It’s the holiday season. You and/or a family member may be inclined to give to a charity (see one of my favorite charities, PAWS Atlanta, above!). My parents enjoyed giving to charity, especially later in life. They sent checks to many charities. When they gave, they got more and more mail solicitations.

I started researching some of the charities that would solicit them via US mail. I was surprised to see that many of these charities claim great work, but their records show that much of their money does NOT go to the causes they claim but goes to marketing and internal expenses (salaries). Thanks to some research (see below), I was able to redirect my parents giving to charities that spent most of their money on what’s intended.

We recommend you do your research before you give. Many charities sound like they do good work, but it’s important to take a look at the details. Two websites you can use to check up on a charity: Give.org and CharityWatch.org. Note for charitywatch.org: you will need to set up a login.

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