Gifts That Give More Than Once - Brief Article
Author: Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine

CHARITY | When you buy from these CATALOGS, you also support nonprofit causes.

MANY HOLIDAY catalogs offer you more than a chance to buy a gift: They allow you to help nonprofit groups raise money for a worthy cause. But how much of what you spend on such items actually supports the cause you care about?

The answer is, it depends. A group can receive a small slice or a big chunk of the purchase price. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific, which promotes astronomy education, says it typically receives 10% to 12% of the purchase price on each item it sells. At the other end of the spectrum, several groups--such as Appalachian by Design (ABD), which runs a job-training and marketing program for knitters in the mountains of Appalachia--say they receive 70% or more of the purchase price. The Heifer Project International is unique: The livestock you buy, from a flock of chicks to water buffaloes and llamas, is sent directly to impoverished families all over the world.

Selling holiday gifts is more than a way to raise money. It allows a group to spread the word about its mission in its catalog and on its Web site, and often in every shipment. In some cases, such sales are part of the mission itself. For ABD, selling the folk-art Christmas stockings, pillows and baby wear that its knitters produce is a key part of the mission. Says ABD president Diane Browning: "Job training would be pointless without the marketing end of the operation."