Some Tax Smart Ways To Contribute

Posted on February 3, 2020 by

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Most everyone contributes to Second Chance Cocker Rescue to help the cockers-not for a tax benefit. For some contributors that itemize their deductions, there is an added tax benefit of being able to include their charitable contributions in their itemized deductions and get a tax benefit from the write-off.
There are some additional ways that some taxpayers may be able to reap tax benefits too. Two of the more popular ways to achieve these tax benefits are:
1. Donor Advised Funds. This is an increasingly popular way to donate to charity-they are easy & convenient to set up and use. Many of the major stock brokerage companies like Schwab Charitable,Fidelity Charitable and Vanguard Charitable have user friendly web based applications that make set-up, donating and granting to charities easy. And at a very low cost, with them handling all the record keeping. It allows you to set up your own family’s charitable fund with very low cost(some brokerages as low as  $100). So, here’s how it works & what the potential tax benefits are:
—you set up a donor advised fund at your favorite stock brokerage company(like Schwab,Fidelity or Vanguard), which is very easy to do on-line or over the phone. People typically pick their current stock brokerage company(but it pays to shop around on-line for fees , etc)
—You contribute either cash or assets like stock  you own to your Donor Advised Fund-if you have a brokerage account at the same company as your Donor Advised Fund, its as easy as a few clicks of the mouse or a quick phone call to make the donation. Note: if you donate stock, you avoid permanently all capital gains taxes on the stock that you’ve owned for a year or more —the tax savings here can be significant. For example, if you bought stock a long time ago for $1000 and its now worth $5000, when you donate this stock to your Donor Advised Fund, you avoid the $4000 capital gain permanently. Also you are entitled to a charitable deduction(if you itemize) on the full fair market value of the stock on the date of the donation-a $5,000 charitable deduction in the example given.
—you then decide what charities you want to have your Donor Advised Fund contribute to—you can pick as many as you would like. And there is no time limit as to when you make the donation. It doesn’t have to be the same year as your contribution. You can take as long as you want, so your donations from your fund can take place over several years. And you still are entitled to the charitable deduction the year you make your contribution.
—some taxpayers don’t itemize their deductions, but rather use the standard deduction(currently $12,200 for singles & $24,400 for married filing jointly). For these taxpayers, an  increasingly popular technique is to “bunch” their contributions into one year(do several years of planned giving & make them all in one year) so that the “bunched” contributions now make it worthwhile to itemize(since the bunched contributions push you over the standard deduction amounts) rather than use the standard deduction. Donor advised funds are an ideal way to “bunch” your contributions since you obtain the charitable deduction in the year contributed, but you can make the actual donations out of you Donor Advised Fund over the several years that you otherwise would be having the money go to the charities
2. Qualified Charitable Distributions. As everyone that is 70 1/2 years of age knows(72 years old starting in 2020), the rules are that you must take out a certain amount from your IRA every year(call a Required Mandatory Distribution-or RMD for short). If you don’t make your annual RMD, the penalties can be stiff-a 50% penalty on the RMD amount you failed to make. When you do make the RMD, you are taxed on the amount of each annual RMD as ordinary income-and taxed accordingly. For people that don’t itemized their deductions and use the standard deduction, they don’t get the tax benefit of their charitable contributions.But, there is a way to get the full 100% tax benefit of your charitable contributions. Its by making a Qualified Charitable Distribution(known as a QCD)-you have your IRA Custodian issue a check from your IRA payable directly to the charity. The amount of the QCD(up to $100,000 annually) counts towards your RMD, but isn’t included in your taxable income. So, this is a great way to satisfy your annual RMD and at the same time get the equivalent of a full 100% charitable deduction, even if you don’t itemize your deductions and use the standard Deduction. Commentators advise against using the technique on Roth IRA’s, but it works on traditional and other IRA’s.
Of course, before anyone uses any of the strategies above, they should always check with their own accounting/financial advisors. And with any tax savings, people may decide to donate even more to help our cockers.

PUPDATE ON SHAD

Posted on January 30, 2020 by

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Shad had his surgery last week and he’s recovering nicely.

Both the head tumor (the one near his ear) and the one on his leg were the same. Both were benign, but had come back 3 times so we have to expect it will come back again. He will be living the rest of his life as a sanctuary dog with his forever family. His home will be close to our vet and we will be able to catch it early when the tumors come back.

We will continue to help Shad’s family provide the best quality of life for him. We know he will need continued medical care, and we need your help to give him the best care possible. If you would like to sponsor Shad, please consider becoming a monthly donor. Check out our website for more details on our monthly giving program. Donations can also be made via or PayPal page or by mailing a check to us at:
Second Chance Cocker Rescue
PO Box 1419, Twain Harte, CA 95383

All donations go to provide for the medical care and daily needs of our many cocker spaniels in need of a second chance. We thank you for your generosity!

We Need Your Help!

Posted on January 23, 2020 by

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The bills are adding up and we desperately need your help!

We are so very grateful for all the donations that we receive, and although we have received a few very large generous donations, overall our donations for 2019 were significantly less than in prior years.

When donations are down we are unable to perform as many rescues as we wish we could. We are a small rescue and rely heavily on the generous donations of our friends and supporters. We can only do so much with the money we are given as vet costs seem to be rising every year and the dogs we continue to take in, and commit our rescue to, continue to be the ones that need the most medical care.

We would like to continue our outreach and save as many lives as we can, but we cannot continue to do so without your support and generosity. Donations are needed every day to support the medical care of our sanctuary dogs whom we provide lifetime medical care for, to continue to build our sanctuary for our long term rescues, and to continue our global outreach and rescue dogs from other countries including dogs from the Asian dogmeat trade.

Please rest assured that all donations go directly to the dogs that we save. We are a nonprofit and none of our volunteers or board members are paid for their services. Our fosters also willingly give their homes to our dogs and provide unlimited love, training, and all the daily essentials. All donations are tax-deductible and we are happy to provide you with a receipt if requested. We hope that you will continue to support us in our mission of saving lives one dog at a time! We are so grateful for the community around us and all of the rescue that you, our friends, allow us to accomplish!

There are so many ways you can make a difference in the life of a dog in need! You can donate via the donate button on any of our Facebook posts. You can donate directly through our PayPal page and choose where you want your donations to go. You can mail us a check (PO Box 1419, Twain Harte, CA 95383). You can even become a monthly donor! Please consider giving what you can!! Every dollar adds up!!! Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts!!!

From The Dog Meat Trade To The Top Of The Class

Posted on January 20, 2020 by

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Who’s the goodest boy?!! Jin is!!!!

Congratulations to this smart puppy on completing his puppy training classes and passing them with flying colors!!! We are so proud of him!!

It’s so hard to look at Jin and think of the horrific conditions that he came from and all he’s had to overcome in his short life. Thanks to all of the support we received for our SCCR Global Rescue Fund, we were able to save Jin, along with his mom sister and 2 other cockers, from the dog meat trade in China!!! We look forward to welcoming his dad plus 4 more dogs to the USA next month!! Keep those donations coming and we can keep saving more lives!! Look what these dogs can accomplish when they are given a second chance!!!!

Saving Shad

Posted on January 16, 2020 by

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Can you help us help Shad?!

Shad was adopted from us back in 2017. He’s been loving life with his forever family and doing great, except for his ear!

Poor Shad has a reoccurring growth in/near his ear that needs to be removed again. Luckily the tumor is benign, but removal will be tricky. Our vet is confident that they can get the whole thing. The surgery will be very expensive and we are asking for your generosity once again to help us get Shad the care he needs.

Once a Second Chance Cocker, always a Second Chance Cocker!! We are committed to helping all of our dogs whenever they are in need, and your donations make it possible. If every one of our friends donated just a few dollars, it would add up quickly. Thank you all for your continued support!

2020 Will Be The Year Of The COCKER!

Posted on January 11, 2020 by

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Greetings from Second Chance Cocker Rescue. This past year was a busy one for all of us at SCCR, and we have no intention of slowing down in 2020!

As you know, our primary mission has always been to rescue and find loving homes for Cockers throughout California. At times we have been called on to expand our reach to neighboring states. And, this past year we went worldwide by launching our Global Rescue Fund. The inaugural class flew from China to Los Angeles in October. This crew of five beautiful Cockers was saved from terrible conditions associated with the dog meat trade. It took a veritable squad of people to coordinate their rescue, but our amazing team of volunteers was up to the task. I am happy to report all five are now thriving. Another five are set to arrive soon, rescued from the same unthinkable fate, and we can’t wait to meet them.

In news closer to home, we purchased land for our Sanctuary made possible in no small measure by long-time donors The Maios. A place where our seniors who have yet to find their forever homes can reside in comfort, the Sanctuary will also include space to house adoptable Cockers we are unable to place in temporary foster care and Cockers in need of behavioral training for aggression and other socialization issues.

We are thrilled to see this dream becoming a reality. Our efforts last year focused on the permitting process and cleaning up the property. This year we will build the kennels, erect fencing, and construct a parking lot. A generous donation from Timothy and Connie Wagner, made in memory of their special boy, Arlo, has made this possible. We are pleased to announce the facility will be named “Arlo’s Second Chance Sanctuary.”

On behalf of all of us at Second Chance Cocker Rescue, I would like to thank you for furthering our mission. You have made a real difference in the lives of so many deserving Cockers (and a few Cocker-wannabes). Thanks to you, more than 150 dogs realized their best lives last year, and their adoptive families have been blessed with the unique brand of love rescue pups offer.

Rico, Floyd, Madee, Duncan, Belinda, Furby, Lucky, Dante, Daisy May, Happy. These are just a few of the Cockers for whom you provided so much last year. Thank you once again for being there. Every day, I am humbled by your amazing support and generosity.

With gratitude,
Elizabeth Mazzetti
Founder and Exec Director
Second Chance Cocker Rescue

Donations to help us save more Cockers in 2020

Build It And They Will Come!

Posted on January 3, 2020 by

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We are very excited to announce that Timothy and Connie Wagner have donated enough money to start building our Kennels…we have enough to put in a parking lot ( mandated by the county ), build the kennels and put in all the fencing! This incredibly generous donation is in memory of their very special Cocker Spaniel Arlo. In his memory we are naming our Sanctuary “Arlo’s Second Chance Sanctuary”. This donation will help us get up and running in months instead of years!

So we are starting out the year with 21 acres of land. As you see lots of trees, grass and shrubs but not much else. Soon we will have pictures of our new 10 spot parking  lot, working on building kennels and putting in fencing. We will keep you up to date and the pictures flowing. We expect to end the year with lots of stories and a full kennel up and running.

Ericka Caudillo will be our Sanctuary manager and she and her family are already moved into the trailer and are helping us get ready for the dogs. She is perfect for this position.

We still need your help, we need another washer/dryer set, an ATV or Golf cart, gravel for paths, heaters/coolers for the kennels,  shelving and storage boxes, we have tons of projects that still need your help with….

Be part of the dream, donate towards the Sanctuary. Arlo would approve!

Yappy New Year!!

Posted on December 31, 2019 by

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Comet wants to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

Thank you to everyone for all you have done this year for Second Chance Cocker Rescue. Because of you we have been able to rescue, rehome and rehabilitate many dogs, and we now have a sanctuary to call our own. If you are thinking about a year-end donation please consider us. We are a 501c3 non-profit and 100% of donations go to help our dogs. Thank you again and Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays

Posted on December 24, 2019 by

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Merry Christmas Eve!!!!

What’s your holiday mood? Feeling like Santa or The Grinch?!

Little Jin is celebrating his very first Christmas this year!!! What a lucky puppy to have a loving forever home in a brand new country for the holidays!!! We wish every dog could have it so good!!!

If you have been thinking about adding a pup to your family, please check out all of our wonderful dogs that are in need of forever homes!!! You could give one of them a new life for the new year!!!

We also want to take a moment to wish all of our volunteers and supporters a very Happy Holidays!!! We look forward to all of the good we will accomplish in the new year!!! Our sanctuary is moving along, we are rescuing more dogs from the Asian dog meat trade, and saving more lives every day from our local shelters! Your continued generosity makes all of this possible!!! Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts!!!!!

Giving Tuesday

Posted on December 2, 2019 by

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Tomorrow is not just Tuesday! It is #GivingTuesday!!!!

We have a fundraiser running on our Facebook page where you can give back to Second Chance Cocker Rescue! Your contribution will make a huge impact, whether you donate $5 or $500. Every little bit helps. And on Giving Tuesday, Facebook will match a total of $7 million in donations (first come, first serve).

Not on Facebook? That’s ok! You can still donate to SCCR on Giving Tuesday! Or any day of the year! You can donate anytime via our PayPal link on our website. You can also become a monthly donor! All donations are greatly appreciated!! Every penny helps to save a dog’s life!

Thank you to those who support us in our rescue mission! We couldn’t do it without you!