Controversies

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Why We All Need to Take a Ride on VolunteerSpot's #TinyCars Campaign

Submitted by Cara Thenot
on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 21:22

On Tuesday, January 24, 2012, VolunteerSpot launched a “Tiny Cars” campaign to fight for support of H.R. 387: Charitable Driving Tax Relief Act of 2011.  Passage would mean an increase of the measly $.14 per mile tax deduction rate for charitable driving unchanged by the U.S. Congress since 1997. That’s compared to the 50 cents per mile deduction for business use of a personal vehicle in 2011.  And the new bill would also no longer count such reimbursement to volunteers as gross income.

Do 4 UK Charities Have Volunteer Work Worthy of a Duchess? Do You?

Submitted by Cara Thenot
on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 20:24

The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, announced four charities for which she will serve as honorary patron, as the BBC reporrted on January 04, 2012.  Coming up second fiddle in this story was her decision to volunteer in person for her local Scout Association.

So many questions arise here from a volunteer management perspective: Why must Kate’s volunteering role be presented as an afterthought to her patronage? Won’t she garner the same spotlight/media attention for the Scout Association? Does anyone else view her volunteering choice as the role that’s perhaps closer to her heart?

December Hot Topic: My Personal “State of the World's Volunteering” Report

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Fri, 12/02/2011 - 00:09

To close IYV+10, United Nations Volunteers is set to issue its State of the World's Volunteering Report. In this spirit of celebration and reflection, Susan looks back at all that has happened professionally in our field – things we have done or were done to us – and asks for your retrospectives, too.   This hot topic is available at: http://www.energizeinc.com/hot/2011/11dec.php

June 19, 2011: International News From the Field

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 06/19/2011 - 00:00

19 June: The Wall Street Journal article, "Stray Cat Strut: Woman Beats IRS," captured the importance of the story in its first two sentences:

When Jan Van Dusen appeared before a U.S. Tax Court judge and a team of Internal Revenue Service lawyers more than a year ago, there was more at stake than her tax deduction for taking care of 70 stray cats.

Hanging in the balance were millions of dollars in annual tax deductions by animal-rescue volunteers across the nation—and some needed clarity on the treatment of volunteers' unreimbursed expenses for 1.55 million other IRS-recognized charities.

This volunteer incurred $12,068 in expenses while taking care of stray cats in her home on behalf of the IRS-approved charity, Fix Our Ferals. This covered such things as cat "food, veterinarian bills, litter, a portion of utility bills, and other items such as paper towels and garbage bags." When she attempted to deduct these costs on her 2004 income tax return, the IRS disallowed them and she

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