It’s the eighth 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 the National Law Center On Homelessness And Poverty (rebranding as the National Homelessness Law Center).
The National Homelessness Law Center is the only national legal group dedicated to ending and preventing homelessness. NHLC operates programs across the United States that serve America’s more than 3.5 million homeless families, children, and individuals.
NHLC believes that the right to adequate housing, healthcare, food, and education lies at the heart of human dignity and envisions a world where no one has to go without the basics of human survival. This has been especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic.
So how can you help? You can make a donation by credit card by clicking over to the website.
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.
You can also volunteer. The Law Center considers volunteer applications on a rolling basis as needed. Please submit a cover letter and resume to operations@nlchp.org with the type of volunteer position you are interested in as the subject line:
- Website Designer (Pro Bono): The Law Center is seeking a part-time (3-5 hours/week) web designer to help ongoing updates and long-term projects of the Law Center’s website. This project is expected to last 8 weeks, and a tax deductible donation receipt will be available for services provided.
- Volunteer Attorney (Pro Bono projects): The Law Center is seeking a part-time (15-25 hours/week) volunteer attorney to help develop, maintain, and oversee our large program of pro bono legal projects. It will be a great opportunity to oversee innovative legal work involving homelessness, housing, poverty, and education projects, work directly with attorney volunteers at major law firms and corporate legal departments.
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 the National Law Center On Homelessness And Poverty 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 or Instagram.
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
