| Issue date: Sept 5, 1999
 T'S
NOT even cold yet and the telemarketers for charities are already
calling. I've told them to send me some written information (always
a good idea before you commit), then I started researching how best
to make those giving decisions. Here's what I learned:
How to pick
the right charity
Whom (exactly) are you giving to?
"The three words guaranteed to get a financial response out of potential
donors are cancer, heart and children," says Dan Langan, spokesman
for the National Charities Information Bureau. They're used so often,
in fact, that it's easy to get one cancer- or child-related organization
confused with another. Reading a charity's annual report is one
way to get a full sense of what it is -- and what it does.
How will your donation be spent?
You want as much as possible to go toward fighting cancer or battling
hunger, not overhead or fund-raising. To pass muster with the NCIB,
60% of donations must go to a group's stated purpose; 70% and up
is a sign of good management, Langan says.
Does this fit into your giving plan?
Planned giving isn't only for the very wealthy. Once a year, sit
down and figure out how much you'd like to give away, then take
an active role in selecting the recipients. That way, when those
solicitation calls roll in, you'll have an easier time saying no.
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