Plan ahead on donations to be safe come tax time

By Albert B. Crenshaw
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, November 22, 2009

If you've noticed a slightly more hysterical tone in the fund requests we all get from charities this time of year, there's a reason: Donors, hit by factors as varied as the Madoff scandal and the general economic downturn, have cut back while the charities are facing greater demand for their services.