Most of us want to support good causes that are important to us, but we want to see our money put to good use, i.e. to actually help the cause. That is where the complication can come in, because non-profits use their funds in a variety of ways, including administration costs and salaries for paid workers. Paid workers are very important, because only so much can be accomplished with 100% volunteers. Administration costs, such as legal fees, building fees, office supplies, insurance, and other items are also a reality of any organization’s efforts.
A go-to organization that I have used over the years is called Charity Watch, one of the largest independent charity evaluators founded over 20 years ago. https://www.charitywatch.org/home
Charity Watch covers a large range of non-profits causes, including my personal favorites, animal protection, child protection, and environmental protection. Charity Watch’s home page provides a link a summary of top-rated charities across all topics (yay!). Top-rated charities:
- Spend most of their budgets (75% or more) on programs,
- Spend $25 or less to raise $100 in public support,
- Do not hold excessive assets in reserve,
- Have met CharityWatch’s governance benchmarks, and
- Openly disclosure basic financial information and documents to CharityWatch.
Charity Watch also provides data on those non-profits with the highest salaries (boo!).For example, the CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society earned $ 1,190,755 in 2015 and the CEO of St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital earned $ 1,042,217 in 2015. It is worthwhile noting that of the 25 top CEO compensation non-profits, four are specifically related to cancer research and a total of nine are health-related non-profits. Being in the HR field, I know the importance of paying competitively to obtain the best talent, but I have to wonder at the amount of philanthropy one possesses to accept a high 6 figure or 7 figure salary from a non-profit organization. Call me a cynic. https://www.charitywatch.org/top-charity-salaried
Here is an older article from their website that is still a valid warning to many…related to mismanaged, delinquent, and fraudulent charities…lack of oversight and accountability can and will be exploited by some..again, there is that cynicism..or maybe just realizsm…..https://www.charitywatch.org/charitywatch-articles/inefficient-tax-delinquent-and-even-fake-charities-pass-cfc-screens/7
Bottom line here, please do your research and make sure your hard-earned money is being used for the best of intentions!
Amy's Blog 