It’s the tenth day of my 12 Days of Charitable Giving for 2020. Readers have suggested deserving charities over the past few weeks, and I’ll be posting the results here. Today’s charity is Change Is On The Menu.
Change Is On The Menu is more of a rallying cry than a charity. Technically, the charity behind the campaign is the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF). But our nominator was struck by the campaign, which rallies support and donations to help employees get back to building a future in the restaurant industry.
Here’s what the campaign aims to do:
100% of all donations go directly to help fund the Foundation’s industry-leading restaurant education and training programs including:
- Offering earn-while-you-learn apprenticeships in restaurant management
- Providing justice-involved young adults with first-job skills and employment opportunities
- Helping military service members and veterans transition into restaurant careers
- Preparing high school students for jobs in culinary arts and restaurant management
- Awarding scholarships to anyone pursuing a future in the restaurant/food service industry
So how can you help? You can make a donation by credit card by clicking over to the website.
Please mail your check donation to NRAEF’s deposit box at:
NRAEF
24405 Network Place
Chicago, IL 60673-1244
To donate by phone or to get assistance with your donation, call 1-202-315-4118, Monday-Friday 9 am-5 pm ET.
And if you give by the end of 2020, your gift will be DOUBLED thanks to Tito’s Handmade Vodka. You can, however, only deduct the value of your own gift for tax purposes.
For federal income tax purposes, if you plan to claim a deduction for a cash contribution, you’ll want to keep a record of the donation. Ideally, the organization will provide a written record with the name of the charity, date, and amount of the contribution.
And this year, don’t forget that taxpayers who make cash donations of up to $300 before December 31, 2020, are now eligible for a charitable deduction when they file in 2021 – even if they don’t itemize. As part of the CARES Act, the special $300 deduction is available to taxpayers who choose to take the standard deduction rather than itemizing their deductions.
Do your homework. As always, you want to make sure that your donation is going to a qualified charitable organization. A search using the IRS’ new Tax Exempt Organization Search (formerly Select Check) reveals that Change Is On The Menu isn’t on the list: remember, it’s a campaign, not a charity. The actual charity is the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation which is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. NRAEF is on the list.
To find out more about the work of the organization, check out their website, like them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter.
Remember: Readers nominate their favorite charities to the 12 Days of Charitable Giving, and in most cases, I can’t personally vouch for the organizations. So be generous but be smart: Do your homework.
For more on making charitable donations, click here.
For other charities in the series, see:
- Voices of Ascension
- Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth
- James Storehouse
- World Central Kitchen
- One Simple Wish
- The Ty Louis Campbell Foundation
- The Field Center For Children’s Policy, Practice & Research
- National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
- WISE
