Tis the season to be giving

Salt shakers
December 2001

Tis the season to be giving
It's the time of year when shopping and gift giving and finding the ugliest sweater imaginable for Uncle Bob are taking up a lot of our time. It's also the time of year when a lot of folks' thoughts turn to the needs of others. Much of America's charitable giving has understandably been centered in recent weeks on agencies responding to the events of September 11. But other charities still need our support this time of year and year round.

While most of us are willing to help out, none us want to be taking for a ride just because we're taking out our checkbooks. (And don't forget that your dollars can do more good when you focus your holiday shopping around fair trade and products produced from artisans in the developing world. Here's our guide to shopping for a better world.)

Here are some links to charities with good records as stewards of your donations and other online resources that can help ensure that your charity dollar goes as far as it should toward helping others in need and not administrators in need of new wardrobes:

Bread for the World: Celebrating more than 25 years of seeking justice for the world's hungry people, Bread for the World is a Christian voice for ending hunger in the new century.

Catholic Charities USA is the nation's largest, private network of people helping people. The 1,400 local agencies and institutions provide social services across the country to more than 10 million people in need each year-regardless of religious, ethnic, racial, or social background. Catholic Charities USA aims to reduce poverty, support families, and empower communities in the United States.

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development spends just 13 percent of its resources on administrative and fundraising costs.

Catholic Relief Services spends a paltry 7 percent of its donation dollars on administrative and fundraising costs. For more: efficiency and effectiveness of Catholic Relief Services.

Here's a list of top-rated charities from the American Institute of Philanthropy.

Interaction's list of charities responding to the refugee crisis in Afghanistan.

Liberty Unites' list of charities responding to the Septermber 11 terrorist attacks.

Other online resources
The Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance at Give.org
Give.org is the web site for The BBB Wise Giving Alliance. Give.org collects and distributes information on hundreds of nonprofit organizations that solicit nationally or have national or international program services. It routinely asks such organizations for information about their programs, governance, fund raising practices, and finances when the charities have been the subject of inquiries.

The BBB Wise Giving Alliance never recommends one charity over another, and selects charities for evaluation based on the volume of donor inquiries about individual organizations. These policies allow the Alliance to serve donors' information needs and also help donors to make their own decisions regarding charitable giving. The volume of public inquiries helps identify which national charities will be the subject of a BBB Wise Giving Alliance Report.

Charity Watch
The American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP) is a nationally prominent charity watchdog service whose purpose is to help donors make informed giving decisions. Its Charity Watch website provides visitors with information about AIP, the charities it rates, and its method of grading charities. Special features will focus on Top Salaries, Top-Rated Groups, and hot topics in charitable giving

Other features include Tips for Giving Wisely, a helpful-hints guide for getting the most for the dollars you donate; answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ); praise from the press; useful and interesting articles on a variety of topics relating to charitable giving.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Information for donors

GuideStar
GuideStar's mission is to revolutionize philanthropy and nonprofit practice with information. GuideStar envisions the evolution of an increasingly efficient nonprofit marketplace where

* information about the operations and finances of nonprofit organizations is readily accessible and actively utilized by decision makers throughout the nonprofit sector,
* donors seek out and compare charities, monitor their performances, and give with greater confidence,
* nonprofit organizations pursue more effective operating practices, embrace greater accountability, and enjoy lower fundraising costs,
* society benefits from a more efficient, generous, and well-targeted allocation of resources to the nonprofit sector.

The National Association of State Charity Officials
NASCO maintains a contact list of all state agencies that have oversight of charitable solicitations.

The National Catholic Community Foundation
NCCF is structured to facilitate engaged philanthropy through continual involvement of individuals, families, communities and organizations.

NCCF was created to address the needs of persons and organizations who wish to engage in philanthropic activities which support the ministries of the Catholic Church, but do not have the ability to organize a traditional private foundation.

Network for Good
Network for Good, an independent, 501(c)(3) organization, was founded by the AOL Time Warner Foundation and AOL, Inc.; the Cisco Foundation and Cisco Systems, Inc.; and Yahoo! Inc., in partnership with over 20 nonprofit foundations and associations who share the desire to foster the informed use of the Internet for civic participation and philanthropy. The Website aggregates content and resources from these leaders, organizes them and makes them available in one comprehensive, easy-to-use destination, which also helps to expand the reach, effectiveness and pervasiveness of all of Network for Good's nonprofit partners.

Network for Good is the first coalition of its kind to help nonprofit organizations become more effective and efficient. Network for Good will help them further their mission by integrating the full power of the online medium into their own operations such as fundraising, recruitment and advocacy. This new ePhilanthropy portal also incorporates many of the tools and resources of Helping.org, which pioneered online giving and volunteering.

Operation "Missed Giving": tips from the Federal Trade Commission

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