a drop of water

When you buy something, you want your money’s worth right?  You do research and talk to previous/current owners about their experiences.  When you invest in stocks or deposit your money in the bank, you want to choose a trusted institution that will have high returns with low risk. We must apply the same rigor to selecting a charity to invest in.  For example, here are a few things to consider in order to make the most of your charitable contribution:

1. Give to a charity with efficient overhead costs, maximizing the direct impact of your gift.  Everyone likes a good deal, getting the most for your money.  Hold organizations accountable to minimizing their overhead costs.
2. Give to a charity that your company has chosen to match employee gifts.  Companies need to give away lots of money for tax reasons, so why not advocate for the organization of your choice with part of the financial power of your large company?  (Don’t see your organization on the list? Go and ask your HR department about getting them added!)
3. Give to a charity that you can connect with and advocate for among your community.  I know its a little awkward to talk about which charities you support, but there are so many charities out there, that most people might never take the time to learn about one unless personally introduced to it.

So, here is a little about World Vision:

1. 89% of your gift goes directly to the cause, 11% goes to overhead including fundraising, management and general. (reports here)
2. They have a company match database conveniently located here.
3. They tangibly connect you with who you are giving to, humanizing  your investment instead of making you feel like you don’t know where your money is really going.  You can sponsor a child, buy clothes for children who are suffering from the cold in Mongolia, or select from a host of other options in their gift catalog.

Thanks for reading!

With falling home prices in San Diego, California (and across the nation), homeowners can receive a little relief in temporarily lowering their home assessment, resulting in lower property taxes.  Since property taxes are usually ~1% of your home’s sale price, this can be a savings of ~1000s  of dollars.  This will typically help those who have recently purchased a home, since sales prices of homes which have been owned for a while are not lower than todays prices.

Summary from the application:

Under State law, (Proposition 8), if the current market value of your property, as of January 1, 2009, falls below the assessed or taxable value as shown on your tax bill, the Assessor’s Office is required to temporarily lower the assessment. This type of property tax relief generally applies to more recently purchased properties. If you feel you qualify for this reduction, please file this form with the Assessor’s Office between January 1 and May 30. Please indicate your opinion of value by providing supporting documentation, such as sales of comparable properties or a recent appraisal.

Our staff will review your application, and the property owner will be notified of the results in July. If the property owner disagrees with the value at that time, they must file an assessment appeal with the Clerk of the Assessment Appeals Board between July 2 and November 30. The necessary application can be obtained by calling the Clerk’s Office at (619) 531-5777.

I’ve received several notices in the mail about this company and that company offering to handle the application process themselves for a fee (~$100).  Here is how you can do it yourself for free with four easy links:

1. Check your current property taxes and home assessment here.
2. Check www.zillow.com or www.redfin.com for recent home sales in your neighborhood.  Make note of addresses of homes similiar to your own and their sales prices in from 10/08 to 03/09.
3. If homes that are similar to your home are selling for much lower than your home’s assessed value, start with the application here.
4. Find the Parcel Numbers for addreses here.

[optional] Feel free to paypal (ddhoffman.seller [at] gmail [dot] com) me if this information helped you :)

Just a quick note. Christianaudio.com‘s free audiobook for the month of March is Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, by Donald S. Whitney and the amazon reviews seem to highly recommend the book.  Go here and enter in coupon code MAR2009 at checkout to download it for free!

Also I recently discovered that DGM is offering many of John Piper’s books for free in PDF format.  (They already offer a huge repository of sermons-audio and written.)  They ask that these resources be used for personal use only and to spread the word by referencing their own site.  I was surprised to see available, many old titles (Desiring God, God’s Passion for His Glory, A Hunger for God through Fasting and Prayer, Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ)  that I read in college.  Save a tree and get some spiritual food for thought here.  A few of the titles are also available for download in audio format.

Our free gmail stickers came today!  Now, where to put them…

Early last month we mailed in our Calphalon 10″ Pan because the nonstick surface was wearing out. We originally purchased it in a set at Bed Bath and Beyond for about $40. The pan is covered by Calphalon’s Lifetime Warranty (Repair, but usually Replacement). We paid the shipping fee and included a letter explaining our request. We did not call Calphalon Consumer Relations ahead of time, but in retrospect maybe we should have–they might pay for return shipping? Anyways, yesterday we received a brand new pan in the mail! Although it took a few weeks and the result of our request was not known until we received the replacement, this kind of warranty service makes purchasing pans with lifetime warranties worth their extra cost.  Sometimes the individual Calphalon pieces can be quite expensive, so I would suggest buying sets off Amazon or BedBathandBeyond (with 20% coupons) and then dividing the set up amongst friends and family.