Searching the Internet for charities

Q: In my younger days, I was an active volunteer with all sorts of worthy causes. I think now the best way I can help is through making donations. Can the Internet help in my search for deserving charities?

A: Our sincere thanks for your philanthropic and activist lifestyle. Sitting-in, marching, picketing, boycotting, bra-burning, volunteering, donating and similar activities represent a great way for us to make a difference in the world. We're all for bra-burning, other than that nasty smell of burning synthetics.

The U.S. should be proud of its tradition of giving to causes, either through time, money or other resources. According to the government's reporting (www.volunteeringinamerica.gov), we as a nation provided charitable service valued around $173 billion in 2010. That's based on a rate of $21.36 per hour, as reported by the Independent Sector (www.independentsector.org). That's not counting the actual cash and other goods donated, but purely the time our nation's volunteers have given.

Is your only exposure to charity nowadays when someone from payroll asks you to donate your fair share, or is that just us? Well in any case, if you still have some get-up-and-go, check out www.volunteermatch.org.

This site lets you put your zip code in and it gives you a list of local activities you can participate in that'll make your heart feel good.

If your marching days are behind you, the Internet is a great place to research charities. Just start by searching for whatever floats your boat. For instance, you could Google "medical charities," "education charities," "conservation charities" or "child relief organizations." Then spend some time with the results and visit the organization sites. Once there, you can review their mission and strategy, their programs, their finances and assess their impact on the cause that interests you.

But you have to be careful. You may stumble on a site intended to scam you out of your money. In the U.S., nonprofit organizations fall under 501(c)(3) of the tax code. Such organizations file a tax return using IRS Form 990. Verifying this is a good way to ensure that the charity is legitimate.

PropellerHeads always like to start at websites where someone else has done some of the work for us. These sites collect information from the charitable organizations, public records and contributors to help you compare your potential choices. The American Institute of Philanthropy's site, www.charitywatch.org, grades charities on several categories, including how much of your donations end up where you hope they would. Another good choice is Guidestar at www.guidestar.org. You should also visit the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance site at www.give.org.

Our favorite is Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org). In addition to being a great resource to begin your research, this site has fantastic articles on smart giving. It also lets you network with like-minded givers to share your experiences with charities.

For those of you with lots to give, consider the philanthropy section of Worth Magazine (www.worth.com). There you will find some help on tax and estate strategies to ensure that your giving has the maximum impact.

So far, we've listed resources covering charities that solicit nationally. But, as they say, "charity begins at home." For information on local charities, check out www.charity-charities.org or go to the BBB site (www.bbb.org) serving your locality.

When the Propeller Heads at Data Directions aren't busy with their IT projects, they love to answer questions on business or consumer technology. Email them to [email protected] or contact us at Data Directions Inc., 8510 Bell Creek Road, Mechanicsville, VA 23116. Visit our website at www.askthepropellerheads.com.