This time of year it’s a common practice for many people to give donations to charity. Opportunities are abundant during the holidays, with local organizations holding food drives and enthusiastic bell-ringers positioned outside most major stores.
But what if you’re interested in doing more than just dropping off a few cans of green beans or unloading your spare change into a red pail? How do you know which charities are legit? Just like with anything else, we want the most bang for our buck. In charity-speak, this means having the most of our donation going directly to the people and causes that need it. To find out what charity is right for you go to charitynavigator.org, an independent website that works to “guide intelligent giving."
With the click of a mouse you can view ratings of thousands of America’s largest charities (view the methodology behind the ratings here). There are top-ten lists that group charities into different categories, such as 10 Celebrity-Related Charities (see what rating the Lance Armstrong Foundation recieved). Or go to 10 Inefficient Fundraisers and see what organizations you might want to avoid this year.
For more information, you can also evauluate charities with the Better Business Bureau.
It feels good to donate to charity--especially when you know exactly where your money is going. So give smart and sit back and enjoy a glass of eggnog. Your holiday karma just went up a notch.
--Erin
The photo is taken from this photostream and used with permission of a Creative Commons license.
I tried to donate canned food to a Boy Scouts drive pre-Thanksgiving. I hung it on my fence in the little plastic baggy the gave me, but it was never picked up (I even got it out there a couple days early)! And there on my fence it still hangs, all covered in ice and snow....
The website you provided gave helped me hunt down the Linn Benton Food Share. So presuming the cans aren't TOO disgusting and rust-covered, a few more families will benefit from my cans of garbonzo beans, water chestnuts, and whatever other random morsels I happened to have thrown in there from my cupboards.
Cheers!
Excellent topic, info and nudge for this time of year! And as Dorothy said "There's no place like home" ~ Giving to local organizations that do great work (like Old Mill Center for Children and Families) helps to improve the lives of thousands of people, right here in your own community! Good for you!
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