Charity Navigator

Charity Navigator
www.CharityNavigator.org 

Given all the recent events, many of us feel the desire to donate funds to help with recent tragedies, events, and organizations. But where should you donate?

There are currently 1.57 million charities registered in the United States! Who can you trust? What organizations will make the best use of your hard earned dollars? Check out Charity Navigator to find out! If you already have a charity in mind you can search for it by name. You can search by name, keywords, or even EIN number (this is the Tax ID number assigned to organizations).

Charities are given scores (0-100) and star ratings. You can see how much the charity spends on administrative costs, salaries of the CEO, advertising, even previous years’ tax filings. The site uses visual graphics to help clearly show how each charity rates on transparency, effectiveness, asset to liability ratios, and more. Contact information for the charity and address of record are listed. If you like what you see there is even a link to donate straight from there. But what if you have no idea where you want to give? Check out the “Hot Topics” list. Looking to help with Harvey, Irma, Syrian Refugees… quick links to charities supporting these issues are there. The site is key word searchable. Say you want to help stray cats in Boston… or women in Uganda, there are groups listed here. Whatever speaks to you, there is likely an organization listed here.

Still not sure? Check out the “Top Ten Lists.” Charity Navigator complies a list of their “Charities with a Perfect Score.” Here you’ll find a list organized by subject of charities doing it right. “The exceptional charities on this list execute their missions in a fiscally responsible way while adhering to good governance and other best practices that minimize the chance of unethical activities.” (Charity Navigator, 2017) Charity Navigator includes a list of tips for donors. When a charity calls during dinner asking for help are you at a loss for how to handle them? There’s a list of tips here. How about how to protect yourself from online scams, or all those requests flooding your inbox? They’ve got tips for that too! Donating your time or money to a cause dear to you is a wonderful thing. This tool helps ensure that your donation is going somewhere legitimate and effective.

If you are considering donating take a moment to check out www.CharityNavigator.org Maybe you will help avoid a scam, but hopefully you can be even more secure knowing your selected organization is making good use of your donation. 

Review by Sarah Way, SWC Librarian