Join our team to help make dreams come true: SCHOLARSHIP FUND MAKE A DONATION BY CHECK, MONEY ORDER OR CREDIT CARD ONLINE CONTRIBUTIONS THROUGH NETWORK FOR  GOOD STOCK DONATIONS WORKPLACE GIVING / MATCHING FUNDS   VOLUNTEER /INTERN GOODS / SERVICES   THE DONOR BILL OF RIGHTS INTERNET BILL OF RIGHTS

Drawing by Suellen Martins Henrique, an
11 year-old member of the Pensando Junto sponsorship program

MAKE A DONATION BY CHECK, MONEY ORDER OR CREDIT CARD

To make a donation by check, money order or by using your credit card, click here for printable donation form.

Send your donation to
Dreams Can Be Foundation
945 Menoher Blvd.
Johnstown, PA 15905

ONLINE CONTRIBUTIONS

Click here for secure online donations

Donating stock is a wonderful way to help Dreams Can Be Foundation (DCBF) fund programs and to ensure continuity and, in some cases, donations help provide for one time large expenses that often go neglected and that can sometimes mean an increase in the amount of children a program can support or the offering of additional services. Whether your portfolio performance was above market averages or even if you had a decline in your portfolio value, donating stock to DCBF is a wise investment in the futures of Brazil’s impoverished youth.

If you have stock that you have owned for more than one year, and it has appreciated since you purchased it, you can save on the capital gains tax you would owe if you sold it yourself by donating the stock to DCBF. And since DCBF is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, you will be entitled to an income tax deduction for the full current market value of your gift, to the extent allowed by law.

Here is an example: Ms. R. Amiga purchased 100 shares of ABC stock three years ago at $50 per share or $5,000. This stock is now worth $100 per share, or $10,000. If Ms. Amiga sold the stock, she would pay capital gains taxes on the $5,000 of appreciation. If Ms. Amiga donates the stock to DCBF, she is entitled to a charitable deduction of $10,000 from her taxes and pays no capital gains tax.

Plus, you can deduct stock donations equal to an amount of up to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income, and any excess deductible amount can be carried over for as long as five years to offset income or capital gains taxes.

Another option for using your “long-term” appreciated stock to aid Brazil’s impoverished youth is to donate the stock to DCBF and then repurchase the shares on the market, or diversify your assets by purchasing securities of an equal value in different sectors and industries. Not only will you be able to claim a charitable deduction for the full fair-market value of your gift, you will also minimize any capital gains tax when you eventually sell the replacement shares.

Here is an example: Ms. R. Amiga purchased 1,000 shares of XYZ stock three years ago for $3,000. The stock has a current value of $44,000. She donates the 1,000 shares to DCBF and is thereby able to claim a charitable deduction for the full fair-market value of $44,000 while avoiding capital gains taxes on the profit of $41,000.

Ms. Amiga then buys 1,000 shares of XYZ stock for $44,000. If, after holding the replacement shares for more than one year, Ms. Amiga decides to sell out and the shares are then worth $50,000, she would pay capital gains taxes on only the $6,000 of profit garnered by the replacement shares rather than the $47,000 of profit that she has made overall on the XYZ stock. The other $41,000 of profit is never taxed.

If you took a loss in the stock market, you can still help DCBF’s projects in their aid of street children! By selling stock at a loss and then making a donation to DCBF of the same amount of money that the stock was sold for, you can do the following:

Deduct the stock's decrease in value from your other income, thereby reducing the taxes you pay.

You can deduct up to $1,500 if you are single and $3,000 if you are married, but any amount of loss above that can be carried over to future years until completely deducted.

Here’s an example: Ms. R. Amiga purchased 100 shares of XYZ stock three years ago at $50 per share or $5,000, but it’s now worth only $20 per share or $2,000. Ms. Amiga doesn’t expect the value of the stock to go up anytime soon. If Ms. Amiga were to donate the depreciated stock to DCBF, she could claim a $2,000 deduction. But if Ms. Amiga sells the stock and donates the $2,000 value to DCBF, she can also claim a $3,000 capital loss deduction ($30 loss per share x 100 shares). Assuming that she has no capital gains, she would be able to deduct $1,500 from her income this year (if she is married and filing jointly, she could deduct the complete $3,000) and carry over the remaining $1,500 capital loss to deduct from income or capital gains in future years

As always, we suggest that you consult with your independent financial, tax, or legal advisor for specific help with your particular situation, as DCBF does not provide financial, tax, or legal advice. But if you would like more information about the various ways that your stock holdings can be used before year’s end to benefit the Brazil’s impoverished youth—and you—please contact Christine Clauser , Director of Development, at 814-255-4379, or christine@dreamscanbe.org .

Contributing does not mean only giving money away. It is equally important to give time and expertise. We gladly welcome professionals and university students who are interested in offering us their services and knowledge, both in the U.S. and in Brazil .

If you have the skills and time to offer, think about becoming a Dreams Can Be Intern or Volunteer .

INTERN

Basic Information: Interns are recruited for our Rio de Janeiro office. Applications are accepted year-round and positions are offered to qualified applicants when availability allows. The minimum time commitment for an intern to work in the office is four days a week. We urge you to read the following information carefully before submitting an application. To read about the experiences of other interns and volunteers, click here .

Qualifications: We are a small staff and generally can use the expertise of both undergraduate and graduate students in a variety of roles in our office. Interns should be well-organized, self-motivated, and reliable, with a genuine interest in helping Dreams Can Be achieve its mission of aiding at-risk youth in Brazil . Knowledge of Portuguese and/or Spanish is preferable but not necessary. Computer skills (Microsoft Office, internet applications, etc.) are required.

Intern Responsibilities: Intern responsibilities are commensurate with individual skills and experience. In the past, interns have worked with us to develop our communications plan, created the research section of our website, helped us strengthen donor relations, assisted our development director with a variety of fundraising tasks, worked on special events, performed general office help tasks, elaborated and disseminated information about the projects we support, and translated information from Portuguese to English. In the case that the intern has special skills to offer Dreams Can Be, we try to center the intern’s responsibilities around those skills.

We currently have a strong desire for an intern who can help us to be more efficient with our use of the technology we have in the office (including our databases). We also have a need for someone with social program/project expertise who would be interested in overhauling our project evaluation systems.

We allow interns to divide their time working in our office and with one or more of the social projects that we support. For more information on working with a project, please read the information in the Volunteer Section below.

Reimbursement: All internships at Dreams Can Be Foundation are UNPAID. Academic credit and/or funding may be sought through your University or academic program.

Accommodation and Personal Expenses: The intern is responsible for all personal expenses during the internship, as well as for securing housing in Rio de Janeiro . Personal costs include, but are not limited to, transportation to and from and within Brazil , food, housing, and vaccinations.

Visa: If you are an international intern, please be aware that you may need a visa to enter Brazil . For more information, contact your local Brazilian Consulate. Unfortunately Dreams Can Be Foundation cannot assist with costs associated with securing a visa.

Application Instructions: Please send a cover letter, resume, and contact information for two references to:

contact@dreamscanbe.org   with the subject heading "Intern Application"

or

ATTN: Internship Coordinator

Dreams Can Be Foundation

Rua Rainha Guilhermina, 90/502
Rio de Janeiro, RJ
22441-120
Brazil

Deadline: Applications are accepted year-round and positions are offered to qualified applicants when space allows.         

Further Information: After reading the information on our website, please e-mail us at contact@dreamscanbe.org with the subject heading “Internship Inquiry” and we will address your interests and concerns on an individual basis.

VOLUNTEER

Basic Information: Volunteers are recruited to work with the social projects that we support in Rio de Janeiro , as well as to work in our Rio de Janeiro office. Applications are accepted year-round and placements are offered as space allows. We urge you to read the following information carefully before submitting an application. To read about the experiences of other interns and volunteers, click here .

Qualifications: Volunteers need to be self-motivated, well-organized, and reliable, with a genuine interest in helping at-risk youth in Brazil . To volunteer in the office, Portuguese is helpful, but not necessary. Portuguese, or at a very minimum high-quality Spanish, is mandatory to work with the social projects. Computer skills (Microsoft Office, internet applications, etc.) are required to volunteer in the office.

Office Volunteer Responsibilities: Volunteers fulfill a variety of functions in the office. Please read the Intern Responsibilities section above for a more detailed description of services volunteers and interns have performed in the office in the past.

Social Program Volunteer Responsibilities: Volunteer duties vary tremendously, depending on the projects’ needs and the volunteer’s skills and experiences. The minimum time commitment for volunteers is one day per week. We have prepared the following short list of pointers to provide current and future volunteers with basic guidelines for volunteering with our social programs:

I. The volunteer must present his or her ideas for a volunteer project to the program and/or work with the program to develop a project. We strongly urge that you read the descriptions of the projects on our website (click the How We Build Dreams link on the left and then the Projects We Support link) and ask us about the specific needs of your desired program in order to create the most effective project.

II. The programs that receive volunteers generally do not have additional financial resources, materials, or time. It is important for the volunteer to be aware of this situation and for him or her to be flexible and proactive as to serve the program to the best of his or her ability.

III. The volunteer needs to be responsible and able to make a commitment to the project. Tardiness and unexcused absences are not permitted, unless the volunteer contacts the program beforehand.

IV. The volunteer should prepare his or her work before arriving at the program. He or she should continually evaluate his or her work throughout the period of volunteering and make any necessary changes.

V. The volunteer should become familiar with the objectives, methodologies and rules of the institution before arriving and be prepared to follow them.

VI. The volunteer must pay for all personal expenses during the volunteer period, including costs for food, lodging, and transportation.

Accommodation and Personal Expenses: The volunteer is responsible for all personal expenses during the volunteer period, as well as for securing housing in Rio de Janeiro . Personal costs include, but are not limited to, transportation to and from and within Brazil , food, housing, and vaccinations.

Visa: If you are an international volunteer, please be aware that you may need a visa to enter Brazil . For more information, contact your local Brazilian Consulate. Unfortunately Dreams Can Be Foundation cannot assist with costs associated with securing a visa.

Application Instructions: If you have the skills and time to help our office or projects in Brazil , apply to be a volunteer by filling out the on-line volunteer form .

Further Information: After reading the information on our website, please e-mail us at contact@dreamscanbe.org with subject heading “Volunteer Inquiry” and we will address your interests and concerns on an individual basis.

GOODS / SERVICES
Dreams Can Be and the programs we support welcome your in-kind donations of goods and services, please contact us with your offerings.

THE DONOR BILL OF RIGHTS was created by the American Association of Fund Raising Counsel (AAFRC), Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
The Donor Bill of Right :
Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

I. To be informed of the organization'mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
II. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organizations governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
III. To have access to the organizations most recent financial statements.
IV. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
V. To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.
VI. To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
VII. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
VIII. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
IX. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
X. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

INTERNET BILL OF RIGHTS
Principles of the E-Donor Bill of Rights:
The E-Donor Bill of Rights is intended to complement the original document and provide further and more detailed guidance for the new world of online giving. In addition to the rights outlined in the Donor Bill of Rights, online donors should demand the following of their online solicitors:

	To be clearly and immediately informed of the organization's name, identity, nonprofit or for-profit status, its mission, and purpose when first accessing the organization's website.
	To have easy and clear access to alternative contact information other than through the website or email.
	To be assured that all third-party logos, trademarks, trustmarks and other identifying, sponsoring, and/or endorsing symbols displayed on the website are accurate, justified, up-to-date, and clearly explained.
	To be informed of whether or not a contribution entitles the donor to a tax deduction, and of all limits on such deduction based on applicable laws.
	To be assured that all online transactions and contributions occur through a safe, private, and secure system that protects the donor's personal information.
	To be clearly informed if a contribution goes directly to the intended charity, or is held by or transferred through a third party.
	To have easy and clear access to an organization's privacy policy posted on its website and be clearly and unambiguously informed about what information an organization is gathering about the donor and how that information will be used.
	To be clearly informed of opportunities to opt out of data lists that are sold, shared, rented, or transferred to other organizations.
	To not receive unsolicited communications or solicitations unless the donor has "opted in" to receive such materials.