Supporting Worthy Charities
Everyone needs a helping hand. Look around the world, the country or even your own community and you can find plenty of worthy causes to support. The problem is your resources are limited, so you have to pick and choose. To complicate matters, some of these ‘charities’ will help the people or issues they say they will, while others will just help themselves.
How do you tell the difference? The first place to stop may be the Internet. Here are 3 of the top charity online vetting services:
Charity Navigator. This website bills itself as “Your Guide to Intelligent Giving.” Simply type in the name of the charity and you can find a comprehensive set of publicly available financial information such as their total amount of contributions received, how they’re structured and charities that perform similar work. The site includes quick links to donate to your charity of choice including, ironically enough, Charity Navigator.
GuideStar. Like Charity Navigator, just go the site, type in the name of the charity and start digging. You can find basic information such as the budgets and analyses of what the organization does. Detailed information such as financials and IRS filings are available as well, but require you to register first.
The Wise Giving Alliance. This site is sponsored by The Better Business Bureau and does for charities what the BBB does for businesses. Charities are evaluated to determine whether they meet certain BBB standards such as providing truthful materials, disclosing donor policies or having an internal mechanism in place to gauge their own effectiveness. The listings are thorough, but not as extensive as the other two sites.
While you’re going over the information, here are a few things to look for:
- A well-run charity should spend no more than 35 percent of its budget on administrative costs.
- It should be registered with the IRS as a 501-C.
- Its financial and budgetary information should be readily available.
If you’re going to contribute some of your hard-earned money to a cause, you want to feel that the money will be used wisely. At the other end of the spectrum are charities that are poorly organized or even outright scams. Avoid charities that:
- Have a similar name to a well-known charity
- Only want donations in cash
- Have no proven track record and seem to spring up suddenly right after a natural disaster
- Pressure you for an immediate donation
Whether it’s for a cause dear to you or you simply want to make the world a better place, giving to charity is a great way to put your money where your mouth is. With just a few precautions, you can feel confident you really are making a difference.