How Charitable is the Charity you Support?

I almost made a big mistake!

A lovely catalogue arrived in the mail from a charity about which I had heard good things and I was about to make a donation when that same catalogue showed up in my mailbox a second time. “Wow”, I thought, as I walked back from my mailbox to my front door, “they are not very patient, are they? I wonder how much money they spend on their solicitations.”

A quick look at Charity Navigator brought me the results: almost 18%, earning them a 3-star rating. Not terribly bad, but I decided I’d go and look for an organization with a 4-star rating, focused on a cause I care about. I found one and my check has gone to them. Its fundraising costs are 8% and their top guy’s salary is under $140 thousand a year, compared with more than $260 thousand a year for the one with the pretty catalogs.

Suggestion to all in this gift-giving season: check with Charity Navigator before you write that check!