How to Donate to a Good Cause

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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With so many worthy causes vying for your dollar, choose one or two that are near and dear to your heart. Has a loved one suffered from breast cancer? Are you a nature or animal lover? Is education or social welfare your passion? Once you've chosen a cause, there are excellent resources available to help you choose an organization that will make the most of your donation.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Financial information about charities
Mission statements

Step 1

Visit Give.org, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) Web site on charitable giving, to find reports about specific charities. The BBB provides financial information about charities and evaluates them using specific accountability standards.
Step 2

Contact your state attorney general's office or a local branch of the Better Business Bureau for information if a charity is not reviewed at Give.org.
Step 3

Check that the charity is a tax-exempt organization and that donations made to it are tax-deductible. Donations made to tax-exempt organizations are not necessarily deductible.
Step 4

Visit the charity's Web site or call it directly. Find out as much as you can about its history, programs and recent accomplishments.
Step 5

Review what percentage of the charity's annual budget is spent on its actual mission versus fund-raising and administrative costs. Give.org recommends that a charity spend at least 50 percent of its budget on its mission, and no more than 35 percent on fund-raising.
Step 6

Evaluate the mission of the charity and its effectiveness in fulfilling its mission. For those organizations that operate in other parts of the world, particularly the Third World, look for partnerships between the organization and the local population for most effective use of resources and the highest degree of success.
Step 7

Confirm that the charity will appropriate your donation according to your wishes and not put it in a general fund.
Step 8

Make your donation with a check. Never send cash.
Step 9

File the canceled check and the charity's receipt as proof of your donation for tax purposes.
Step 10

Consider other types of donations. Many organizations accept gifts of equipment, even vehicles. See How to Donate Your Car.