Tag Archives: ALS

IRS RULES: ONLY 80 PERCENT OF ‘ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE’ DONATIONS IS TAX-DEDUCTIBLE

NBC 'Today' host Matt Lauer taking last summer's Ice Bucket Challenge
NBC ‘Today’ host Matt Lauer taking last summer’s Ice Bucket Challenge

WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Adobo Chronicles) – It’s that time of the year when U.S. taxpayers start receiving their tax forms like W-2’s and 1099’s, as well as their donation receipts for their 2014 charitable donations which are fully tax-deductible (unless they received goods or services as part of their donations).

The summer of 2014 saw one of the most successful donation campaigns in nonprofit history — the Ice Bucket Challenge to benefit the ALS Association.  It was a campaign that went viral worldwide, raising hundreds of millions of dollars for ALS research.

As Americans begin to file their 2014 income tax returns, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced a ruling that only 80% of donations to the Ice Bucket Challenge is tax-deductible.  The remaining 20% will be used by state governments to make up for all the water that went to waste as a result of the ice bucket challenge campaign.

In California, which continues to experience a severe drought, taxpayers can only deduct 60% of their donation to the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Taxpayers who made donations to the campaign are advised to consult with their tax attorneys to avoid being audited by the IRS.

IRISH NUNS PRAY AND PLAY FOR ALS CURE

nunsDublin, Ireland (The Adobo Chronicles) – There’s a different kind of Ice Bucket Challenge happening in Ireland.  Men are pouring buckets of ice cold beer over their heads while nuns are praying for a cure for this neurodegenerative disease called ALS.

But wait, aren’t nuns entitled to some fun, too?

nuns3The Redemptoristine Nuns of Dublin think so.  While they continue to pray for divine intervention to help find a cure for Lou Gehrig’s disease, they also believe that prayer alone will not do the trick.  So they participated in their own Ice  Bucket Challenge in the Abbey courtyard, and boy, did they have some fun.

On their web site, they describe themselves as “an enclosed contemplative community of religious women. Our life is centered around the Liturgy of the Hours, the Eucharist, personal prayer and contemplation. We hold the needs of the world in our heart in prayer.”

We can therefore assume that this was a one-time-only activity for the nuns and that it’s not going to turn into a bad habit for them.

You can learn more about the Redemptoristine nuns and view their Ice Bucket Challenge video here.

 

A CHALLENGE TO PHILIPPINES’ DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

Every so often The Adobo Chronicles veers away from the satirical nature of our posts to bring to the attention of our readers and followers items that are serious and important, like ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. (To learn more about the disease, visit alsa.org)

By now the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has reached the Philippines and is starting to gain momentum. But alas, we just learned that the Philippines’ Department of Health does NOT have data on ALS in the country, or to what extent this horrible disease is affecting Filipinos and their loved ones.

So here is a different kind of challenge to DOH Secretary Dr. Enrique Ona: