Showing posts with label giving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label giving. Show all posts

Friday, May 6, 2016

Charity Navigator - Your Guide to Intelligent Giving


Hi All,

Charity Navigator - Your Guide to Intelligent Giving.  The name says it all.

Basically the site helps users evaluate the charity(ies) that he/she is donating to.  The site has Top 10 Lists, Hot Topics, Tips for Donors, an A-Z Directory of charities and a list of 4-Star Charities.  Click on any of the links above to go to that part of the Charity Navigator site.

About a third of the way down on the sites' homepage there is a list of charities listed by categories like animals,  arts/culture/humanities, community development, education, environment, health, human services, international, human/civil rights, religion and research/public policy. Its a very useful way to find a charity based on a topic that is personally important to you.

Once users find a particular charity of interest, a huge amount of free information is available.  Financial and accountability information is graded and ranked by score and the number of stars respectively.  Financial performance measurements (expenses, administrative expenses, fundraising efficiency and more) are available.

In addition, the site has yes/no ratings for the following questions related to the charity in question:
Is the following information easily accessible on the charity's website regarding:
Donor privacy policy, Are board members listed?, Are audited financials listed? and are key staff listed?

An income statement for the specific charity is included on Charity Navigator, In addition a charity breakdown is included in the form of a pie chart.  Compensation of charity leader(s) and the mission statement of the charity is included as well.

So...if you are looking to donate time, money or resources to a charity it might behoove you to take a look at Charity Navigator.  It might help you and your donation go even further than you ever thought possible.

Enjoy the site!

Regards,
Stu

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Happiness and Holiday Cheer - Season's Greetings!

Hi All,

It's that time of year again! You know what I'm talking about, right?  It's holiday time - a time of year when seasons greetings meet you at every turn.  Where dreams come true and snow falls at just the right time to make the Christmas lights glow and cast shadows on beautiful snow drifts in your backyard. 

It can also be a time of great happiness and entertainment!  And why am I waxing so nostalgic over this season of giving?  Well, click on this link from the New York Times for an article entitled, 'Denmark, Where Joy Is Always in Season'.  What an article - what a county! I want to visit!  Now you see why I'm writing this blog entry!

Click on this link - which goes to the Farmingdale library card catalog - which will send you to a link for travel books about Denmark in the Farmingdale PL.  Based on the New York Times article, I suspect quite a few readers will now want to visit Scandinavia.  With that thought in mind...

click on this link from Wikipedia about 'Scandinavia' - which commonly describes the three countries of 'Denmark, Sweden, and Norway'.

So just exactly why am I writing about Scandinavia?  Because of a survey called the 'Satisfaction with Life Index'.  Learn more about this by clicking on this link from Wikipedia.

Top 10 countries on the Satisfaction with Life Index are: 
1. Denmark
2. Switzerland
3. Austria
4. Iceland
5. Bahamas
6. Finland
7. Sweden
8. Bhutan
9. Brunei
10. Canada

and for perspective...here is a very, very partial list of where other well-known countries stand on this list....
11. Ireland
23. United States
31. Saudi Arabia
35. Germany
41. United Kingdom
42. Dominican Republic
46. Spain
50. Italy
51. Mexico
58. Israel
62. France
63. Hong Kong

81. Brazil
82. China
83. Cuba
90. Japan
96. Iran
133. Turkey
142. Syria
151. Egypt
166. Pakistan
167. Russia
174. Ukraine
178. Burundi

Finally, click on these links to find out how to make the holiday season count:
Chicago Tribune - Procrastinator's Guide to Making Holidays' Count
Berkeley Beacon - Health Matters: Making the Holidays Count
Forbes - How to Make Your Holiday Giving Count

Enjoy the links and the holidays!  Promise, there will be more holiday related blog entries in the near future!

Regards,
Stu