Is your charity charitable?

Most donations to charity are made during the last two weeks in December. If you’re someone who waits until the end of the year to donate, you might want to make sure the charity you’re supporting actually creates positive change with its money. At Charity Navigator, you can find some tools to help you make an informed decision, based on solid financials.

Charity Navigator is a nonprofit organization that does not accept contributions from the charities it rates. There is also a section on reports the organization has put together. (Incidentally, one of its reports is the 2009 CEO Compensation Study —very interesting reading!)

You can use the site’s tools for evaluating the charity you have chosen to donate to or work for. Plus, there are tips and resources to help you decide where your money will actually benefit the causes you believe in and help you avoid the ones that are “top heavy” and laden with inflated administration costs, and of course, scams which abound at this time of year. Among other facts, you can find out:

· Top 10 Best Practices for Savvy Donors
· 6 Questions to Ask Charities Before Donating
· Tips for Older Donors
· What to do When a Charity Calls
· How to Stop Solicitations by Mail
· Protecting Yourself From Online Scams
· Tips for Giving in Times of Crisis
· Evaluating Charities Not Currently Rated by Charity Navigator
· Tax Benefits of Giving
· Guide to Donating Your Car
· Guide to Donating Noncash Items
· Guide to Volunteering
· Guide to Giving in the Workplace
· Giving Statistics
· A Donor's Bill of Rights
· Giving Calculator

You can “join” the organization for free so you can then log in to use the evaluation pages. Type in the name of a charity, such as Human Rights Watch. You will see that Charity Navigator has given it a rating—its best. You can get Charity Navigator’s overall rating for organizational efficiency and capacity; revenue is broken down and expenses listed along with the CEO’s salary. The donor privacy policy is clearly stated, along with the organization’s mission statement. At the bottom is a list of similar organizations and their overall star rating. You also can get historical information for the past three years, read comments from other donors and read news articles about the charity.

A note of caution: Please beware of sites such as GuideStar, where the charities pay to be members and are rated accordingly, and cash-back sites for charitable organizations, such as http://www.igive.com/. Read the fine print before donating through such sites, because many of them give only a small percentage of your rebate to the charity you select. (For more information, see Shrewd Shopping)

Enjoy the season, and give wisely!—Alice Rose Kieft