Today is National day of Charity. Many of us have been inspired to give after hearing about a colleague, friend, or family member’s trans-formative experience giving to a cause. A donor sharing their giving experience has a powerful emotional impact on a 1-on-1 level, which can be multiplied through stories shared through social media or on other platforms.   Other’s make it a mission to donate every year to a charity or local organization. However, if this is a new idea and challenge for you, we have found some great resources to point you in a direction that can support your passions and allow you to support a cause that you feel strongly about whether that is through a monetary donation or volunteer services.

Go Local!

There are many great charities and non-profits in the area that you can volunteer or donate to. The link below allows you to do a little more research for a cause you are passionate about!

https://greatnonprofits.org/city/fort-collins/CO

Nationwide

Sites like Charity Navigator are helpful in showing you what percentage of your giving goes to support the mission of the nonprofit, as opposed to administrative expenses. Some nonprofits may have quite a bit of overhead, but for a charity to truly be effective at meeting its mission, it should work to reduce fundraising and administrative (overhead) expenses and instead devote as much of their budget as possible to support their programs.

How Does Your Favorite Charity Measure Up?

The following charities are hugely popular with donors and appear on Charity Navigator’s lists of most viewed charities. Do you know how much money they spend on actual programming?

 

American Red Cross

The do-gooders at the American Red Cross do a good job of spending your money when you donate. They manage to keep administrative expenses at less than 5 percent of their total overhead, and they spend about 91 cents for every dollar donated on actual programs that benefit the community. Whether it’s teaching CPR or managing a crisis during the aftermath of a disaster, the Red Cross puts your money to good use.

World Vision

Approximately 85 percent of income donated to World Vision goes to help stamp out poverty around the world. While they are still well below the 33 percent benchmark, they tend to spend more on fundraising than other highly-rated charities in this category. Nonetheless, if stamping out poverty is your passion, World Vision does a good job with your money.

Doctors Without Borders

These brave folks at Doctors Without Borders go into the most deplorable conditions to bring healing to others. Your money here is well spent. According to their website, about 89 percent of total revenue goes to supporting their programs.

St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital

St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital is known predominantly for their widespread fundraising campaigns. They pair celebrities with children who have cancer to talk about the great work they do. The hospital itself is a research hospital that specializes in childhood cancers and other life threatening diseases. No one is ever turned away for their inability to pay, and the hospital covers travel, housing, food, and treatment for the families whose children are patients there. Perhaps more remarkable, the hospital spends about 27 percent of its income on fundraising and administrative costs. Considering this is a hospital with significant expenses, the fact that St. Jude is able to come spend less than 33.3 percent benchmark is impressive. Overall, they do quite well with your donated dollars.

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is focused on protecting and conserving water and land across the globe. They work on every single continent to address issues of environmental significance. The organization holds themselves to the highest standards of accountability and ensures 71.2 percent of their income goes towards science-driven programs, according to their website.

Find further information about common charities at: https://charity.lovetoknow.com/What_Percentage_of_Donations_Go_to_Charity