With nearly one-third of all charitable contributions given in December, it’s likely that this month most people are considering making a donation. Luckily, there are sources available to show contributors what to look for in a good charity, how to donate effectively, and where to give those dollars so they’re funneled into causes that represent the giver’s passions. 

The vast majority of people do no research before giving, opting instead to give to organizations they already know or ones that are recommended by friends or family, but people want their donations to make the biggest impact possible, and the good news is that even small donations can do an astonishing amount of good. 

People want to donate to charities, but they want the money they donate to be used effectively. 

Giving What We Can, a donation recommendation site, states three basic steps to ensure your donation is impactful: first, “identify a promising problem to solve,” second, “choose an excellent organization working to solve the problem,” and third, “pick an efficient way to donate.”

One part of donating your resources is finding a good charity. A part of that process is determining what exactly makes a good charity good. 

“One easy way to donate to highly effective charities,” Give What We Can said, “is to follow the advice of charity evaluators who prioritize effectiveness in their review.” It is also advisable to do some background research on a specific evaluator to determine if they are unbiased in their reviews.

With so many sites on the internet grasping for money and claiming to show the best charities, many people will likely click on one site that grabs their attention and appeals to them emotionally, but isn’t what they’re really looking for. These sites are sometimes called “clickbait.” However, a site called Charity Watch does a fair and unbiased review of many charities.

“The mission of CharityWatch, a nonprofit charity watchdog and information service, is to maximize the effectiveness of every dollar contributed to charity by providing donors with the information they need to make more informed giving decisions.”

CharityWatch reports on many expected categories of charities, many of them major world problems. However, some of the charity categories covered are not talked about much by the general community. For example, three topics, according to Charitywatch, that aren’t talked about are “Blind & Visually Impaired, Disabled, and Gun Control.” It seems that some charities in need of donations are not always thought of by the general public. However, CharityWatch helps remedy this situation by listing these less discussed charities and revealing new categories of needs that might interest donors.

Some interesting charities of note are the “America’s VetDogs Foundation, the Brady Fund, and the Children’s Burn Foundation.” These charities are only three of the hundreds of charities that inspire people to donate to the less discussed topics. 

Since December is considered by many to be the giving month of the year, many people may feel the need to donate some money to local charities. With the infinite variety of causes that use donated money wisely, donations can have a huge impact on  charities and the lives of individuals who benefitting from these organizations.