5 Important Factors for Good Holiday Donations
November 21, 2019 by Samantha Carey
The holiday season is often marked by lavish generosity as people often seek out to make charitable donations. In fact, almost 1/3 of charitable giving occurs in December and 10% occurs within the last 3 days of the year!
Although we'd love to believe this influx of charitable giving is due to the rousing of the holiday spirit, we also know that many givers are simply trying to get one last tax write-off for the year. Nonetheless, whether in pretense or in genuine support of charities, the holidays are one of the greatest times of the year to live with open hands.
As the holidays approach, you may be trying to figure out to which nonprofit organization or cause your holiday donations should fall. There are a few very important factors to think about when making holiday donations this year.
Consider the following list as a guide to help you make a decision where to give and to be able to generously spread some holiday cheer!
5 Important Factors for Good Holiday Donations
1. Give to an organization you can get behind
The truth of the matter is that your money is, well, your money. The giving of your money is an investment so you want to make sure you are giving to an organization you actually believe in.
Take some time to find a nonprofit or company that you share similar values with. Are you passionate about ending human trafficking? Give to A21 and help support their mission to abolish slavery. Want to help provide meals for Americans who go without? Donate to Feeding America and help support their mission to end hunger in the U.S. Passionate about the world's water crisis? Donate to charity: water and help support their mission to provide clean water to the 1 billion people who don't have access to it.
If there's some injustice going on in the world that you care about passionately, there's a good chance other people do too!
2. Check out their track record
When donating to a charitable organization, you want to do a bit of research and see their accomplishments. How many trees have they planted, meals have they given, or jobs have they provided?
Most nonprofits and charitable organizations have portions of their websites that go into detail about the impact they are making in the world. Look for measurable figures. They should have the numbers to back up their contributions so you can see the exact impact your donation has.
3. Take a look at financial reports
A lot of companies may claim that they are charitable when in reality only a portion of their earnings are actually used towards the organization's cause.
Reputable organizations are usually very transparent about how they spend their money. Look for reports and detailed descriptions of the organization's spending to ensure your giving is going where they say it is.
A good general rule is to only donate to companies that use at least 75% of their budget on programs and services. However, you'll want to do your research as each case is specific. Use a site like Charity Navigator to help understand all the numbers.
4. Verify nonprofit status
The last thing you want to do is make a donation to a company that isn't actually a nonprofit. Related to the previous point, you want to make sure the company is being transparent about what they do with their money and whether they are actually using it for the betterment of others. You also want to make sure the charity has been granted a 501(c)(3) by the IRS so you can actually use your donation as a tax write-off.
An easy way to verify a company's nonprofit status is to simply check out the IRS website where you can conduct a search for tax-exempt organizations.
5. Hit two birds with one stone
You are already shopping for your loved ones, so why not shop brands that partner with charitable organizations? Many retailers use a portion of their sales towards a specific cause and often partner directly with a nonprofit that aligns with their brand. If you are unsure of where to donate your money, find a brand you already love, verify the nonprofit they are affiliated with, and donate to it!
This holiday season, one of the greatest things you can do is donate to charitable organizations.
Regardless if you're just doing it to get a tax break, there is a great deal of pride found in the fact that you can truly help someone in need through your generosity. There are thousands of charitable organizations that exist in the world that contribute to society's needs - which one will you choose to donate to this holiday season?