How to donate to a charity with intention and purpose

Giving Tuesday is this week. It’s a day when charities ask us to take a break from our Christmas shopping and open our wallets for charity.

If you’re wondering which organizations to support or how much money to donate, Kevin Scally of Charity Navigator has some advice to help you make the right decisions. His group evaluates the effectiveness of over 200,000 nonprofit organizations.

In general, he says, donating to a charity is like voting for a cause you believe in—except you’re voting where you put your money.

And these efforts should be celebrated. “If you donate to causes that ultimately serve to strengthen society, that’s a good cause,” adds Scally.

Here are five tips to keep in mind when donating.

Make a list of the topics that matter to you

Get a pen and paper and “take inventory of the causes that are important to you, your family, your local community, and the larger global community,” Scally says. This exercise can help you narrow down the list of causes you care about and become more strategic in your philanthropy.

If you’re not sure what to write down, think about challenges you’d like to help overcome. Maybe you had “a family member who suffered from a chronic illness,” he says. Is there a way to support them? Or look at “current political and social events. How would you like to give back? In what specific way?”

Decide how much you would like to donate based on your household budget

Charities often make suggestions for individual donations, such as $20 per month or a one-time offer of $150.

However, Scally recommends a more conscious approach: set an amount based on your household budget. “Sit down with your family and think about what you can give. You definitely want to support yourself and pay your rent and your groceries,” he says.

You can also donate a certain percentage of your annual income to charity, says Scally. Some fundraising movements, like One for the World, suggest one percent – big enough to make an impact, small enough not to notice in your budget – while others like Giving What We Can suggest a more generous amount: 10 Percent.

“If you want to give more, do it,” says Scally. “Some people I spoke to donated up to 20 percent” of their annual income.

Donate to various charities

“If you support a cause, you may want to donate to both a small, local organization and a large, national or international organization,” Scally says. There are advantages to each.

Large global charities, for example, often have more staff, more assistance, more resources and more logistical knowledge from experienced humanitarian workers who know how to mobilize massively in emergencies, said Paul Spiegel, director of the Center for Humanitarian Health at Johns Hopkins University in a statement Interview with NPR in 2017. They also know how to navigate the often complex financial requirements and paperwork required to obtain millions of dollars in emergency funding.

Smaller, local charity groups also have their strengths. “The people behind local nonprofits often live and work where they serve,” says Victoria Vrana, CEO of GlobalGiving, a crowdfunding platform for grassroots charitable projects. Because of this, “they are able to deliver long-term solutions tailored to the needs of their communities.”

Beware of charity scammers

Make sure your money goes to the people you want to help. “Fraud is on the rise,” warns Scally.

For example, according to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, natural disasters can create opportunities for fraud. Scammers pose as representatives of charities asking for donations for disaster relief through phone calls, text messages, emails, letters, and even people walking door-to-door. To protect yourself, the FCC recommends donating to trusted, well-known charities and taking additional steps to verify that a charity is legitimate.

Be wary of fundraisers that seem urgent or predatory,” Scally says. “Anything that feels high-pressure or unprompted is definitely worth a second look.”

And don’t forget: Your money isn’t the only way you can support causes you care about. “Volunteering is a great way to give back,” he adds. It allows you to build a personal relationship with an organization and its work. “So if you can make that part of your routine, that’s a beautiful thing.”

The sound was produced by Sylvie Douglis. The digital story was written by Clare Marie Schneider and edited by Malaka Gharib. The visual producer is Kaz Fantone.

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