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Choosing a Charity

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Choosing a Charity

Seven questions to ask yourself. 

1. What do I want to help with?  This could really mean where do I want my money to go (geography) Roanoke Rapids, Mexico, etc.  Do I want my money used for children’s needs, adult needs, family needs; this could include disaster relief, health, feeding, clothing, education, medical care, shelter etc.
2. Who says they are doing these things in the area I have chosen?  Those in need around us change daily, you could put them in two categories, those who create their own crisis day in and day out (irresponsible living) and those who are in some sort of a short-term crisis and genuinely in need of help.  If an agency is helping someone, are they asking you to finance this irresponsible living (enabling) which means they do not hold their clients accountable for the relief they do receive or someone who is genuinely in crisis.  Who is involved and are they receiving a salary or any kind of compensation?  Do they have a physical address?  What kind of requirements do they have for someone to receive aide?    
3. Are they a non-profit 501 C (3)?  If they are, this means they have a board of directors as the governing body and the level of accountability to the local community and the IRS is better.  This makes your gift of money, vehicles, real estate etc tax favored (please refer to your attorney or accountant or the IRS for more information).
4. Are their goals firmly established?  Do they have a brochure with a “mission statement” they will give you?  Do they have a document they provide to show you how they are/have been using the funds given them?
5. How long have they been doing this?  What caused them to start this work, when and where was it started and by whom?  Where are the headquarters, regional and local offices 
6. Are their standards and mine the same?  Do we share the same values?  Get them to explain to you what their terms “language” mean, don’t assume that they mean what you think they mean.  The language in our country changes almost yearly; it seems to be a fad to make up new words or change the meaning of words to follow some sort of a trend.  Please remember the most misused/abused term in the charitable world is “faith based”.  Faith based does not mean Christian; it means any belief system that is based on faith.  There are several here in Roanoke Rapids that are based on faith in a god/higher power that was made up by man, not the God that made up man
7. Have I checked them out? There are outside agencies that can help me decide. 
   • The Better Business Bureau of Eastern North Carolina (1-800-222-0950)
   • The Roanoke Valley Chamber of Commerce (252-537-3513)
   • The Consumer Protection Agency (919-716-6000)
   • www.guidestar.org or www.charitynavigator.org