It can prove challenging to choose a charity that should receive your donations. The question always arises whether you should support the group that comes knocking first or a charity that sends heart wrenching pictures of orphans. You should consider a group whose missions matter. It is important to understand that only a part of the donation is used for the mission while the rest is spend on administrative work. Tips to ensure your donations are well spent include:
- Contribute to charities you know
Although they are many charities that you have not heard about but yet they do a fabulous job in the community, you should be reluctant to give your donations to strangers. In case you know about a charity and the work they do you know with confidence the donation will be channeled to good use. Make sure you are familiar with the mission of the organization and avoid assuming you are familiar with what the charity does. In line with this you should be careful to avoid an organizations that have adopted names that are similar to well respected organizations.
- Make enquiries whether your donations are tax deductible
It is important to know that some nonprofit organizations are not charities. Therefore, your contribution is not deducted at tax time. It is advisable to find out from the organization whether the contributions made to them will be deducted for tax purposes.
- Make sure you understand the work of the organization
Different charitable organizations handle problems differently. For instance, organizations that seek to lower the rate of pregnancy among teenagers some can embark on teaching sex education, others might offer programs that seek to build self-esteem among teenage girls while other groups may seek to promote sexual abstinence. Therefore, you can consider choosing a cause that aligns with your vision.
In case you are considering an organization that is playing an important role eradicating poverty you can consider Planet Aid a charity that has served the interest of millions of people living around the world. It is located strategically in the US to help donors to deposit their shoes and clothing. The donations made through the Planet Aid Clothing Donations are used to cloth destitute families living around the world.
Before choosing a charity to support it is important to ensure that it is legitimate. You can consider checking with the Internal Revenue Service, the charities bureau or the state’s attorney general. The charities bureau in particular plays an important role in policing charities found within the state while providing a wealth of information.