Not so sweet charity

This weekend, I learned a valuable lesson about charitable donations.

Ever since we cancelled cable and started watching more public television, I've been meaning to donate. Every year, they have their big campaigns and I think, I ought to donate. I enjoy a lot of programs on PBS and it's a great go-to station when nothing else is on.

(C-SPAN is another oft-overlooked but surprisingly entertaining network. Seriously, check it out some time. I watched it almonst nonstop the weekend of Kennedy's funeral and was very pleased with the coverage.)

However, I had yet to donate--until this weekend. Rick Steve's European Christmas episode was on, and it brought back great memories of our trip to Germany and Austria a year ago, and I grabbed my laptop and wallet and decided that there was to be no more dillydallying. The season of giving is upon us, so it was time to give.

But I let selfishness creep into the situation. The good feeling that you get after making a donaton wasn't enough. PBS offers great thank-you gifts and I figured, well, why not get something back for my donation? Rather than just become a member ($40), I kicked up my donation a notch to $150. In exchange, I'd receive 9 (!) seasons of Rick Steves' Europe shows. What a fabulous thank-you gift! Who could resist?

People with sense, that's who. I received my confirmation email, thanking me for my donation and informing me of the "fair market value" of my thank-you "gift." Their assessment of the value of the DVDs? $105.90. That means that we can claim a donation of only $44.10 on our tax return.

If you think that $105.90 seems steep for the value of the DVDs, you're not alone. I checked out their going rate on Amazon. They're currently selling for less than $63.

It's calculator time, boys and girls. Had I bought the DVDs straight out from Amazon and donated the remaining funds from the $150 allocation, my donation would be close to $87. Same cost to me but my deductible donation would be nearly doubled. The obvious downside to this proposition is that PBS would end up with less money, and shouldn't this donation be about PBS and not me?

Yes, yes it should, and that's why I didn't cancel my donation and reorchestrate this whole deal. But I have learned a valuable lesson to just buy the darned "free gift" outright. Donater beware.