The Foundation for Lake Chapala Charities is recognized by the U S Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) charity.  Our primary purposes are to attract contributions for the charities around Lake Chapala, Mexico, and to allow those who donate to claim U S tax deductions for their gifts to those charities.

 

We have been operating since 2009, founded by Rick and Sandy Feldmann.  During these 15 years we have exceeded $3.5 million USD in distribution to local charities.  

 

We withhold a small administrative handling fee on all ”non PayPal” donations in order to cover the costs of the website, tax filings, office expenses, and occasionally for advertising.  We have no paid staff; we operate entirely by volunteers.  The fees withheld are less than 1/2 of 1% of the money we receive.  We do not withhold any fees against PayPal contributions because they are assessed a processing fee by PayPal.  As with any money transferred from the U S or Canada to Mexico, there are some additional banking and conversion fees. 

 

We ask all donors to select a charity to receive their contributions from our list of approved organizations on this website.  Any donations received that are not earmarked to a designated charity are given to those charities whose services are deemed most in need of assistance.

 

The Foundation will also accept endowments and bequests for any of our charities.  We encourage Americans over the age of 70 to make Qualified Charitable Distributions, or QCDs, to our Foundation from their IRA or retirement plan.  These transfers are not taxable but they still count toward satisfying your required minimum distributions for the year and are a cost-saving way to support the local charities you want to help.