Research Your Preferred Charities

Summertime often sees an increase of natural disasters, with hurricane season soon after. You may want to help, but you want to make sure the organizations are not a scam. And while fewer taxpayers itemize deductions, those that do want to ensure there deductions are legitimate. Here are some tips on how to research these organizations prior to donating funds.​

1. Charitable organization efficiency. For every dollar you donate, only a percentage of it is actually used to fund programs. Much of your money is used for fundraising and administrative costs. So how do you know which charitable organization is using your contribution most effectively? Here are three websites that can help you assess potential charities.

• Charity Navigator
• Better Business Bureau: Charities and Donors
• Charty Watch

2. Avoid Fraudulent Solicitations. It is often best to avoid donating over the phone or via email solicitations. These are two common ways thieves target their victims. Instead of reacting to a phone call or email, a better idea is to proactively plan who you wish to give money to each year. An additional benefit of this approach is that you avoid the fees paid to these middlemen fundraisers out of your donations.

3. Confirm the Deductibility. Many smaller organizations will represent themselves as a qualified charitable organization, but have not kept their non-profit status up-to-date. If unsure whether your desired charity has kept their records up-to-date, you can check the IRS website for a full list of qualified organizations. Here's the link:

• IRS Charity Status

4. Needing a receipt. Remember cash donations $250 or more require a written confirmation from the charitable organization of your donation in addition to your canceled check or bank receipt. If you aren't sure whether a confirmation will be forthcoming, limit your deduction to some amount under this $250 threshold.


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Mia Verc, CPA;  Janice Papais, CPA