Tips for Giving to Charity

As economic times continue to be difficult, people are looking for ways to maximize their charitable giving.  Many are not sure how to do this, wondering which charities might waste their money on administrative costs, inaccurate accounting, and poor management. Websites such as CHarity Navigator, GuideStar, CharityWatch and The American Institute of Philanthropy all evaluate various charity groups.  A list of dos and dont’s from these watchdogs is below: 

Do: 

-Request annual reports from the nonprofit organization.

-Look into the management of the organization. 

-Verify tax-exempt documentation.

-Examine the relationship of the nonprofit to fundraising companies. 

-Contribute time in addition to financial support if it is a cause you are passionate about. 

Don’t: 

-Draw connections between nonprofits that sound similar in name.

-Assume a nonprofit is inefficient just because it has a paid staff.

-Trust celebrity endorsements.

See Alex Karmazin, Charitable Giving: The Dos and the Don’ts, The Hill.com, Oct. 2, 2012.  

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.