Efficient charities?
 

So my wife and I would like to make some charitable donations this year for Christmas. I remember reading in the news awhile ago about a list that showed exactly how much of each dollar you give to the charity is actually spent helping the people. (e.g. On the World Vision Canada website it says 81.2% of funds are spent directly on the programs that help the people) Any idea where I can find that list? Or do you know of any charities that are established as using funds raised efficiently? Thanks in advance!

That is nice of you and your wife :)

the most direct way, and to make sure everything you donated gets out to the people is to donate either
A) old clothing or
B) food bank

Props to you OP!

i think worldvision and plancanada are up there

I would only trust international organizations that those Cuban doctors travel with.
Try the following Red Cross
http://www.icrc.org/eng/index.jsp

http://www.charitynavigator.org/

http://www.charitywatch.org/

http://www2.guidestar.org/

those are american


this one is for canada

http://www.charityintelligence.ca/


this one shows which charities has high paid CEOs for canada

http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servle...tory/National/

usually i just give to big brothers. they have high ratings.

ubc's fundraising efforts are 100% designated towards the fund. The overhead costs/admin etc are covered through government, tuition, other investments and so forth. It's great if you want to build capacity for the society. If I had the money I would put it towards any medical research at ubc.

I do not know how much of it actually goes towards the fund but doctors/engineers without borders would be a very worthwhile cause as well.

It's nice to see so much compassion during the giving season...it's also a bonus to get a nice little tax write-off in return. PM me if you're interested regarding the former.

Kiva is awesome. You're actually giving a loan that they have to pay back to encourage entrepreneurship.

When the money is repaid, you can have it back or it can go to another entrepreneur.

http://www.kiva.org/

Watch this ted talk on it:

http://www.ted.com/talks/jessica_jac..._and_love.html

+1

Kiva is indeed a very cool idea. Gives people the chance to make something of themselves and creates a sense of pride when they can afford to pay back the loan that got them to where they are now.

It's a good thing you are mindful of the fact that many charities are not run very well and some are downright fraudulent.

Good on you and your wife for donating! :thumbsup:

It's never a bad thing to research before donating. For example, WWF has a lot of overhead, so you may not want to donate to them.

I've been donating to Operation Christmas Child once in a while, the program site's here:
http://www.samaritanspurse.ca/occ/
You basically pack a shoe box, donate $7 bucks to cover some costs, and send it off. The charity organization's efficiency's apparently ~88%, so it's not bad.

^Been doing that every year. It's a great organization, and you don't have to spend so much either if your fund is limited. You can also enjoy your time with your wife too shopping together at a Mall picking toys for kids.

Help our city - Vancouver Foundation

They have several programs and 'fields of interest' that you can put your money into.

www.vancouverfoundation.ca

The most efficient way is to donate ur time. And it's more rewarding too

If you donate to the small animal rescue of BC, 100% of the money goes to our vet and feed bills. We have a lot of bunnies to spay/neuter and we're 100% volunteer run for care of the animals so no monies go to paying employees or administration.

http://smallanimalrescue.org/

We (wife and I) sponsor children through WorldVision and donate money to BC Children's hospital.

MoneySense usually has an annual report on charities in Canada. Here was this year's article:

http://www.moneysense.ca/2010/06/17/the-charity-100/


It's a nice gesture you two are doing and lots of people will appreciate your help!

This was what I was looking for, thank you!

United Way - their costs are only 14%, when industry standard is 20%. Plus they go straight to the communities. Always remember to get a tax receipt for all $ donations.

http://www.childsplaycharity.org/

That's where I donate each year. You can direct your donation to the BC Children's Hospital.

Donations are in the form of buying games for them on Amazon, so it's fun in a way :)

Local Sports Charity
 

A couple of my friends and I started up a charity a few years back called Let Kids Play. We provide funding to underprivileged BC children to participate in organized sporting activities. We have been in existence since 2008 and our administration costs are less than 5% each year. To date, we have helped place over 250 children in sporting activities.

For more information, check out our website at http://www.letkidsplay.ca

I know I don't post here much but have been a member on this forum for quite some time!