Carlene Blanchfield doesn’t just write checks for charities. She’s also volunteered, as she did in Haiti after the devastating earthquake in 2010. But first she does her research.
"You have to make sure that the organization is transparent; that the money is going to the group that they're saying it's going to," said Blanchfield.
Consumer Reports says the nonprofit watchdogs Charity Navigator, Charitywatch and the BBB Wise Giving Alliance rate thousands of charities, primarily large, nationally known groups.
"One of the red flags to look for is whether a charity's spending on fundraising seems way out of whack," said Anthony Giorgianni of Consumer Reports.
For instance, according to Charity Navigator — with the Disabled Veterans National Foundation of Washington, D.C., about 60 percent of its spending goes to fundraising, earning it poor ratings.
By contrast, just 7 percent of spending at another veterans' charity, The Mission Continues, goes to fundraising. Another thing to look out for: don't assume a charity gives much to the cause touted in its name.
"Take the Walker Cancer Research Institute in Maryland. A paltry 4% of the amount it spent recently went to its programs including cancer research. That's according to Charity Navigator," said Giorgianni.
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You may find your favorite charity isn't rated, but that doesn't mean it's not worthy. Smaller, local charities are often not rated by the watchdog groups.
