We are happy to hear and see how most of the people worldwide are actually generous. For example, the U.S. organizations and individuals have donated more than $400 billion in a year to different foundations which help people. Those are, of course, philanthropic foundations and nonprofit ones.

This is great news, right? Yes, that’s the truth, but the problem is somewhere else. The real problem lays in the charities! If you didn’t know, just 40% of 11, 000 worldwide charities have actually met all the needed standards! If you want to be sure how your donations are getting in the right hands, take a look at the list below and learn how to achieve that!

Charity and its community partners. It is definitely important to take a look at the bigger picture of any charity. Let’s say that a charity is trying to help young people get educated. Of course, such a charity would work with the children who don’t have the terms to go to school. What would they actually do to really succeed? They must work with some other institutions, right? Also, everyone must know where those children get educated and what happens with them later. Be sure that you really know what is the story behind the charity before you donate money.

Their past projects. Learning something about charity’s past project is a must. In that way, only, you will be really able to see if they know what they are doing. Of course, the truth is, past success doesn’t define future’s success, yet, you will realize how ”the things work” there. Connect this one with the first fact to get the whole picture of what I am talking about here.

Who are their leaders? Charity leaders definitely need to be competent and committed all the time. Just because someone is an expert in some field doesn’t mean how that person will do the charity tasks successfully too. Don’t fall on the title of a person, but be sure that you really research a little bit about their ways of realizing projects in reality. Also, keep in mind how the leaders have to be there to answer all your questions, or at least, to have employees for that purpose. Don’t hesitate to ask anything you want to know until you completely gain their trust.

Donors. Let’s say that you have finally found a charity for which you think may be the one you can definitely trust to. Okay, you want to help someone, which is a beautiful gesture. You have researched a lot about the charity and their community partners, you have seen their past projects and how those are realized in real life and you have ‘met’ their leaders better. What else can you do? The best advice would definitely be to hear what donors have to say about that charity. Also, a good idea is to hear their volunteers too. Collect as many useful information as you can.

Okay, this ‘mini-tutorial’ may sound a little bit serious, yet, this is, unfortunately, a serious problem in nowadays world. It is really sad how people have to do a lot of research because many charities claim to be what they are not.

Have you ever donated money or other needed goods to a charity?

What is your favorite ‘famous’ charity?