How to Find Charities to Donate to So Your Money Can Help Those Who Need It

With 60% to 90% of donations potentially going toward paying for salaries and lavish lifestyles of charity organization administrators, and only as little as just 10% going toward the actual cause or end user, it can seem that giving to charity organizations is a waste of funds. 

What do you do in this situation: You want to donate to charity. And you would like to give to the people directly - instead of an organization - so you can know that your money is reaching the people who need it, the end user, something I’ve always recommended. But it’s not always possible to give to the end user directly, especially when the amount of money involved is large or the people you want to help are far away.

You may be able to find one or a few people to support directly but not hundreds.

One solution is to find organizations already doing the work and donating to them. For example, there may be a hospital providing free or low cost treatment to deserving individuals. Or a school providing free teaching to underprivileged children.

Or a homeless people’s shelter the homeless and single mothers with low income can go to live or eat.

Because these sort of nonprofit organizations are in the work of providing a service and not just in the business of distributing money, it’s possible to verify that the money being donated is actually going to help the end user.

After researching and doing your due diligence and preferably visiting the organization to see that it’s legit, as well as checking the quality of service provided, you can choose to write them a check.

Of course you will take steps to ensure that the majority of your money is reaching the people you want to help and not just going toward salaries and administrative costs.

Charity organizations shouldn’t become a way for the owners and administrators to earn an income. That isn’t the purpose of a charity organization’s existence.

You will want to see if the organization is transparent about funds. And how much of donations go toward admin costs and what percentage goes toward the charitable work. Charity organizations should be open to allowing donors to know where their money is going and welcome donors to visit the premises and see what type of assistance is being given and how many people are benefiting from it.

If we aren’t vigilant about what our donations are being spent on, it opens up chances for abuse and misuse of funds, at the expense of the most needy and underprivileged.

About the Author 

Kokab Rahman is a business and career strategist and Founder of Radeya Global - Talent Development & Custom Business Solutions, one of top consulting companies in Turkey (Turkiye). She has written articles and books on the topics of business, career, and skill development. Kokab is a Contributor for Entrepreneur Magazine and has been published in major publications and media outlets including Authority Magazine, Expatwoman.com, BizBahrain, CEOBlogNation, American Writers and Artists Association and the Nonfiction Authors Association. Her books, which include titles like Accounting for Beginners, The Handbook of Remote Work Opportunities, Accounting Software Supplement, Arabic Made Easy, and The Secret to a Successful Job Search are available from Amazon. When she isn't writing or working on her businesses, Kokab loves to travel, take walks, and enjoy nature.

Kokab offers premium writing and editing services. For premium writing engagements, send Kokab a DM.

Check out Kokab’s latest articles published in Entrepreneur: 

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KR Mini Daily Planner, created specifically for small business owners and content creators: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B834K78P

Accounting for Beginners https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08YH5T616  

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Did you hear about the cryptocurrency frauds / scams that have been occurring - brief article on what is cryptocurrency and how to avoid being scammed: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/did-you-hear-cryptocurrency-frauds-scams-have-been-occurring-rahman