Guidestar Correction

We wrote: Please beware of sites such as GuideStar, where the charities pay to be members and are rated accordingly. This is incorrect, and we apologize to GuideStar and thank Chuck McLean, VP, Research, GuideStar USA for his time and patience in helping us understand the process of Guidestar.

Indeed, the ratings are done by consumers, not by Guidestar, and are subjective to each one’s experience. While it is true that Guidestar does list a $1000 charge for charities to list with them, the “charities that provide us with all of the information that we request will get a free subscription for as long as their information remains current. We are both notified when a charity updates its information and get a computer-generated list of charities that have not made any updates in a one-year period” One additional note: Guidestar will provide a way to donate to your charity through their site, but uses a third party for processing who charges a 4.75 percent fee. (So, if you want the charity of your choice to receive $100, you must pay $104.75.) McLean also pointed out that his company does make public “more than four million Forms 990 available…at no cost, and we also make a lot of the information that organizations provide us available at no cost. We are looking for ways to make better information for individual donors available."

McLean acknowledges his site charges the $75 fee mostly to people who use this site for their jobs. “The $750 product you mention is Charity Check, which is used mostly by grantmakers." Frugal Living Press regrets the errors. --- Alice Rose Kieft

Is your charity charitable?

Most donations to charity are made during the last two weeks in December. If you’re someone who waits until the end of the year to donate, you might want to make sure the charity you’re supporting actually creates positive change with its money. At Charity Navigator, you can find some tools to help you make an informed decision, based on solid financials.

Charity Navigator is a nonprofit organization that does not accept contributions from the charities it rates. There is also a section on reports the organization has put together. (Incidentally, one of its reports is the 2009 CEO Compensation Study —very interesting reading!)

You can use the site’s tools for evaluating the charity you have chosen to donate to or work for. Plus, there are tips and resources to help you decide where your money will actually benefit the causes you believe in and help you avoid the ones that are “top heavy” and laden with inflated administration costs, and of course, scams which abound at this time of year. Among other facts, you can find out:

· Top 10 Best Practices for Savvy Donors
· 6 Questions to Ask Charities Before Donating
· Tips for Older Donors
· What to do When a Charity Calls
· How to Stop Solicitations by Mail
· Protecting Yourself From Online Scams
· Tips for Giving in Times of Crisis
· Evaluating Charities Not Currently Rated by Charity Navigator
· Tax Benefits of Giving
· Guide to Donating Your Car
· Guide to Donating Noncash Items
· Guide to Volunteering
· Guide to Giving in the Workplace
· Giving Statistics
· A Donor's Bill of Rights
· Giving Calculator

You can “join” the organization for free so you can then log in to use the evaluation pages. Type in the name of a charity, such as Human Rights Watch. You will see that Charity Navigator has given it a rating—its best. You can get Charity Navigator’s overall rating for organizational efficiency and capacity; revenue is broken down and expenses listed along with the CEO’s salary. The donor privacy policy is clearly stated, along with the organization’s mission statement. At the bottom is a list of similar organizations and their overall star rating. You also can get historical information for the past three years, read comments from other donors and read news articles about the charity.

A note of caution: Please beware of sites such as GuideStar, where the charities pay to be members and are rated accordingly, and cash-back sites for charitable organizations, such as http://www.igive.com/. Read the fine print before donating through such sites, because many of them give only a small percentage of your rebate to the charity you select. (For more information, see Shrewd Shopping)

Enjoy the season, and give wisely!—Alice Rose Kieft

Wrap It Up!

A homemade, cloth, gift bag is beautiful, reusable, washable, “green” and frugal—much less expensive than a store-bought, paper gift bag. Our talented sisters, Wanda Kieft-Flood and Susan Fesler-Vaughn, designed The Bow Bag. If you can sew a straight line, you can make their gift bag; we’re going to show you how.

Some tips to follow as you sew: Wash the fabric before sewing so it won’t stretch or shrink. Press the fabric. Leave the iron hot so you can press your seams as you sew. Measure twice; cut once. Snip all threads as you go.

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For an average size gift, you will probably need only about one yard of 44-inch wide fabric to make a bag. Your fabric has to be large enough to wrap around your gift box; add 2 inches for the seam allowance. Cut off any excess fabric, and save it for the Bow Belt.

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The length of the fabric needs to be 3 times the sum of the length and side of the gift box. So, if your box is 13 inches long by 3 inches high, your fabric must be 3 times (13+3) or 48 inches. Cut off excess.

Make a half-inch hem along the width ends.

Bow belt: From leftover excess fabric, cut a 6-inch by 10-inch piece, and press it. Fold in half lengthwise, with right sides together (RST). Sew together on the long side with a half-inch seam. Turn right side out, and press with seam in the center (F-4). Your piece will be 3 inches by 10 inches. Then fold in half with center seam on inside so your piece measures 3 inches by 5 inches. Set aside.

Fold large piece of fabric in half lengthwise, RST. Then fold in half the other way to find center, and mark center with pin.

Unfold the last fold; place the belt inside the folded fabric at the center with the raw edges of the belt even with the raw edges of the fabric.

Pin everything together. Sew the lengthwise seam to create a “tunnel.” When you turn it all right side out, the Bow Belt will be in the center.

Place the gift box in the center of the tunnel,

and pull the ends of the fabric through the Bow Belt (F-10, F-11, F-12)

and Voila! (F-13).

If you do not want to mess with the Bow Belt, you can do a Candy Tie (F-14) using ribbon on both ends or use ribbon to tie the ends together in a bow(F-15).

Don’t be surprised if your gift bag recipients find other uses for gift bags, such as throw pillow covers. Have a good holiday, and happy sewing!—Alice Rose Kieft

The Bow Bag design and instructions © copyright 2009 Wanda Kieft-Flood and Susan Fesler-Vaughn.

Untraditional traditions

I never seemed to successfully hit upon a tradition of holiday foods when my kids were small. Usually, Christmas dinner was a repeat of Thanksgiving: Turkey was on sale, it fed a lot of people, it didn’t require a lot of thought, and everybody liked it. As a vegetarian, I was more interested in the side dishes, so every year I tried a different main dish for me and the other non-turkey eaters. This led to a succession of vegetable loaves, stuffed squash, and wild rice dressings, all delicious, but none of them became a traditional part of our holiday meal.

Then I married a man for whom holiday meals consisted of an array of dishes from his family’s ethnic heritage of Filipino, Mexican, Polish and African-American. Adobo, lumpia, tamales, carnitas, refried bean tacos, kolachkes and sweet potato pie appeared on his family’s Christmas table. Turkey rarely made an appearance, and few people ate it when it did. His family tradition gave me all the culinary liberation I needed to make holiday dinner whatever we loved to eat instead of adhering to some arbitrary annual menu. This new approach to holiday meals also turned out to be a frugal one.

Holiday meals don’t have to be based on expensive meat cuts or prepared foods. Any foods can be holiday foods. Think about what your family loves to eat. Who says you can’t have roast chicken or a casserole or any of your family’s favorite foods as your holiday dinner? For years, we had spaghetti on Christmas Eve. Then one year, for reasons I have now forgotten, we made tacos, and they were such a hit that for years after that we ate tacos every Christmas Eve. Dessert was rarely more exotic than apple pie and Christmas cookies, and during the evening, we’d sip hot, spiced, cranberry juice “cider” that was kept warm in the slow cooker. If you use your silver and holiday linens, serve everything on holiday dishes, and display your children’s holiday crafts as centerpieces, even a casserole can seem festive and special.

Another way we save money is to have a family potluck on Christmas night. The hosts provide a main dish, and everyone contributes a dish or two. This cuts down on costs for everybody and still allows us to celebrate with a big meal.

There are many ways to save on holiday meals: Study the newspaper food ads so you can plan your menu based on what’s on sale. Make a list and stick to it. Don’t go to the store hungry. Shop alone; the more people you take with you, the more money you’re likely to spend. Use coupons. Take advantage of specials and twofers. Try store brands. Use your store loyalty card. Avoid prepared and processed foods, and cook from scratch. Base your meals on grains, beans, fruits and vegetables, and treat meat more like a condiment than the main focus of the meal. Being frugal yet festive doesn’t have to be a contradiction in terms.—Carol Wiley Lorente

Frugal holiday gift ideas

It’s that time of year again. There are plenty of ways you can give gifts to everyone on your list without spending a lot of money. Here are some money-saving ideas:

Thrift stores are veritable treasure troves of frugal holiday gift ideas. Here are just a few:

• A decorative teapot or teacup and matching saucer, to which you can add a few teabags—perfect for a tea drinker
• A decorative bowl, to which you could add a box of pasta and a wooden spoon
• A pie plate or baking dish, to which you could add a small bag or jar of apple pie or pumpkin pie spices
• A set of small soup bowls, to which you could add a small bag of spices for chili or a bag of mixed, dried beans
• Candles and candleholders

Coupons. Make up your own coupons: rides to and from the doctor’s office or grocery store; baby sitting, pet sitting or dog-walking services; use your talent and “gift” it to someone on your list.

Think outside the (gift) box. Think of local businesses your person uses: a bowling alley, a movie theater, local hairdresser or barber, or a craft store, and get them a gift certificate at that place.

In these hard economic times, “odd” gifts will be appreciated. Consider things such as: a box of filters for their water purifier, specialty coffee or tea, pet food or toys, fixings for a spaghetti dinner (including candles and wine), homemade all-occasion cards and envelopes, etc.

Do you have a special dry soup or mix that you make that could be packaged in a decorative jar? Or even a trail mix or party mix of cereal, nuts and tiny pretzels? When packed in a decorative jar, they make nice gifts. Be sure to attach a recipe if needed.

Throughout the year, one of my friends uses coupons and rebates on everything from shampoo, shower gel, razors, toothpaste and toothbrushes, to writing utensils, Post-Its and notebooks. All of it goes into a plastic storage container or shower “bucket” with holiday ribbons and bows on the handles for three college kids in her family. She fills a small tote for each of them, and it costs her about $10 for all three.

Promote family. Somehow, we seem to spend much more than we plan for stuff that doesn’t get touched after it’s opened on Christmas morning. How about spending money to bring family and friends together and have a truly memorable Christmas? Comb your local newspaper for holiday programs and events that could make wonderful gifts for children and adults. Last year, I treated my family to tickets to a Christmas concert. My sister’s gift to us all was dinner afterward. On Christmas morning, I gave everyone a CD of the concert as a souvenir.

If that’s too pricey, though, how about something similar but less expensive, such as tickets to a holiday movie or local Christmas dance or theatrical production?

Do something as a family, reduce the amount of “stuff” you are giving, start some new traditions, and make yourself some memories.—Alice Rose Kieft