A different view of charities

[Guest guest]

Individual philanthropy is a crucial source of revenue for tens of thousands of local, regional, and national organizations. It is abundantly clear that support from the government and large organizations are not sufficient to do the job. I am distressed that some recent posts may discourage people from supporting the many charities that provide enormously important services. Most of us would investigate before purchasing a home appliance, yet folks often decide to support a charity based solely on its

name. Your charitable dollars will be spent most wisely if you take advantage of internet and print sources of information on charities. Here is a MSN page with basic information on evaluating charities. (Read all the way to the bottom. Some of the best information is at the end.) http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/ConsumerActionGuide/HowToTellAGoodCharityFromABadOne.aspx All charities have to spend money on administrative and fund raising tasks. Well-managed charities will keep these expenses to less than 30% of their income. To see how much of their money is actually spent on services, the salary of their chief executive, and other important information go to: http://charitynavigator.org/ or try: http://www.us.bbb.org/WWWRoot/SitePage.aspx?site=113 & id=4ef08b14-37cb-4974-a385-7f41f63b16b0

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