Donating Your Hard-Earned Money

There are so many charities, causes and organizations that beseech you for donations today it makes it hard to decide which ones are really doing the most good and making the best use of your money. How do you decide?

To help you make a better informed decision, the American Institute of Philanthropy has researched thousands of charities and given each a rating of A to F. On their website, www.charitywatch.org, they have posted a list of the top 500 organizations each with an A or B rating. Organizations are listed alphabetically and provide a direct link to the charity.

Their publication (Charity Rating Guide) is also available for a fee of $3 and lists all pertinent information about the charity and their financial performance in addition to their contact information and rating.

Their main criteria for a charity to be rated A or B is for the organization to use $.75 of every $1.00 donated to its cause instead of going towards commissions, soliciting or salaries. After all, you are donating to make a difference; not to have most or all of your money go towards some one's salary or a telemarketing company to bombard you with phone calls or mail.

It's a worthwhile site to check out to make sure that the money you worked so hard for is truly going to the cause you believe in.