Giving Back in Twenty Twenty
If you’ve opened Instagram at all this year, you’ll have noticed the general population referring to twenty-twenty as the year of “perfect vision.” With this as the theme, it feels like there’s even more impetus to set the right intentions and goals, and get crystal on how best to spend the next twelve months.
But while all this talk of personal objectives and “gettin’ it girl” is optimistic, how about we reframe and look at starting twenty-twenty off with a little more giving instead? How about making the first goal of the year to help someone else meet their personal objectives?
One thing’s for sure, there are plenty of causes that could use the help.
Donating to charity mightn’t be something that frequently pops up on your radar, and that’s okay. If you’re yet to give it a crack, you can safety assume it won’t be a decision you’ll end up regretting. Especially if you donate through your business. Hear me out…
“If you did well in 2019 and have a bit of change to play with, offloading some of it into a right donation box can bode well for your business come tax time. Any donations over two dollars, with receipts kept, are tax deductible.”
Essentially, what this means is that giving to a charity can be used as an expense to your business and bring your taxable income down. Even more plainly, this means you’ll owe less tax.
Of course, as with anything concerning the Australian Taxation Office, there are rules that need to be followed. If you are donating to a charity and you receive something in return for your generosity (such as a raffle ticket, a basket of cheese, even a pen or a soft toy) this renders your donation non-tax deductible.
Be vigilant of who you are donating to, as well. Make sure they do GOOD work. If the charity themselves have not been registered as ‘Deductible Gift Recipients’, your donation becomes void as a tax write off. If you’re unsure about this you can always ask (it’s a reasonable question), but a failsafe way to keep everything above board is to search for your charity on the Australian Business Register. Click on the correct name and ABN of your charity, and you’ll be able to see their ‘Deductible Gift Recipient’ status.
As the head honcho of your business, encouraging this kind of culture among your employees is also a great move. Let them know about causes that are close to your heart, and inspire them to speak up about those close to their own.
In light of the devastation currently sweeping across Australia, starting twenty-twenty off with a charitable donation is an intention well worth setting. If you’re at a loss for where to donate, below are some ideas for registered charities to start you off.