‘Tis the Season to be Generous, But to Which Charities?
November 3rd, 2009 by Margolis
Many individuals, companies and institutions make their most significant gifts to charities towards the end of the calendar year when they know how much money they have to spare. Last year was particularly tight for a lot of givers. Hopefully, more of us can be more generous this year.
Choosing among the many charities that can make effective use of one’s generosity can be difficult. Should you give a little bit of money to many charities, or more to a few? If you are in business, should you choose charities that are aligned with the work you do and who may send more business? How can you tell how well a charity uses its money? Is it well managed? Does it have excessive administrative or fundraising costs?
Here are a few pointers that might help: Give more to a few charities, rather than a little to many, so that what you give can make a difference. Also, if you are only giving larger donations, this will provide a way to tell which charities you care most about, since it won’t feel right to give such a large amount to some of the charities you may be considering.
Do give to charities related to your business. There’s nothing wrong with getting some benefit back from what you give and you are more likely to be familiar with these organizations and know which can make best use of your donation.
Finally, check out the charities you are considering at the Charity Navigator. It gives ratings to the thousands of charities are around the world. But take these ratings as a starting point only. Because it covers the whole world, it must base its ratings on easily available information which may or may not be accurate or may only tell part of the story. For instance, a charity may be poorly rated because it mischaractarized program expenses as administrative expenses.
Finally, however you choose, be as generous as possible. Studies find that people who are more generous are also happier.
Tags: charities, Charity Navigator, donations