This year for the holiday why not make a concious effort to make charitable donations to organizations who actually give to the needy. There have been countless organization, recently Bono's One Foundation, who use more money on keeping their organization afloat than giving to the actual need of the cause. So instead of mindlessly giving this year find a few select organizations to donate to. That way when someone in the office needs you to sponsor their 5K helping who knows what you can politely point them toward the organization your support. Make your hard earned money work in a more purposeful fashion instead flowing down the charities overhead costs.
Here are smart ideas on donations from The OC Register writer Gregory Karp.
THINK ABOUT IT: Spend at least as much time thinking about charitable donations as you would, say, watching an episode of “The Office” or setting your fantasy football lineup. Make a giving plan for all of 2011. That plan will give you a reason to decline donation requests throughout the year that you didn't really want to fulfill anyway.
“Determine what the things are that really move you and make you want to give – things that might have personally touched your life,” said Ken Berger, president of CharityNavigator.org.
CHECK 'EM OUT: Before opening your wallet, open your Web browser. Start at CharityNavigator.org, which provides information on charities and rates them. Guidestar.org provides some basic information free. The Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance, at Give.org, also rates some charities. But be aware that charities pay the bureau to use its seal of approval – a potential conflict of interest.
Charities must provide you with a Form 990, which details their finances.
“If there's one core message, it's to use your head as well as your heart,” Berger said. You're looking for accountability and transparency, and how the charity fulfills its mission, he added.
“You want more than a story of how they helped people,” he said. “You want to know that they are consistently providing results.”
USE THE THREE-QUARTERS RULE: Expect well-run charities to spend at least 75 percent of donated money on programs and the rest on fundraising and administrative costs.
Some charities have good reasons for spending more on nonprogram costs, so make sure you know what those reasons are and are comfortable with them. Also, from the Form 990, you can see what administrators are paid.
DON'T DIVERSIFY: Spreading your money among different types of investments is generally a good idea, but among charities, not so much. Each contribution costs something in processing, so several small contributions mean less goes to the cause. Make larger and fewer donations, Berger said.
HANG UP ON PHONE SOLICITATIONS: Up to 95 percent of donations to some phone solicitations go to the telemarketing company and not the charity, Charity Navigator says. Sidestep third-party solicitations on the phone, by mail or in person and donate directly to a charity.
“We recommend you never give over the phone and never give to somebody on the street,” Berger said. “You can never be sure who they're working for – maybe even themselves.”
If a solicitation sounds interesting, say no, do your research and then give directly to the charity, he said.
Be aware that some dubious charities sound similar to legitimate charities.
FREE GIVING: If you have no cash to donate, consider donating blood or giving unwanted possessions to charity.
Or give your time, especially if you have skills that would be expensive, such as accounting work, Palmer said.
Some additional ways to give would be to donate a used and old car so it can be recycled to someone in need, some charities like change.gov just need your ideas, or even writing about it in blog rolls to build awareness to causes you support. There are so many ways to give this holiday season to people in need.
How do you plan to give back this year?
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