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Businesses and individuals across the Tahoe Basin are joining in on the global relief effort to aid victims of last month's Asian tsunami, and a new tax perk may help pick up the pace.
As of Jan. 5, the Internal Revenue Service announced that donations to the international relief effort can now be deducted from 2004 tax returns. If made before the end of January, all cash contributions to non-foreign organizations will be deducted without requiring donors to file any extra forms.
According to Shelia Leijon, operations manager for Incline Village's Parasol Community Foundation, donations totaling $10,250 have already been received. One private donor gave $5,000 to the Red Cross. Other charities aided through Parasol included Care International and AmeriCares Foundation.
Incline schools are also attempting to organize a coin drive to help in the relief effort. To be held from Jan. 31 to Feb. 17, the drive is a spin-off of Incline Elementary's annual effort to raise money or families and students in need in the community. A reserve will be held for emergencies, but the rest will be added to what Incline's middle and high schools raise.
"In concept all three schools are on board," said Harry Haaser, principal of Incline Middle School. His faculty has joined on by issuing a challenge to all their students. "Whatever amount of money the kids bring in, the staff will match that or even double it."
All proceeds from the combined drives will go to the United Nations Children's Fund.
"We'll try to show some clips from some of the areas over there and try to relate it to schools - how we can help get their schools back up and running," Haaser said.
Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe has also contributed its part to the relief effort with a $10,000 direct donation to OXFAM America, an organization working to end global hunger, poverty and suffering. According to marketing director Mike Pierce, it was Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe president Kurt Buser who instigated the donation.
On Jan. 17 Northstar-at-Tahoe and Sierra-at-Tahoe will be attempting raise funds for the American Red Cross International Response Fund by donating $2 from every lift ticket sold during their Tsunami Relief Day.
Salesforce, Northstar's customer relationship manager, has offered to match up $250,000 in funds raised on Tsunami Relief Day.
Employees from both Northstar and Sierra-at-Tahoe have contributed to the ticket sale event. In addition, the employees will work together to bundle their private donations to SerfAid International, a relief organization focusing on remote islands in West Sumatra.
According to Diamond Peak marketing director Milena Regos, her resort is still in the planning stages of a similar ticket sale-driven event, which they hope to host sometime in February or March.
Through the end of this month, all of the money placed in the Food For Family donation boxes found at every Raley's checkout counter will go to the Red Cross to aid areas affected by the tsunami.
So far, no other Incline businesses have announced future plans to aid the relief effort.
Columbia University's Center on Philanthropy has reported that as of Friday private American donations have reached an estimated $322 million dollars. The report says this is only 40 percent of what was donated after Sept. 11, 2001.
According to the Associated Press an estimated 29 percent of Americans said they contributed something, and another 37 percent said they plan to in the near future.
Incline Village/Crystal Bay Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jim Jeffers said he believes that those businesses not yet involved have been understandably distracted by the recent storm. However, he also said that many he knew of had already given more than some realize.
"A lot of people are doing things individually and they did it almost immediately after it happened," he said. "It's not that they're not doing it - no one's notified us if they're doing it."
As of Jan. 5, the Internal Revenue Service announced that donations to the international relief effort can now be deducted from 2004 tax returns. If made before the end of January, all cash contributions to non-foreign organizations will be deducted without requiring donors to file any extra forms.
According to Shelia Leijon, operations manager for Incline Village's Parasol Community Foundation, donations totaling $10,250 have already been received. One private donor gave $5,000 to the Red Cross. Other charities aided through Parasol included Care International and AmeriCares Foundation.
Incline schools are also attempting to organize a coin drive to help in the relief effort. To be held from Jan. 31 to Feb. 17, the drive is a spin-off of Incline Elementary's annual effort to raise money or families and students in need in the community. A reserve will be held for emergencies, but the rest will be added to what Incline's middle and high schools raise.
"In concept all three schools are on board," said Harry Haaser, principal of Incline Middle School. His faculty has joined on by issuing a challenge to all their students. "Whatever amount of money the kids bring in, the staff will match that or even double it."
All proceeds from the combined drives will go to the United Nations Children's Fund.
"We'll try to show some clips from some of the areas over there and try to relate it to schools - how we can help get their schools back up and running," Haaser said.
Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe has also contributed its part to the relief effort with a $10,000 direct donation to OXFAM America, an organization working to end global hunger, poverty and suffering. According to marketing director Mike Pierce, it was Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe president Kurt Buser who instigated the donation.
On Jan. 17 Northstar-at-Tahoe and Sierra-at-Tahoe will be attempting raise funds for the American Red Cross International Response Fund by donating $2 from every lift ticket sold during their Tsunami Relief Day.
Salesforce, Northstar's customer relationship manager, has offered to match up $250,000 in funds raised on Tsunami Relief Day.
Employees from both Northstar and Sierra-at-Tahoe have contributed to the ticket sale event. In addition, the employees will work together to bundle their private donations to SerfAid International, a relief organization focusing on remote islands in West Sumatra.
According to Diamond Peak marketing director Milena Regos, her resort is still in the planning stages of a similar ticket sale-driven event, which they hope to host sometime in February or March.
Through the end of this month, all of the money placed in the Food For Family donation boxes found at every Raley's checkout counter will go to the Red Cross to aid areas affected by the tsunami.
So far, no other Incline businesses have announced future plans to aid the relief effort.
Columbia University's Center on Philanthropy has reported that as of Friday private American donations have reached an estimated $322 million dollars. The report says this is only 40 percent of what was donated after Sept. 11, 2001.
According to the Associated Press an estimated 29 percent of Americans said they contributed something, and another 37 percent said they plan to in the near future.
Incline Village/Crystal Bay Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jim Jeffers said he believes that those businesses not yet involved have been understandably distracted by the recent storm. However, he also said that many he knew of had already given more than some realize.
"A lot of people are doing things individually and they did it almost immediately after it happened," he said. "It's not that they're not doing it - no one's notified us if they're doing it."
