On Charity

"Proportion your charity to the strength of your estate, or God will proportion your estate to the weakness of your charity.

-Ben Franklin

A man promised to give 10 percent of his income to charity if God would bless him financially. At first, when he had little money, that was an easy promise to keep. But as his wealth grew, so did his charitable contributions, until the man began to begrudge the arrangement. He went to his minister and asked if he could decrease the percentage.

"I have a better idea," the minister said. "Why don't we ask God to lower your income so it doesn't hurt so much?"

Today the average American gives about 3 percent of his or her income to charity. Poorer Americans (those earning less than $10,000 a year) give more, around 5 percent.

Before you write out a check to the Mother of the Unknown Soldier Society, check with the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance to find out how much of your gift actually goes to programs, as opposed to fund-raising and administration.

JFK once said- "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich".

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