Coming from a social work background and now that I work for a company that helps non-profits fundraise in the digital space, I often get questions about what organizations to donate to. There is no shortage of options when it comes to non-profits who need money.
Let me be clear, I’m not telling you specifically what causes to donate to. The issues that you’re passionate about are what they are for a reason. This is mostly a guide that I use when I identify organizations that I donate to. Let’s get into it.
An important note: This guide is specifically for U.S. based organizations, mainly because that is where most of my knowledge is. Every country has different designations for charity, but the important thing here is that you need to do research when donating.
End of Year Donation Guide
Start Local
Most of the time, large organizations don’t need as many small donors. Organizations like UNICEF, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, or Doctors Without Borders have extremely wealthy and high-profile donors, partnerships with fraternities and sororities, and have brand name recognition on a national and even global level.
Am I saying, “Don’t donate to them?” No. Your money, your choice.
I am saying your local non-profits that exist to address an issue in your local community desperately need funding and don’t have as much opportunity as some of these major non-profits. Is there a large veteran population in your community? Try searching for local non-profits that exist to help that population directly rather than donating to a national organization. You’ll see your donation at work in your own community.
Check The Organization’s 990 Form
Did you know that you can look up the 990 forms for any non-profit that operates in the United States? This form discloses all of the financial information of a non-profit organization. Want to know how much the CEO of Red Cross makes? Here you go. I know people who won’t donate to an organization if the CEO makes higher than $100k. I know people who scale to the size of the non-profit.
There is no “one size fits all” here. St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital runs an innovative cancer treatment hospital 365 days of the year, pays for doctors and the latest medical equipment, and doesn’t charge the families a dime. I think they’re allowed to have a higher overhead cost.
My one thing about this point: Never donate to an organization that does not have a 990 readily available and filed with the IRS. Full stop.
You should be able to trace every last cent the organization has and uses. If something they are (or aren’t) spending money on conflicts with your values, don’t donate. And if they don’t disclose how they’re spending their money, run. You’ve either found a fraud non-profit or a cult.
Without financial disclosure, you will always be left wondering. You should never blindly trust someone else with your donation.
*Some organizations like anti-trafficking organizations will keep privileged information. They will still disclose financial information, but not necessarily specific line items. It’s for the safety of their employees and their clients.
What Work Does the Organization Do?
What are they physically doing to help people, animals, or whatever issue you care about? Are they providing services or are they raising awareness?
I have a hard time with “awareness only” organizations. These are organizations that raise awareness about a particular issue but don’t provide services to the population they are advocating for.
Maybe I’m alone (or selfish) in this, but I like to see the work my money does. 100% awareness-based organizations are not my focus when making financial donations. When non-profits are cloaked in secrecy or make it difficult to find out information, it only makes me more concerned about how many people are being positively impacted by the work the organization does.
No Kid Hungry does a great job of telling potential donors how much their donation can do. For $10, you can provide 100 meals for kids. For $38 per month, you can provide life-changing opportunities including school, medical care, and food to a child through Compassion International. You can see the tangible impact your donation makes in the lives of people.
Consider Donating Monthly
For a lot of people, they tend to wait until the last minute of the year to give a donation to a charitable organization. In fact, despite campaigns like #GivingTuesday, December 31 is consistently the date where the most revenue is being brought in. Fun fact: between Giving Tuesday and December 31, most organizations will raise 30% of their budgets for the following year. That’s massive.
But, if you want to make a long-lasting impact on an organization or mutual fund that you’re passionate about, you should consider becoming a monthly donor. Even if you were to cut one of your regular monthly subscriptions or weekly coffee runs and instead use that money in a monthly donation to an organization, that makes a huge, consistent impact on their ability to help the population they serve.
The moral of the story here is that if you want to be certain that your donations are being used to their fullest extent, you need to start with research. Knowing how organizations spend their money, the services they provide, etc. is important. It creates accountability for the organization and more importantly, it causes you to be more involved in your community. When you care about the issue/organization you’re giving to, donating means more.
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