Generous To A Fault!
by Gary Woods

We are a very generous group of people. When we see others in need we respond. But the question is always, does the money get to where it's supposed to get? Before you give, you might want to check out a website called Charity Navigator www.charitynavigator.org. This site gives you detailed information on more than 4200 non-profit charitable organizations in the United States.

On the site you can search for charities by name, location, category, scope of operations (national or international) or other criteria. One of the elements to look at is how much money is spent on overhead and administration as opposed to actually helping the cause they represent. Charity Navigator offers detailed figures on each charity's revenue, expenses, and operating efficiencies and even gives the CEO's salary.

Another site which offers similar information is Guidestar www.guidestar.org. They maintain lists of all nonprofit charities currently registered in the United States complete with PDFs of their annual IRS 990 tax returns.

Whoever you choose to bestow your gift on you should spend some time on their website. Make sure the site lists contact information, including a physical address, a phone number, and an e-mail address.

Any charity listed in Guidestar is probably good, but you still might want to check with the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance site at www.give.org. This site posts reports on individual charities, news and alerts of reported scams, complaint forms, and a lot of tips and advice for donors.

If you have any suggestions or questions for me please drop me a note at garyandlaury@santabarbaraproperties.com or see my column on the Internet at http://www.santabarbaraproperties.com or call me at (805) 729-0910