Not often but occasionally I have a wishful thought; that every single business entrepreneur / small business could all get quiet for a moment to hear a message.  As a Tradia Member or a member of any barter exchange group that understands how to make charitable contributions using non-cash or barter/trade currency.  For 2009, you can join Tradia, trade some of your unsold inventory, bank the trade credits, pay them to a charity and take a charitable contribution dollar for dollar as if it was cash.

Additionally, why not open a trade account with a reputible barter exchange.  They send you new client immediately.  They start finding you the products and services you need so you can trade for them instead of using cash.  You can then trade for more advertising to drive more cash business in your doors.  Every time you use your barter exchange dollars to buy something, your money stays in your pocket.  These are some valid reasons that many people should have a Tradia or trade exchange account.

Aside from the obvious benefits of donating our time and money to a cause we believe in, there are tax benefits as well.  What most people don't realize is how to offer a larger contribution without using money at all.

Bartering your excess time or inventory and donating some of that credit is a great way to keep more of your money instead of giving it to Uncle Sam needlessly.  I'm not saying that taxes are all bad, I'm saying we get the chance to keep more of our money depending on how many expenses we have for that tax year.  We get the opportunity to write-off losses, list expenses and contributions and it's all legal.  This applies to all small business & entrepreneurs as well as large corporations.

Many Tradia® Members have taken advantage of this concept.  Some members donate large sums of Tradia® Dollars to various 501c3 corporations and the IRS allows a dollar-for-dollar contribution if you use barter dollars from a legitimate barter / trade exchange system.  This is one of the many advantages of maintaining a barter account with a trade exchange.

A small hotel chain could barter unsold rooms accumulating Tradia® Dollars into their Tradia® account.  As a separate transaction, that same hotel chain can make a charitable contribution and list the entire amount on their tax records.  The hotel fills several empty rooms, finds new clients and uses some of the barter currency to help a charity bringing more good media exposure to the hotel chain.  Everyone wins and it is all made possible due to the trade exchange and a hotel with more empty rooms than they would wish for.  Barter allows the hotel to fill empty rooms as they see fit.