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Taking the Worry Out of Holiday Giving

By MARIA L. La GANGA
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So what’s a business to do, if the phone rings and a solicitor asks for charity money? According to Gay Geiser-Sandoval, deputy district attorney:

* Ask the name, address and telephone number of the charitable organization.

* Ask what percentage of the contribution is to be received by the charity and how much will be taken out of every contributed dollar to cover expenses.

* Ask about the solicitor’s tax-exempt status and get the tax-exempt number.

And if you are still in doubt, call the corporate division of the California secretary of state’s office for confirmation.

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Reduced to its essence, Geiser-Sandoval’s warning is this: Beware of telemarketers and remember that you can always say no.

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Maria L. La Ganga

Maria L. La Ganga is the deputy managing editor for California and Metro, overseeing the Los Angeles Times’ largest editorial department. She joined The Times in 1981 as an academic intern, splitting her time between the former Metro section and National Dragster, the official publication of the National Hot Rod Assn. She has served as Seattle bureau chief, San Francisco bureau chief, edited in the Business section and pitched in on six presidential elections, five for The Times and one for the Guardian. La Ganga left The Times in 2015 and returned in 2018 after a brief hiatus during which she wrote for the Guardian and the Idaho Statesman. She was named city editor in 2022 and promoted to her current role in 2024. La Ganga graduated from Granada Hills High School in the San Fernando Valley and Cal State Northridge, where she studied English literature and journalism.

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