By Karen Zhang

在美國，幾乎人人對慈善捐款都不陌生，甚至都參與過。慈善捐款與美國人緊密相關的原因是它存在于他們生活的方方面面，小至學生們想要開展的項目，大至政府想要改善城市的基礎設施，都需要人們慷慨解囊。下面就讓我們從Karen的文章中了解更多吧。

In China， school projects receive financial support directly from the school or authorities. However， if students in America want to do some extracurricular activities， such as organizing a spring trip or attending an interscholastic[校際的] debate， they have to raise money on their own. This is a good opportunity for students to show their spirit of teamwork.

In summer particularly， you will often see a group of students wearing the same colored T-shirts. Some take turns holding up a big sign on the roadside， pointing the drivers to a free car wash； while some others work hard at a gas station nearby to wash customers vehicles. Although it is said the car wash service is free， every customer knows this is how students generate money for their school project. Most of them will kindly give tips to the hard-working students.

On another occasion， girls from elementary school will usually sit outside a mall or a supermarket， serving customers home-made lemonade[汽水] or cookies. Again， some of them are from the Girls Scouts[女童子軍]. Without customers generosity[慷慨]， their summer adventures may fall through.

Now you know why it is part of American life to give away something for charity， because most non-profit organizations live on donations. Usually before the annual income tax deadline—April 15， American non-profits will do all they can to persuade people to donate to their organizations. Do you know why？ Donations to non-profits are deductible[可免除的]. That means taxpayers[納稅人] can deduct the amount of their donation to a non-profit from their income tax payment. As the old saying goes， its better to give than to receive.

Fund raising is well known by every American. From a third-grader who wants to complete his school project to a governor who wants to improve public infrastructure[基礎設施]， they all need to generate funding one way or another. Thus， grant writing has become a moneymaking profession. If you are an excellent grant writer， youll be a high demand for many firms and even for government bodies.

P e r h a p s n e x t t i m e w h e n y o u s e e acknowledgement pages in a brochure[小冊子]， you will respect those names as the generous contributors[捐助者] they are. Without their generosity， the program wouldnt be possible. You certainly would want more funding for what you are enjoying. More funding， good service； little or no funding， corporation closes.