Donating is one of the best ways to spend your money if you want to help others and give back to the society. However, you should be careful with the destination of your money. Not all charities are spending the cash they receive wisely or for the purpose they claim to. Today we are going to have a look at the best charities to donate to and then see the reasons why you should focus on them.
Best Charities to Donate to If You Truly Want to Help
| Name of the Charity | Rating |
| Action Against Hunger – USA | A |
| American Bird Conservancy | A |
| American Humane | A |
| Asia Foundation | A |
| Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice | A |
| Cancer Research Institute | A |
| Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International | A |
| Entertainment Industry Foundation | A |
| Friends of Animals | A |
| Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind | A |
| Helen Keller International | A |
| Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation | A |
| National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund | A |
| National Urban League (National Office) | A |
| Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance | A |
| Pancreatic Cancer Action Network | A |
| Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) | A |
| Prostate Cancer Foundation | A |
| Seva Foundation | A |
| Wildlife Conservation Society | A |
| ActionAid USA | A – |
| African Wildlife Foundation | A – |
| American Brain Tumor Association | A – |
| Asia Society | A – |
| Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund | A – |
| Bat Conservation International | A – |
| Breast Cancer Prevention Partners | A – |
| Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation | A – |
| Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) | A – |
| Marine Mammal Center | A – |
| Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | A – |
| Mental Health America | A – |
| NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund | A – |
| National Federation of the Blind | A – |
| Prevent Blindness | A – |
| Prevent Cancer Foundation | A – |
| ProLiteracy Worldwide | A – |
| Africare | A + |
| American Kidney Fund | A + |
| Animal Welfare Institute | A + |
| Breast Cancer Research Foundation | A + |
| National Rifle Association (NRA) Foundation | A + |
| PetSmart Charities | A + |
| Alzheimer’s Association (National Office) | B + |
| American Indian College Fund | B + |
| American Red Cross | B + |
| Best Friends Animal Society | B + |
| Japan Society | B + |
| Leukemia & Lymphoma Society | B + |
| RedRover | B + |
This is just a brief list of the charities voted by Charity Watch as being the best. There are many others, designated not just by this monitoring website, but by others as well.
Reasons Why You Should Donate to These Charities
One may wonder why are these the best charities to donate to and not others. Let’s see a couple of reasons why you should consider these and not others:
1. They Spend Money on Programs
The charities that receive such high ratings usually spend at least 75% of the donations they receive on the programs that help their cause. This means that they spend a maximum of $25 if they want to raise $100 in public support. As such, you can be sure that the money you donate goes to the cause you support. As opposed to this, the worst charities you can donate to can even spend 0% on the cause and direct all the money to their employees’ salaries, fundraising, marketing, etc.
2. They Don’t Have Excessive Assets
Following their analysis, Charity Watch found out that the charities above, plus a couple others, don’t hold excessive assets in reserve. This translates to the fact that they focus more on supporting the problems in their field, instead of holding assets.
3. They Disclose Information
Not just the websites that take care of monitoring charities need to be able to find out information about charities. From this point of view, the organizations are very open and disclose basic financial information, as well as documents. This is to be appreciated since there are many charities that don’t wish to let know the basic information in their business.
Tips for Choosing the Right Charity
Choosing one of the best charities to donate to among the ones we mentioned above it’s a good idea, but what if you want to donate in a different field? In this case, it would be useful to have a few tips as guiding lines for any type of donation you want to make.
1. Check the Tax-Exempt Status
You can check whether a company is tax-exempt or not on the official IRS website or by directly asking the group. Most people assume that the donation they are making is tax-deductible, but this is not always the case.
2. Donate Directly
It may happen that you get contacted by a professional fundraiser for a charity you intend to support. However, it’s not a good idea to give them money. In most of the cases, the fundraiser gets to keep between 75 and 90% of the amount. The charities may even lose money in this way since they can end up paying the fundraisers more than they receive.
3. Listen to Recommendations
If you’re not sure to what charity you want to donate, it’s a good idea to ask for recommendations from family or friends. Usually, they’ll recommend you the best. You can also ask people who work in the same field where you want to donate since there are high chances they know better which charities are trustworthy and which aren’t.
4. Do Some Research
There’s no way you can do too much research when it comes to the best charities to donate to. Besides looking on Google, you can ask people around you, check the IRS website, or call the team directly and ask them details about their work. Any respectable charity would be more than happy to provide you with essential information about their work, and if they decline, this is surely a red flag.
Conclusion
The 50 best charities to donate to we presented above are just a part of all those selected by charity watches such as Charity Watch and others. Their experience, professionalism, and honesty about their activity recommend them for being the best to deserve your money. You just need to decide on the field you want to help and the amount you’re willing to give.
Image source: Flickr
Leave a Reply