It’s the time of year where we may be moved to consider giving our time or a year-end donation to a charitable cause. We may have long term relationships with international charities, we might be inspired by a new cause, and some of us may be considering giving to a cause for the first time.
Whether you are looking to find a new charity in a category that is close to your heart, check up on the progress of your favorite charitable organization, or support a local cause that needs more attention, here are five resources that can help you review your options:
Charity Navigator’s Ten Top Ten Lists – Charity Navigator has a mission to make impactful philanthropy easier for everyone. They regularly update ten top ten lists that focus on ten key charities in various subject areas, from charities backed by celebrities to charities worth watching, these lists introduce the topic of charity evaluation and help you to decide which organizations deserve your support. Charity Navigator also has an app available for your device if you are interested. You can access their Top Ten List page here.
GuideStar Directory of Charities and Non-Profit Organizations - GuideStar offers a database of more than 1.8 million IRS-recognized U.S. charities and organizations to review. It is a great list because it is organized by categories of interest (Arts, Animals, Education, etc.) so it makes it easy for you to connect with an area you are most committed to. You can access their directory here.
Give.org – This program is made possible by the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance and features their National Charity Seal Participants. These are national charities that have been evaluated by BBB WGA and deemed to have met the Standards for Charity Accountability in effect at the time of the review and have earned the seal of approval. The site has a very basic and easy to use filter to search through charities, which you can access here.
Give 2 Charity – This a free app that allows you to earn points by just doing what you do every day, and those points can be applied to charitable donations. It works by tracking your smartphone's location data and rewards you with points when you go places. The way I see it, if we all know we are being tracked on some level anyway, why not have something good come from it? Points can be redeemed for your favorite charity, and major participating charities include Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society. You can check out Give 2 Charity here.
Givo App – This is a great concept. Say you have a local cause, near and dear to you, that can use an awareness building, donation driving app to bring your community together. Givo is a great looking storytelling and social media platform that drives interest and engagement about the projects and progress of your cause and accepts donations directly and securely. Anyone with a local cause needs to check out this app. You can check it out here.
This holiday season, may we all make new memories with our family and friends and make a difference for others wherever we can. Happy Holidays!