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Before You Give — Be Sure to Google
How to make your dollar most effective
It’s Giving Tuesday. There are a lot of worthy causes.
There is a big marketing push following Black Friday and Cyber Monday to remember your favorite non-profit. This is called Giving Tuesday. It has been around since 2012 and has promoted the act of supporting causes ranging from human rights to veterans to climate change and everything in between.
Whatever you value, there is a non-profit working towards it in this world, and studies show — that generosity makes you happier and may even enhance longevity. So get happy, live longer, and give.
Where to start?
Do you belong to a church? Do you donate used household goods to Goodwill? Salvation Army?
There are tools to compare these charities:
- Good ‘ole Google
- Charity evaluators such as charitynavigator.org
- Your common sense
Compare
Using Charity Navigator, take a look at Goodwill and Salvation Army. Both have similar objectives and are found throughout the U.S.
The Goodwill mission statement reads:
Goodwill® works to enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals and families by strengthening communities, eliminating barriers to opportunity, and helping people in need reach their full potential through learning and the power of work.
Salvation Army mission statement:
Our Mission Statement.
The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.
The Salvation Army is religious. Goodwill is not.
Both are broken down by regions, which makes giving locally possible. Their ratings range from 90–100. So, what is the difference?
Here is where I resort to Google, asking about CEO salaries. A quick search yields the fact that many Goodwill CEOs…
