Deadline for tax-deductible donations: Dec. 31

Original photo by Charles Thompson

Don’t miss your chance to make a tax-deductible gift in 2011 and help us promote peace and social justice through Franciscan lay mission!

Donations made out to “Franciscan Mission Service” must be postmarked to P.O. Box 29034, Washington, DC 20017 or submitted online by 11:59 p.m. on December 31 to met the tax deadline.

FMS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, so the full amount of your gift to us is deductible for Federal income tax purposes. Along with the acknowledgment of your gift, you’ll receive in the mail a donation tax receipt with our tax ID number and a summary of your donations for the year which should be kept for your records.

Forbes has a great article with 12 tips for year-end charitable giving, and we’d be happy to answer questions about giving to FMS.

With your gracious contributions last year, we were able to:

Provide nutritional meals, health education, and a caring mentor for more than 400 children living in poverty in Bolivia.	Start a library and provide computer classes to improve literacy in an area where books are rare and computers are almost unheard of in Zambia.	Provide health care, companionship, and end-of-life care to hundreds of individuals living with AIDS in South Africa.

Today’s prayer for Christmas comes from Rachel Roa, FMS development associate and domestic volunteer, who processes our donations.

“My prayer this Christmas and the New Year is that our supporters know how appreciated they are because we can not do much without them. Just like every family is supported by relatives and friends, we at FMS are supported by a huge extensive family. Whether it’s the woman who can only give $1 or the couple that gives $3,000, there’s more to a donation than just the check, there’s somebody behind it. Each person’s time and contribution is just as important as the next.”