now, for your sunday's "viewpoint." >> good sunday morning. i'm pat lawson muse. have you considered giving to charity? many people turned to the catalog for philanthropy before making their donations. and here to talk about the catalog is kerry rudd, the marketing and communications director for the catalog. nice to see you. >> thank you, pat. >> it's been a contentious and unsettling year, a year when the country is divided in many ways. and people seem to be in a grumpy mood politically, are they in

philanthropy? >> they are. it's almost a perfect antidote for what's going on politically. people are so frazzled and disconnected. and they feel like their voices have not been heard. we connect you to the charities that matter most to you. >> and the catalog in its 14th year the and i want to show the cover again because i love the picture of the nice, young lady on the cover. this is miss alice. this is a copy of the catalog, that people can get. tell us the story of miss alice and what she represents. >> well, we chose miss alice for the cover because we thought it was sort of an important reminder of the income inequality that we see in our area. miss alice is 97 years old. she goes to thrive d.c. it's a program that

they give her a hot meal. and she has arts enrichment programs. and just allows her to have a sense of belonging and really a place to go. >> thrive d.c. is one of the nonprofits featured in the catalog. how do you choose the nonprofits that go in? there's so many in this region. >> that's a great question, thanks. we have a rigorous setting process. we have about 120 local philanthropic experts that come together. and we look at small, community-based nonprofits in our area, that is for -- are they meeting a community need? do they have financial transparency? and are they really fiscally sound? and we do a site visit. we visit each and every charity. this is a rigorous vetting process. >> you say that you believe in

the power of for nonprofits to spark big change. explain that. >> well, really the small community-based nonprofits are working in our neighborhoods and communities. all with operating budgets under $3 million. so, they often don't have a director of social media or a communications director or the staff. they're busy meeting the needs in their community and they don't have the bandwidth to tell their own story. one of the things we find, especially with a lot of programs, i call it a win-win. when a kid goes in after school, they have, not only a safe place to go, but they believe with a mentor, a sense of belonging, a skill. it creates a very positive feedback loop. >> and you match people with their interest, their passions and their causes. >> right. we have a quiz that we rolled out this year. it's been really terrific. it's

you go on and answer a few quick questions about where do you live? who do you admire? and it matches you to a list of potential charity soul mates. so, like six or seven to choose from. >> to get a copy of the catalog, do you go online? >> go online. request a catalog. it's free. all we do is free. we don't charge any fee to distribute funds to the nonprofits. we're just connecting people to the ones in our area that speak to them. >> and the catalog itself is now a nonprofit. >> it is. we raise money for our operating budget to provide this service. >> this is a beautiful catalog. i love her

aging in place. i think the elderly should be able to age where they are, where they live. cari rudd, thank you so much. for information on that, you will find a link on the nbc washington app. coming up next, a look at united way of the national capitol area.

crisis, hunger and homelessness can happen to anyone at anytime. the united way of the national capital area corrects people that are in need with local resources and assistance. here to talk about this year's campaign is kelly brinkley. welcome, kelly. >> thank you. >> how did the campaign go this year? >> there's never enough resources to help everyone in need. because the united way focuses on workplace campaigns, a lot of our donors are working class and middle class. that want to

as we can. with wage stagnation and the affordability of living in this region, it's difficult to keep up the donations with our donors. >> we're familiar with the period, the campaign period, during which we talk about it at work. and where people give at work. you actually get donations all year, correct? >> we do. the majority of our donations come in the fall through the work place campaigns. but we're requesting donations throughout the year. and in june, we have do more 24. we work with the station. and it's a 24-hour giving day. we fry to use that as an opportunity to bring more donors at the table. and it's a time when nonprofits need those funds. >> how do you join the united way? how does a nonprofit join united way? >> every year in november, we invite nonprofits

become members of what we consider a federation. it's that monthly time you can come. we have certain criteria. donors have expectations of the nonprofits. they want to make sure that the funds are being invested well. so, we invite them to invest throughout the year. we partner throughout the year, depending on what needs are in the community. if there's a nonprofit who is not a member of ours, but the need is in the community, we will partner with those organizations. >> you have the nonprofits. there's so many in this region. there's big ones. small ones. is there a size limit that united way requires? or does it depend on what you're doing? >> it depends on what we're doing. but the criteria is they have to have $50,000 in revenue. and the reason we do that is because we want them to have resources outside of what they're going to receive from the united way. we want to make sure that they are stable. d

successful. >> what's your focus going to be next year? >> our focus for the last couple of years, what we call our community commitment is around middle school success. around financial empowerment including homelessness. and also health. we have, we try to look holistically at a family. but we're looking at the middle school students because we believe those grades are not a lot of focus on them. but we know if a child is reading on grade level by eighth grade, they're three-times more likely to graduate high school on time. >> and you plan to open up financial empowerment centers in the district? >> yes. our first empowerment center was in prince georges county. individuals can go from. they can work with counselors. they can get budget help. if they are unbanked, they can receive banking services. we try

sure their family is financially stable because the stress that comes from not being financially stable, of course, it moves on to the child and the family. and we're really there to take a holistic approach. >> mayor's goal is to eliminate homelessness by 2020. you're working on the same timeline. >> we are. we have project homeless connect. this is our second year doing it. it's a one-stop shop for the homeless. 275 individuals come to central union mission this year, and they can get everything there. they can get i.d.s, the government-issued i.d.s. they can get help with their social security card if they don't have that. birth certificates, haircuts. housing agencies were looking for individuals to receive hou

they find that they have housing. legal help. all of these things to really reach out to the homeless population. >> the washington region is so prosperous. you know, it's ironic, i guess, and sort of sad that the problems of, you know, the lack of basics for so many people, food, clothing, shelter, are as big as they are. tell us about some of the other programs that you are working on. >> affordability is a huge issue in this region. and that's why we focused on the financial empowerment centers. how can we train employees to go to the next job level? food. food and shelter. we have backpack programs for kids because they're fed during the school day. but on the weekends, we have to senld backpacks home. how do we keep children fed? we do

banks. meals on wheels, those entities that will help individuals get through. >> do you expect the changing political landscape to affect you and how? >> we hope. we will keep hope going. but we are concerned around things like the department of education title i. we focus our middle school programs in title i schools. we're concerned about free and reduced lunch. we know that kids don't have enough to eat. we don't know what's going to happen to those programs under the new administration. but we remain hopeful. >> kelly blirinkley. for information on the united way, you'll find a link. end of year charity giving tax benefits and tax tips.

so, you have a few more weeks to take advantage of tax deductions for 2

sandra block is back with us this week. we want to get the last deductions in before the end of the year. so, which charitable deductions do with want to make sure we take? >> if you want to get anything to charity, do it between now and the end of the year. you won't be able to claim until next year. if you use your credit card, you can claim that deduction if you don't pay the bill until next year. i wouldn't encourage people to spend more than they have. but if you come into cash next year, you can put the deductions on your credit card, claim the deduction and pay it next year. >> i cleaned out my closet and gave away a lot of stuff. do i need to itemize? >> if the irs has questions, you're going to need to demonstrate the amount you deducted. is the market value of those items. there's websites that will help you figure that o

goodwill or whoever would get selling it. >> is that the same with the car? >> with a car, it's more complicated. you donate to an organization that sells it for scrap, you can only deduct the amount of that organization is going to get. sometimes that can be a few hundred dollar. probably not the amount you get if you sold the car yourself. >> you want to donate using stocks and mutual funds? >> if your stocks have gone up in value, you can donate them to charity, deduct the value of the stocks and funds on the day you donated them. and the charity can resell the stocks and funds and not have to pay capital gains taxes. this is for a strategy for investments that have gone up in value. >> if you plan to retire next year and you know you have less income, what should you do this year? >> you should cla

deductions as you can. they will be more valuable than next year. if you give the same amount to charity every year, double up this year. those deductions are going to be worth a lot more. >> if you have a 401(k) plan, do you put more money? >> if you can. it's late in the year. it's probably too late to change the contribution. but if you get a bonus and you have it maxed out on your 401(k), put that bonus in the 401(k) plan. not only do you increase your savings, but you lower your taxable income. >> many people have flexible spending accounts and have balances. >> you need to check the date. many companies will let you carry it over until march. the thing about flexible spending accounts is the amount that you don't spend, you forfeit. if it is december 31st, get some glasses, contact lenses. use that money or you will lose it. >> i need both those. what would you say if i were to ask, what's the biggest, y

know, mistake that people make, heading into the end of the year? what is it we forget to do? >> i think people forget to keep track of their contributions. many feel more generous. but if you itemize, you can deduct the contributions. you are supposed to be able to back up every deduction to charity that you make. >> okay. i'm going -- my assignment is to go back and itemize the clothes i gave away. and maybe it's a good idea to take pictures. >> it is a good idea. the irs ever asks questions. they're going to want to document what you gave and how you came up with the value of the items. >> thank you so much. still to come, tips for holiday tipping.

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the holidays are a great

for those around you. joining us to talk about tipping is miriam cross. she is a staff writer for kiplingers. it's good to have you with us. the tipping is something that's just in general a good thing to do. my husband and i always leave tips. but he's the big tipper. he says, well, you know, they're working for tip income. you should always be considerate. he goes over the 20%. do you suggest creating a tipping budget? you can tip too much if it gets you into debt. >> this time of year can get expensive anyway. it's good to have in your mind who needs a tip. and how much you should give to them. >> you wrote about the 16 people you believe should get tips. and we may not be able to get through the entire list. but the first one you list is the mail carrier. >> yeah. >> there are rules. >> that one i

cash. you can give a gift worth up to $20. warm socks, a fruit basket. you don't want to put them in an awkward position. >> you said up to $20. is that the law? >> or $50 over the course of the year is the max. >> ur day care provider. the person you can't do without. >> yeah. a day care provider, you want to check the rules of the facility. if they allow tipping, between $25 and $75. in terms of a nanny you employ, a week's pay is a good amount. and for a babysitter who is always there to help you out in an emergency, one of two night's pay is a good tip. >> those are generous. >> yeah. these people have helped your child. >> and many people care for elderly family members. or family members in general.

>> yeah. if you have a senior care aid you employ yourself. at least a week's pay for someone who had stellar work. up to a month's pay would be appropriate. for someone you work with through an agency, check the rums of the agency, they may have some sort of central funds and you donate there. and they allocate the tips. in terms of the nursing home, you want to check the rules. they may prohibit tipping. you could bring a tray of fudge or baked foods. just be sure to cover every shift. >> you live in a building. i love in a single family home. i would tip the person who helps me with cleaning. but you tip the doorman and the handy man. >> the doorman, between $25 and $100. if they've been there for you when you have heavy packages, or in a high-end area, you want to tip on the upper end. a

one visit is a good guideline. for handyman, there for you in a pinch, you want to tip more. >> how about someone you tip on a regular basis. your hairdresser or barber. you tip them every week. >> if you tip throughout the year, you can go lighter on the year-end tip. year-end $20 is a good amount. if you haven't been tipping, the cost of one session is a good guideli guideline. >> your teacher? the child's teacher? >> you cannot tip them. that might be seen as a bribe. you may be able to get together with the other parents and get a nice gift card. >> what are the others that you should not tip or you wouldn't? >> some sort of full-time

doctor, a lawyer, an accountant. it would be inappropriate to tip them. if you want to show your appreciation, a holiday card is appropriate. >> do the percentages -- the rules, regarding percentages, change during the holidays? we do 18% to 20%. does that change? >> if you're dining on christmas or new year's eve, it's in the spirit of the holidays to bump up your tip. same with the taxi driver. you have to assume they've been working like crazy. make their night better. give them extra. >> you should save all year for your year-end tips. >> if you find it stretching your budget, you can find workarounds. prioritize people how long they've worked with you. and for the rest, send a card or write a note to their

supervisor. >> that's news for your sunday "viewpoint." news 4 today starts now.

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♪ now on "news 4 today," first comes the cold, now rain and snow are on the way. tom is tracking how you can plan ahead for the freezing winter weather. >> breaking news overseas, more than 100 killed in a sudden church collapse, the danger in nigeria as the roof comes crashing down. fourth in line to the presidency, donald trump's new pick for secretary of state and the controversial ties to russia. good morning everyone, i'm molette green. >> and i'm angie goff. we want to begin with the weather because that's going to be the big story. we are talking snow. >> and i know we're into december, snow is not something