How to Decide Which Charities to Help at Christmas Time
Charity is something most human beings think about often. Charities help the homeless, children, senior citizens, families, hospitals and so much more. However, the sheer volume of charities that exist today can make it difficult for someone to determine which ones to support. Below are some ideas for deciding which charities to help at Christmas time. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Determine the type of support you are willing to give the chosen charity. In other words, decide whether your support will be strictly monetary, on a volunteer basis or something else. For example, Toys for Tots likes donations of new, unwrapped toys.
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Decide whether there is a particular age group, if any, that you want to support. For example, many people prefer to help charities that do things to help children. Others want to help senior citizens.
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Determine if there is a particular ailment, if any, in which you are interested. For example, someone might donate to an AIDS Foundation because a member of his family suffers from the disease.
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Figure out how much money, time or other items you can afford to donate. A handful of charities prefer not to accept donations under a certain dollar amount. If the amount of money you can afford doesn't reach their goal, then you can eliminate that charity from your list.
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Commit to making the charitable contribution ongoing or establish it in a onetime shot from the outset. If you do not inform charities at the time of donation that it is a one-time gift, they will put you on a mailing list and barrage you with requests for contributions all year long.
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Narrow down your charitable choices to three to five options. Then research each one on the Internet to determine how much of your contribution will actually reach the people for which it is intended. Unfortunately, some charities have massive overheads. That means that sometimes as little as 10 percent of your donation goes where you expect it to.
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Contact your top charity choices to find out exactly what each wants and needs and their level of urgency. For example, if their primary desire is volunteers who can donate at least eight hours a day every week, that might be problem. People who work 40- to 60-hour workweeks might not be able to meet those kinds of needs. Therefore, such a charity could be eliminated from the list. Some charities experience a holiday rush and have a greater need than others. You might want to take that into consideration in making your decision.
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Decide how many of your top charity choices you want to support. Depending on their identified wants and needs and your bank account, it is possible that you could donate time to one charity and money to another. For example, you might serve Christmas dinner at a local food bank as well as donate money to St. Jude's hospital.
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Tips & Warnings
Choose a charity that has special meaning to you. You are far less likely to let a charity of that sort down. Think about charities that cut across various age groups. While charities for children and the elderly are great choices, they often have a broader contribution base than other groups. When interviewing charities to make your final decision, find out whether it is their policy to sell contributors' names to other charitable organizations. Many charities do that, which can result in contributors receiving hundreds of pieces of mail every month. For children, think about charities that help with their health, such as St. Jude's hospital, the March of Dimes or the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. For senior citizens, think about groups such as Meals on Wheels, Senior Energy Share or Just Give. For families, consider Habitat for Humanity, local food banks or the Salvation Army. For medical support, think of groups including the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation or the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation. Drop loose change into the kettle each time you pass one with a bell ringer from Salvation Army. That quarter may not make a big difference in your budget, but mixed with the contributions from others, it can help support a needy family. Donate to Toys for Tots next time you are in a dollar store like Dollar Tree. For just a few dollar bills you can make a handful of children happy this Christmas.
Never make charitable promises that you know you cannot keep. That may leave the charity in a worse bind than it was to begin with. Don't forget to keep track of your charitable contributions. They are tax deductible.
