DAYTON — There was a steady stream of cars in the drop-off line at the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s 24/7 donation dock at the agency’s Shelter for Women and Families in Dayton on Tuesday afternoon.
Jeff Klopfstein, of Kettering, was one of the people dropping off clothing and other items to donate.
“We go to this one because we feel this benefits the people directly that need it the most,” Klopfstein said. “I donate twice a year usually. I donate stuff in the summer for people who need summer stuff, and then I donate between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.”
>> Stimulus checks could be deposited Tuesday night; paper checks to be mailed Wednesday
November and December are busy months for St. Vincent de Paul when it comes to donations. Diane Almanza is the agency’s volunteer manager and runs the donation dock. She guesses anywhere from 40 to 50 percent of all personal items – things like shampoo, soap, toothpaste and other toiletries – that people donate to St. Vincent de Paul throughout the year come through the door in November and December.
St. Vincent de Paul Society Executive Director, Michael Vanderburgh, says the last two months of the year are a busy time for the agency when it comes to charitable gifts as a whole.
“Right about 20 percent of our annual contributions that we get from folks comes in November and December,” Vanderburgh said. “So the end of the year is very important to us. And right now, during the pandemic, we’ve seen extraordinary support from the [Dayton] community.”
Aside from helping those in need, there are tax deduction advantages to donating before the calendar year ends.
And the CARES Act, that first round of COVID relief from Congress in the spring, means changes to deducting your charitable donations.
According to the IRS’s website, here’s how the CARES Act changes deducting charitable contributions in 2020: “Previously, charitable contributions could only be deducted if taxpayers itemized their deductions. However, taxpayers who don’t itemize deductions may take a charitable deduction of up to $300 for cash contributions made in 2020 to qualifying organizations. For the purposes of this deduction, qualifying organizations are those that are religious, charitable, educational, scientific or literary in purpose.”
News Center 7 asked Vanderburgh about the changes to itemizing charitable donations created by the CARES Act.
“That’s important because over 90 percent of us don’t itemize our taxes,” Vanderburgh said. “So our charitable gifts don’t count like they used to before the tax act in 2018. So as far as the tax advantages of end of year giving, everyone can take advantage of that deduction. And the charities can benefit from those monies certainly will appreciate any of your gifts that you make online between now and December 31.”
Not to mention how good donating is for the soul, too.
As WHIO watched workers take the stuff out of Klopfstein’s car in that drop-off line so they could take the items inside, sort and store them before they’re distributed to those in need.
“Knowing it’s going to go to a really good cause,” Klopfstein said. “That’s what it’s all about.”