Holiday Giving: How to Choose a Charity This Season

The holidays are here again, a time to feel the joy of giving and receiving. Would you like to do some good this holiday season, but aren't quite sure how to choose a charity? Here are some guidelines to help find the charity that's right for you, and advice on how to keep the spirit of giving alive all year long.

Guidelines for Choosing a Charity

One of the most important factors in choosing a charity this holiday season is finding one that is meaningful to you. Look at what's going on in your community, in your family, and in the world at large. Has a cause you have read or heard about deeply affected you? Perhaps there is a charity that has been important in the welfare of your loved ones. With so many great causes out there that need your support, it won't be hard to find one that touches your heart.

Listen to the news, read newspapers and magazines, and talk to friends and family; keep your ears and your heart open, and ideas will begin to form. Then make a list of charities of interest, writing down broad categories (such as children's health, cancer awareness and research, or animal welfare) and/or specific names of charities you would like to research.

You are more likely to stick with a charity if you feel a connection to the cause, so try to select one that has deep meaning in your life. After you have decided how much you would like to give, and have an idea of where you'd like the money to be donated, it's time to check the charity's rating.

Websites like Charity Navigator (charitynavigator.org) or GuideStar (guidestar.org) will give you information about how a charity is rated. Check for the "program ratio": this should be the highest expense listed, as this figure is what is actually being donated to the charity. Other expenses, such as administrative and fundraising costs, should be small compared to the charity's program ratio.

When choosing a charity, look at its overall rating; select one with a high program ratio so your dollars will benefit the cause you wish to support. Also, when comparing the ratings of various charities, it is important to compare similar charities against each other, (for example, measure food pantries against food pantries, and environmental charities, against other environmental charities.)

When you are ready to donate, log onto the actual website of the charity you want to support. There you will find more information about the cause, and can use a secure server to make your donation. You can also send a check, but it's not wise to send in cash. It's much smarter to plan your charitable giving in advance than it is to wait for a stranger to call you on the phone, soliciting money for a cause you may know nothing about.

Smart giving is proactive--decide what causes you are passionate about, and research your favorite charity to determine it is legitimate and has a high program ratio (this insures that the money you donate will actually be spent on the cause you care about.) Then, develop a strategy for how much you want to give during the holiday season, and how you will support your cause in the months ahead.

Year-Round Giving

In addition to making charitable donations directly to your favorite cause, online shopping can be a great way to support a charity. At the online mall Charity Mall (charitymall.org), one hundred percent of its proceeds fund cancer research. Shopping can be done during the holiday season, or anytime during the year, with all of the proceeds going to benefit an important cause.

Volunteering is another way to keep your preferred charity alive in your heart and mind during the year. Get others involved also; recruiting family and friends to work with you to support a cause is a great way to ensure you don't "run out of steam" and lose that commitment to giving you started during the holidays this year.

With these basic guidelines, it's easy to start donating to a charity. This holiday season, enjoy the pleasure of giving, and use these strategies to make certain that your involvement with a favorite cause develops into a year round commitment.