WGN's Click This

www.charitywatch.org

1. Think about where your gift is needed most. While holiday-inspired gifts of toys to needy kids or food donations to the local food bank are definitely worthwhile donations, keep in mind that other charities, like your local women's shelter for example, may need contributions just for general operations like keeping the lights on or paying the rent for their facilities.

2. Make educated giving decisions, not emotional ones. Most of us are familiar with the solicitations letters we receive in the mail from charities that include sad photos of hungry kids or abused animals, and desperate pleas for money. What many people don't realize is that often times these direct mail or telemarketing solicitations come from a for-profit professional fundraiser hired by the charity to raise funds. On average, only about one-third of what you give through a professional fundraiser will ever reach the charity. The ability of a charity or professional fundraiser to include sad photos or statistics in their solicitations tells you nothing about how efficiently the charity will use your donation.

3. Resist the urge to drop cash or coins into a collection bucket. When you hand over cash to someone soliciting for charity, you have absolutely no way to track your donation to make sure it reaches the intended recipient. The charity has no way to track it either. If you believe the charity soliciting is deserving of your support, pass up the collection bucket and go home and write a check to the group, or go to their secure web site and make a credit card donation. It is especially important to get a receipt of your donation if you plan on taking a year-end tax deduction.

4. Don't take the claims of charities at face value. Many donors don't realize that charities can count huge portions of their telephone or mail solicitation expenses as a charitable program, claiming that their telemarketing call is "educating" you. When people look at charity web sites and see statistics like "90% of your donation goes directly to programs," many donors don't realize that much of this figure may include fundraising activities that include an educational component. These are called joint costs. Never rely on a statistic given to you by a charity without knowing and understanding what is included in the figure.