Talk of the Town: Keep giving, but be sure to do it wisely

In this day and age when prices on everything are escalating, folks are being cautious about where their money goes.

Some of the largest organizations impacted are the non-profits, where Americans traditionally are very generous.

Folks are holding tighter to their purse strings these days.

Many want to continue giving to the charities they believe in, but there are new ones cropping up all the time, and in today’s world of scam artists, you want to be able to give wisely.

So, you want to know where your charitable donations are really going?

A group called Charity Navigator works to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of more than 5,300 of America’s largest charities.

Charitynavigator.org helps donors find charities that spend most of their money on helping others, rather than on administrative expenses.

Founded in 2001, Charity Navigator has become the nation’s largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities.

Their team of professional analysts have examined tens of thousands of non-profit financial documents.

Charity Navigator’s rating system examines two broad areas of a charity’s financial health ?— how responsibly it functions day to day as well as how well positioned it is to sustain its programs over time.

Each charity is then awarded an overall rating, ranging from zero to four stars.

To help donors avoid becoming victims of mailing-list appeals, each charity’s commitment to keeping donors’ personal information confidential is assessed.

The site is easily navigable by charity name, location or type of activity and also features opinion pieces by Charity Navigator experts, donation tips, and top 10 and bottom 10 lists which rank efficient and inefficient organizations in a number of categories.

Last year alone, more than four million donors used the site that Time Magazine called “One of America’s 50 Coolest Websites for 2006.”

You can browse the Web site by category, including animal charities, environment, international, arts, culture, humanities, health, public benefit, education, human services and religion.

Some highlighted areas of interest include, for example: information on the top 10 charities overpaying their for-profit fundraisers; the top celebrity-related charities and the top highly paid CEOs at low-rated charities, to name a few.

As the Web site points out, excellent charities succeed because their resources are not tied up in fundraising.

They find creative ways to spend less to raise more, thereby maximizing the resources they can devote to their programs.

Some charities are not so fortunate or efficient, according to Charity Navigator, like the National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation, South Florida Science Museum, Association for Police and Sheriffs and the American Veterans Relief Foundation, to list a few.

They spend more than 50 cents to raise each dollar in support, making them four times less efficient than the average charity.

According to the Web site, Charity Navigator believes that “the well-being of this country is dependent on continued support of well-managed charities and non-profits.”

They suggest these six questions to ask charities before donating:

Charity Navigator advocates that all potential donors take the time to ask charities questions about their programs, mission, and goals before they decide to support them.

For those people who don’t have the time or resources for this, the site provides their services as a guide, so you can give with confidence.

In addition, we have developed a list of questions that you as a donor should ask before you begin the act of supporting a charity.

Can your charity clearly communicate who they are and what they do?

If a charity struggles in articulating its mission and its programs, it will probably struggle in delivering those programs.

Can your charity define their short-term and long-term goals?

Organizations without quantifiable goals have no way to measure success.

Can your charity tell you the progress it has made (or is making) toward its goal?

Once again, it’s not enough to merely be concerned with a problem.

Good intentions are no longer sufficient to warrant your charitable support.

Do your charity’s programs make sense to you?

If you support the mission of an organization, ask yourself if its programs also make sense.

You believe in the cause, and you hope for the end result, but is the organization working toward that result in a way that seems rational and productive to you?

Can you trust your charity?

Charitable Navigator’s research has shown that the overwhelming majority of charities in this country are not only responsible and honest, but well-managed.

So we give with confidence.

You should feel the same way before you give. Don’t support a charity until you feel comfortable with it.

Are you willing to make a long-term commitment to your organization?

Intelligent giving is motivated by altruism, knowledge, and perspective, not a knee-jerk reaction to a television commercial.

You are an adult. You have a budget. You have the means to help others. You want to help.

Ask yourself if your charity is the type of organization to which you’re willing to make a long-term commitment.

When you do this, you agree to support them through good times and bad, and provide the funding it needs to weather economic downturns.

Let’s talk about local charitable giving from the generous residents at La Posada at Park Centre.

The group celebrated its 8th annual scholarship awards ceremony on May 23 in the Madera Room at La Posada.

On hand with the residents to support the recipients were La Posada President and CEO Lisa Israel and Director of Human Resources Jim Casanova.

La Posada resident Wendell Bowers has been the mover and shaker behind the scholarship program which was initiated in the fall of 2000 when five employees each received $250 scholarships to attend classes at Pima College.

Since the start of 2000, the program has broadened to include several other employee self-improvement opportunities, including continuing education courses, GED preparation, computer training and more.

In the current 2007-08 fiscal year, 73 scholarships have been awarded in the amount of $53,500.

Since the fall of 2000, 340 scholarships have been awarded to 140 different employees in the amount of $208,623.

The program is totally funded with tax-exempt contributions from La Posada residents, mostly from annual fund drives in May of each year.

An endowment was recently established to provide special scholarships such as one for Betty Luce and another for Bee Burtis.

The current balance stands at approximately $320,000, and most of those contributions have come in separately from annual fund drives.

Two Sahuarita graduating seniors, Michelle Pokrant and Melissa Sherlock, who also both work in La Posada dining rooms, each received a $1,000 scholarship.

SHS graduating seniors Jennifer Bennett received the Bee Burtis scholarship for $500 and Jessica Zeragoza received the Hendrik Van Veen scholarship for $500.

Another La Posada scholarship, called “Friends for Seniors” where students can perform volunteer work at one of La Posada’s health care facilities in return for a scholarship went to Jamie Hawatmeh for $500. She completed 40 hours of volunteer work.

Capt. Melissa Smith, spokesperson for the Green Valley Fire District thanked the residents and the scholarship committee for providing funds for on-going firefighter/EMT refresher training.

In addition, Alexis Silva was recognized as the first La Posada employee to receive master’s degree.

Her MA is aces in public administration.

rford@gvnews.com | 547-9740