How Much To Give:
Religion, IRS Offer Range Of Ideas
The Queens Jewish Community Council office was filled with elected officials staff, officers and representatives of Health Plus in distributing food packages including Kosher Thanksgiving turkeys to needy residents of the borough of Queens. |
By MICHAEL CUSENZA
Queens County has long been lauded for its diversity. It boasts more than 2 million residents from myriad ethnic backgrounds and faiths.
These different cultures and creeds each have their own doctrines on giving back to their respective religious organizations and communities; some donate money every week or a percentage of their annual salary, while others look to contribute their time and services.
Dogmas may differ, but the purpose of charitable giving remains universal.
“In the Lutheran tradition, we believe the best stewardship is what you give from the heart as part of your faith,” Pastor David Gerber of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Richmond Hill said.
Gerber explained how events such as the recent model train exhibit at St. Paul’s helped to build a school in Tanzania encouraging stewardship.
“There was a suggested donation,” Gerber said, “but people gave quite a bit more.”
“As God gives to you, we give back out of thankfulness,” Gerber continued. “That’s our view of stewardship in general with the church here.”
Rabbi Randi Scheinburg of Temple Emanuel in New Hyde Park said charitable giving in Judaism follows the tenets of tzedakah (“justice”) and tikun olam (“fix the world”) and involves both monetary donations and the offering of time, services and talents.
“What it means is the world needs us to help make it right, to make it complete,” Scheinburg said. “It’s almost like we think of ourselves as partners with God in fixing the world; helping those who are in need, whether it’s monetarily or it’s people who don’t have food or who are suffering, or to correct any injustice in the world, political action. Any of those things fit under that category.”
Scheinburg said among many other acts, Temple Emanuel has donated food to Ethiopian Jews, money to aid in the crisis in Darfur and held a food drive during Yom Kippur to benefit local food pantries and shelters.
“It’s kind of constantly remembering that the world exists beyond your door and your window,” she said. “You have to really look out and care about other people and what they need.”
For all faiths, there can be a tax incentive to giving. According to the Internal Revenue Service, charitable contributions are tax deductible if they are itemized on the Form 1040. To be deductible, charitable contributions must be made to qualified organizations. Qualified organizations include, but are not limited to, Federal, state and local governments and organizations organized and operated only for charitable, religious, educational, scientific or literary purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. Organizations can tell you if they are qualified and if donations to them are deductible.
According to the IRS Web site, for a contribution of $250 or more, you can claim a deduction only if you obtain a receipt or other written acknowledgment from the qualified organization. You generally can deduct your cash contributions as well as the fair market value of any property you donate to qualified organizations. The fair market value of most household or personal items is generally much less than the price paid when new. You should claim only what the item would sell for at a garage sale, a flea market, or a second hand or thrift store.
