Many of us are making last-minute charitable donations before the end of the year. The following sites can help you review information about your intended charities to ensure your money is being spent wisely:
Charity Navigator is my favorite such service. It provides ratings for organizational efficiency, organizational capacity (ability to sustain efforts), and a comparison against similar charities. Historical data is available to registered users.- GuideStar is similar, but requires (free) registration before providing any information. Most financial information is only available to paid subscribers.
- Give.org is the site for the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. The Alliance reports on national charities that are the subject of donor inquiries, and evaluates the subject charities in relation to the voluntary BBB charity standards. They also offer many useful tips on dealing with charities, including “Handling Unwanted Direct Mail from Charitable Organizations,” “Direct Mail Sweepstakes And Charities,” “Tax Deductions for Charitable Contributions,” and “Tips on Donating Cars to Charities.”
(These are sites for U. S.-based charities. If you know of similar guides to organizations outside the States, please share in a comment.)
Don’t forget to ask your employer (or your partner’s employer) if they match donations. Remember that different employers may match different types of giving, so if you’ve changed jobs recently, ask again. As Paula at Queercents reminds us, too, charitable donations are tax deductible. Just make them before December 31 to claim them for that tax year.
My partner and I always try to spread our giving among various types of charities: national groups that tackle big societal issues as well as local charities that act more directly in our community. There are a few organizations we support almost every year, and some that reflect our particular activities in the past twelve months (e.g., a trails organization if we’ve done a lot of hiking). We could give a bigger lump to a single group, but prefer to feel connected to a variety of the charities that work on things important to us. It’s harder now that we’re a single-income family and trying to build up our other tax-deduction’s college fund, but I’d like to think we’re also setting an example of good citizenship.