Taking the generosity generator* out for a spin

So I withdrew a $10 bill from the branch office of our charity fund (basically, a cash envelop for when I don’t want to fool around with accessing the money we’ve set aside in a bank account) to buy supplies for the kids’ religious education class I was teaching on Sunday. No, it wouldn’t have been that big a deal to just buy this stuff with my own money. But it would’ve thrown off my budgeting for the week, which would’ve made me cranky. Using the charity cash just made me feel better about the whole thing.

But I haven’t done this sort of maneuver often enough to have developed a routine, and as I was standing there in the checkout line, I wondered where I could put my change so that it didn’t get mixed in with my grocery money or my personal spending money. (I’m trying to be a good steward of this charity fund, after all.) Then I noticed that the grocery store was collecting money for Haiti earthquake victims. So I had the clerk ring up a $5 donation, which took up most of the change, and dumped the rest in the collection canister earmarked for the same cause.

A quick, clean transaction. No graft, of even the accidental or careless variety. So far, so good.

*See "The Generosity Generator," posted Nov. 25, 2009. (And I'm going to have my husband show me how to do links today, to make this a bit easier.)

A Christmas audit

For the next few days I’m going to be studying our Christmas game plan to see what could be improved on for next year. I have this urge every year and rarely indulge it, but I think that’s a big mistake. It’s an investment in my mental health, and my family’s happiness, for 2010. As I conduct my review, I’ll post ideas as well as horror stories (if they aren’t too embarrassing) about what we’ve learned.
For example, the gift idea that came too late: A gift card to the Salvation Army. This works only with a gift recipient of a certain mindset, but it would‘ve been perfect for our 16-year-old daughter, Rowan. She loves vintage clothing, especially T-shirts, and she could‘ve bought a bunch of them with a $20 gift card. (It would also be a bargain for our Christmas budget, because I dip into our charity fund for 50 percent of the purchase price of items bought at the Salvation Army*.)

*The way I see it, shopping at a thrift shop run by a charity is like making a donation where you get something in return -- like a mug from public radio. For tax purposes, you’re supposed to claim only the amount of the donation above the value of any goods or services you receive, right? So I pay the actual value of the item from my own pocketbook, and cover the rest of the purchase price from the charity fund. I don’t feel bad about doing this, because clothes at both Goodwill and the Salvation Army tend to be priced about double what I think they’re worth, according to my garage-sale barometer.

Need a gift for a grandparent?

If there’s a zoo in your community, see if they have an adopt-an-animal program. The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo is offering a $45 Christmas special that provides food for Bill the Lion along with a photo, stuffed animal and certificate for the recipient. We did this for Grandma Jane, who loves animals but is stuck in a nursing home. We figure the kids will check on Bill at the zoo and give updates to Grandma.

Financially, the nice thing about a gift like this is we can subsidize its cost with money from our charity fund. (See "The Generosity Generator," posted Nov. 25.) If you live in the Fort Wayne area, the zoo gift shop is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today and tomorrow and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
For more details: http://www.kidszoo.org/support/adoption.htm