It’s the fifth day of my 12 Days of Charitable Giving. Readers have suggested deserving charities over the past few weeks, and I’ll be posting one a day for – well, 12 days (I’m clever that way). Today’s charity is The Forge Initiative.
The Forge Initiative, formerly Wake Robotics, believes that our future will be stronger and our communities more vibrant when people of all ages can engage collaboratively in technology and art.
The mission of the organization is “[t]o empower families and individuals of all ages to collaboratively explore, learn, and lead using technology and engineering.” According to The Forge Initiative, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) are an integral part of our society, economy and educational system. The organization believes that having STEAM activities available to everyone is key to our future.
So how can you help?
To make a one-time donation by credit card, you can click over to the website. To donate via Paypal, click here.
Donations may also be sent by mail. Checks should be made payable to The Forge Initiative and mailed to:
The Forge Initiative
PO Box 4798
Cary, NC 27519
The Forge Initiative relies heavily on volunteers. In 2014-15, volunteers donated over 13,000 hours of organizational development, technical mentoring, and hands-on community outreach. The organization’s K-12 members volunteered 4,000 hours in 2014 to bring hands-on STEAM activities to 8,000+ people in the community.
Remember that you can’t claim a deduction for donating your time – even if you can put a value on your time. You can, however, donate the cost of out-of-pocket expenses that you incur for donating your time. This includes the costs of parking and mileage.
As always, you want to make sure that your donation is going to a qualified charitable organization. A search using the IRS’ Exempt Organizations Select Check reveals that The Forge Initiative 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. You can also sign up for the organization’s newsletter.
I often suggest checking out third-party sites like Charity Navigator for more information about charitable organizations, including evaluations and access to tax forms and other financials. The Forge Initiative is not ranked by Charity Navigator. That doesn’t mean that there’s a problem. Charity Navigator explains simply, “This organization is not eligible to be rated by Charity Navigator because it does not meet our criteria of having at least $1 million in revenues.” You can check out this handy guide, Evaluating Charities Not Currently Rated by Charity Navigator, for more information.
Remember: submissions to the 12 Days of Charitable Giving are made by readers, and in most cases, I can’t personally vouch for the good work that these folks do. So be generous. But be smart. Do your homework.
For more on making charitable donations, check out this prior post.
