charitable associations

in my previous post, i suggested that donating money to a charity of your choice is an easy way to show support for a cause that maybe you are unable to help in a physical way (building homes, visiting poverty sticken countries, volunteering time at a hospital, canvassing, etc). many of us simply do not have the time or means to do it. however, choosing the most fit charity can be a difficult task. i feel it is my duty to help you make an informed and sound decision. i cannot, for obvious reasons, give you a list of all charities worthy of your money, but what i can do, is help ensure that you place your money in the right hands. the following is a list of tips for giving:

A List of Tips For Giving

- first and foremost, choose a cause that is meaningful to you. you won't feel good about it if you dont.

- do your research and ask questions. any legit charity can and will eagerly answer all of your questions about exactly where the money goes, how its used, and what progress they have made to date.

- consider the impact and be realistic. rememebr that if you're giving to a large charity, the money is part of a bigger whole. the smaller the charity, the bigger the impact your donation will make. EXAMPLE: if you're looking to cure AIDS, donating to a small charity won't make this happen. but if you want to help children get a healthy breakfast in the mornings, i'm positive you can find a local charity that does just that and your $50 will go a longgg way.

- please, for the love of all that is holy, make sure the charity is legitimate. if you're in Canada, all charities must be registered. they will be given a registration number and the canada revenue agency supplies a listing of all registered charities. you can get access to that list here. if yours isn't on the list, you need to put your money elsewhere.

- try to choose a charity with low overhead and administration costs to stretch your dollar. bear in mind that all charities have public financial statements (just ask them, they'll be happy to supply you with it. if they dont then ding ding ding, something's not quite right). ideally, 10%-15%, or less, of revenue should be spent on administration and fundraising. legally, though, they can (and do) spend in excess of 25%. just for the record, war amps spends 7% (or less!) on admin costs.

- if you want to donate, but don't have extra monies laying around (like most of us) you can always rummage through your closet and fianlly get rid of those clothes you said a year ago you'll "wear soon." books, food, clothes, shoes, and protective items (think outerwear, coats, blankets, etc) are all great items to donate rather than trash during your spring cleaning.

:)