I am not sure how I missed this, but instead of purchasing t-shirts, bags or frames, you can also make donations to help missions going to Ethiopia that is tax deductible and we get credit added to our account just as if you purchased an item from the regular store as long as you note Karl (with last name). This is detailed here, http://www.ordinaryhero.org/Ordinary_Hero/Donate.html.
If you decide you really feel called to help children in Ethiopia, and do not need a t-shirt, bags, frames, etc., you can purchase backpacks, sheep, shoes, education, and even a blanket. I didn't know that in the "rainy season" it drops to 50 degrees, so the blankets keep them from freezing on those cold wet nights. Here is the link for that portion of the store: http://www.ordinaryherostore.org/Donations-For-Children-In-Need-c15/
Also, if we are high sellers in a given time period, Karl and I can be awarded a $500-1,000 grant in addition to our earned fundraising fees.
If there are people who want to give a tax deductible donation to our adoption, we are working through an application to a company that sets up match grants. We have not completed it yet, but I wanted to state this because it has been brought up to me already. The reason why going through a non-profit to donate is to give you a tax credit and then the company send the payment directly to our agency, so we do not have to claim the donation as income for taxes. Working with a company that will award us with a match grant doubles our donations! When/if this becomes available, I will let you know.
