Or maybe it’s because in college, the police showed up at my house to arrest my roommate who much to my surprise, had been involved in a variety of no good activities around campus.
Or maybe it’s because I used to live in the city, and I had to punch a code to get into my parking area and a code to get into my apartment gate and a code to get into my apartment building, and then, I had to unlock my apartment building door, and after this, I proceeded to unlock two locks on my apartment door all before entering my home.
Or maybe it’s because I spend my mornings with smooth-talking teens.
Whatever the reason, I tend to be not-so trusting, and not-so trusting and giving don’t mesh.
See, if our family gives money to an organization, I want to know the where and why behind our donation, and I want to know our dollars are being spent to help the cause and not fund a staff of two hundred. I want to be responsible givers, and that’s why Charity Navigator is such a fun discovery.
Charity Navigator uses a rating scale to evaluate charities based on a variety of factors including transparency and financial accountability, and then, Charity Navigator awards stars to communicate findings.
In addition, Charity Navigator compiles all kinds of Top 10 lists such as: 10 Charities Expanding in a Hurry, 10 Top Notch Charities, 10 Charities in Deep Financial Trouble, and 10 Inefficient Fund Raisers.
Plus, Charity Navigator lists a Tips for Donors section that gives practical information on how you can be a Savvy Donor.
Curious about some of your favorite charities? Click over and take a peek.
One last thought: I know there are quite a few Compassion and World Vision supporters out there. Both earned four star ratings. Good job, you, for being responsible givers. Good job, them, for handling our money well.
Question: Outside of tithing to your church, do you have a favorite organization or charity your family supports? What makes you decide to support or turn away from an organization?
18 comments:
What a great resource, Amy. Thanks for calling my attention to it.
Thanks, Brandee!
One of the cool tips CN gave was to watch out for organizations that have similar names to well-established charities. Often, people think they are giving to one thing, but really they are giving to something totally different.
fantastic resource. . . fellow cynics unite!!! thanks a million, amy. never knew such a site existed.
as far as a favorite, can't say i have one. we tend to support the missions that our individual friends are involved with. that way, if the mission ends up caving, at least we've been helping our friends in the process? at least, that's how i look at it :-) the other way we like to give is toward our various friends' adoptions. so we save up toward that end.
again, thanks for the resource!
steph
This is great information, Amy. I didn't know about Charity Navigator!
Hope your second semester with smooth-talking teens is going well. We're halfway there, girl!
:0)
Thanks for this great resource. I'm going to check it out. We've gotten into the habit of giving to local organizations we are involved with, and thus, familiar with. We rarely give to national organizations, and that wasn't really a conscious decision - just a matter of becoming involved with groups here and deciding that is where our money is best spent. When you can see/touch a need, you want to fix it. So for us, actually knowing the people involved and/or being the people involved has been the main factor in what organizations we give money to.
We give to a lot of different mission organizations ... mostly because people we care about work for them ... so we already trust the organization.
Great resource.
Fondly,
Glenda
We love KIVA!
www.kiva.org
Oh and I just peaked--they scored 4 stars too. :)
Courtney and Glenda,
I love to give locally too. It feels good putting money into my own community and knowing it helps people right here.
Loraine,
Kiva rocks. Thanks for directing people that way. I love that you can loan $25.00, and change a life.
Childcare World Wide is a good organization that supports children all over for school and meals. How do we decide.....we don't typically go the organization route although we did with Childcare World Wide and a few missions organizations because of people we wanted to support on the mission field. But generally we keep a benevolance fund as one of our "envelopes" (yeah, old school I know but it works) and we pray to see opportunities of giving in our community. And we've never ever had a hard time finding a family, an individual who could use the help. It's really been one of our favorite categories to save up for. Sometimes we have plans and then God just trumps it and clearly tells us to give it elsewhere. It's really quite cool.
great resource!
of course we know that most organizations need funds for both the administration/salaries AND for the actual resources delivered on-field. the hard part is finding a balance you're comfortable with, but obviously the back end is important too. :)
even in ywam where our workers aren't paid (!!) we still need funds to power our buildings, fuel our vehicles, print our brochures, etc. i know you know that, but just sayin. ;)
Thanks for the heads up. I like to know where my money is going and generally give to charities I know have a good reputation. We give to ones affiliated with our denomination and local autism advocacy groups.
Loved this post!! I like this site, too . . . and it is soo important! We know lots of organizations here on the ground in Asia who seem to be really NOT using money well- their website says one thing and their work says quite another. There is so little accountability so often, that it's hard to really KNOW what the real-deal is on so many ministries/charities. Great job pointing us in this direction, friend!
Good stuff, as usual. And, I'm happy to see Compassion and Kiva both ranked so highly.
Thanks for this very helpful info. I support World Vision. It does feel good to know that they are responsible.
Very good to know! I will pass thing along to my hubby who tends to be very non-trusting of anyone collecting money! (Wow - funny story about the college roommate...)
this is GREAT information! We should all be informed givers.
You talk about me being a source girl, but you find some great stuff out there, too. Excellent find!
other than tithing we give to a mission organization i used to work for in high school and college. during those years i came to know the heart of the director and i know that whatever is given goes to a great cause (homeless women and children). we also look for other community needs (a friends husband lost his job and they were struggling it felt awkward to give them money so we did a grocery gift card anonymously through our church). instead of giving money to someone in front of the grocery store my husband talked over other options with our oldest in the car after being approached. our son decided that if the man was hungry we should give him food. they went through a drive-thru line and then back and gave him a meal and hot coffee. those are lessons that stay with children.
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