If there ever was a time to get smarter about philanthropy, this is it. Donations are down, endowments have been decimated, and state and local governments are slashing their budgets. And the number of those who need help are rising rapidly. — Lawrence Rout, editor’s note, The Wall Street Journal report on philanthropy, November 9, 2009.
Smarter Giving Guy
Did you know that more than 80% of the dollars donated to charities come from individuals and families? It’s not the foundations and corporations that keep charities running, it’s people like you, me and our neighbors. Charities and the people they help depend on us.
Are you serious about your giving to charity? Do you want to make sure that the dollars you donate are used well and wisely?
Wouldn’t it be terrific if all a donor had to do to make a positive difference was to pick a charity that sounded nice and send it a check? Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as that. Charities are not all the same. Many do wonderfully effective work, spending wisely the dollars entrusted to them; many others don’t.
Every dollar sent to weak charities or scam “charities” is a dollar that would have done much more good in the hands of a top-notch charity.
If you’re a serious giver, how do you find the top-notch charities, and avoid the clunkers and scams? You have to some homework. It’s not necessarily homework that’s going to exhaust you, but it does take some time and energy. Spending that time and energy is the way for serious givers to be confident givers.
I created this site and the Serious Givers group (sign up in the right column — it’s free) to help you and your family
- support solid charities and avoid the clunkers,
- do your own good research on charities, and make solid decisions,
- focus your giving and create strong relationships with charities you support, and
- be confident in your giving.
How do you want to focus this visit?
- Check out charities
- Find key charity information
- Avoid scam “charities”
- Plan your ongoing lifetime giving
- Figure out your giving preferences
- Plan your estate giving
- Plan your family giving together
- Plan your organization or group giving
- Tax-smart giving
- Attend or arrange smarter giving classes
- Obtain private advice
For a particular focus, see the Tags in the left column, click a Link in the top row, or use the Search box in the right column.
Use Latest Additions in the top row to find the most recent additions to this site.
If you live in the U.S., chances are you donate money or time to charity. More than 90 million U.S. households donate to charities, while more than 60 million people in the U.S. volunteer at nonprofits. As a country, we’re the philanthropy capital of the world.