believe they get funny if you have over $500 in donations....all you have to do is document the items...ie I take pics of the stuff and that goes in the stapled file with a copy of the sold receipt and donation slip.

Not, caveat....I am NOT a tax attorney nor a CPA....talk to yours and get their PROFESSIONAL advice....but this seems to be a good system and not a ton of work....especially if they are bringing me stuff...FOR FREE and I don't have to run around to get it.

Good luck!

[eesakiwi]

I think this suggestion may work.

Computer people are cat people.
Cats are really annoying when they are hungry.
Most computer people have a old computer around.
Sometimes they don't have cat food.

IDEA! Advertise 'One Lb catfood per computer".

[SuperDave]

That is a good idea Jord! It would definitely give you an edge by using charities...

Have you ever heard of car heaven?
Car Heaven
http://oara.com/

[MattInTheHat]

Maybe you can have the charity send them a thank you letter?

[Mealane8]

Maybe you can have the charity send them a thank you letter?

Now, that's more of the type of answer I was thinking of... Thank you for saying!
Thanks for all of your time, everyone!
Thanks for reading my comments!
Please rate and reply!

[valleyscrapping]

what i usually do is ill give 50$ to there choice of any charity if i get a load that brings in over 200