The best charity is subjective, it depends on what you think is important (protecting the environment, education, …)
That being said, before you give, you should do due diligence by looking up the charity you’re considering. These resources can help you verify a charity is effective, doesn’t waste money, and isn’t a known scam.
I respectfully offer that the Better Business Bureau is not a reputable source. They rate companies and charities in the same way Yelp rates businesses. They offer fees for ratings and the complaint process does absolutely nothing. I’ll let you do the google sleuthing on it, but please, do not use them for anything.
Charity Navigator, Candid, and ProPublica offer far better tools for assessing charity. If you’re paywalled from navigating some of the tools provided by Candid or other big entities, you can try your local library as they’ll sometimes have access.
Finally, the “best” charity in my line of work (I research these things) depends on three things:
% of contributions spent on administrative overhead
% of revenue spent on ED/CEO compensation
Measured program effectiveness in the service area
And you should absolutely read what @frog@beehaw.org has contributed. Clear mission/value/goal/program alignment, transparency, and accountability to the public are, generally, praise worthy organizations. Those that do not provide annual reports, 990s, and other important information on their websites are, in my research/experience, generally doing something questionable if not illegal.
Well said! And just to add to your advice, for any UK-based people reading this, the place to check charity information, including the trustees’ annual reports, financial statements, and audits (if applicable) is the gov.uk charity register.
So relieved to see my usual charity to donate to (K9s for Warriors) is highly rated on charity navigator. I was hoping they were a good one.
My other one is Lockwood Animal Rescue Center, but they have a tiny bit lower score.
Thank you for sharing the site for charity navigator. Ultimately I agree that the best charity is subjective. I heard about those two from other people and they’re subjects I feel passion about.
The best charity is subjective, it depends on what you think is important (protecting the environment, education, …)
That being said, before you give, you should do due diligence by looking up the charity you’re considering. These resources can help you verify a charity is effective, doesn’t waste money, and isn’t a known scam.
Charity Navigator rate charities: https://www.charitynavigator.org/about-us/
Better Business Bureau rate companies and charities. https://www.bbb.org/search?find_country=USA&find_text=red cross&page=1&sort=Relevance
I respectfully offer that the Better Business Bureau is not a reputable source. They rate companies and charities in the same way Yelp rates businesses. They offer fees for ratings and the complaint process does absolutely nothing. I’ll let you do the google sleuthing on it, but please, do not use them for anything.
Charity Navigator, Candid, and ProPublica offer far better tools for assessing charity. If you’re paywalled from navigating some of the tools provided by Candid or other big entities, you can try your local library as they’ll sometimes have access.
Finally, the “best” charity in my line of work (I research these things) depends on three things:
And you should absolutely read what @frog@beehaw.org has contributed. Clear mission/value/goal/program alignment, transparency, and accountability to the public are, generally, praise worthy organizations. Those that do not provide annual reports, 990s, and other important information on their websites are, in my research/experience, generally doing something questionable if not illegal.
Well said! And just to add to your advice, for any UK-based people reading this, the place to check charity information, including the trustees’ annual reports, financial statements, and audits (if applicable) is the gov.uk charity register.
So relieved to see my usual charity to donate to (K9s for Warriors) is highly rated on charity navigator. I was hoping they were a good one.
My other one is Lockwood Animal Rescue Center, but they have a tiny bit lower score.
Thank you for sharing the site for charity navigator. Ultimately I agree that the best charity is subjective. I heard about those two from other people and they’re subjects I feel passion about.