...Tis the Season for Giving

The Holiday Season shows an increase in charitable contribution requests

Charities typically ramp up their fundraising efforts during the holiday season. This period is crucial for many nonprofits as they often see a significant increase in demand for their services. The holiday season, especially from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, is a time when many people feel more generous and are motivated to give back.

Charities typically see an increase in giving during the months of November and December annually. Nonprofits can raise between 24% and 47% of their annual online revenue toward the end of the year.

Statistically, U.S. donors gave over $3.1 BILLION dollars to various charitable causes during this time period, with the typical donor giving about $20 per month between January and October, but with an uptick to about $50 a month during November and December.

While it's a great idea to give to worthy causes and charities, how can we find out just how much of our contribution actually goes to the cause and how much is absorbed in administrative, advertising, salaries and other sundry costs?

Nonprofits are called 501(c)(3) organizations and as such, most are exempt from certain federal and state taxes. Donations to those organizations are tax-deductible. Any organization with tax-exempt status that takes in over $50,000 annually is required to fill out a form 990, which outlines how the charity spends its money.

While it's not illegal or uncommon for a nonprofit organization to incur fundraising fees and executive compensation for its staff, it's good to know how much of each dollar contributed goes to these expenses and how much actually goes to the cause. The 990 will tell you:

• Number of employees

• Number of voting members

• Number of independent voting members

• Individuals with over $100,000 in compensation

• Advertising/Promotion Expenses

• Lobbying Activities and Fees for Lobbying services

• Business Relationships of Board members and their families

• Total expenses/assets/liabilities/investment income and total program service revenue

So, if you're not a financial genius or inclined to go digging through filed 990 forms, how do you determine who is on Santa's Good List and who is on the Naughty List before giving your hard-earned money to a charity?

Head over to either Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org) or BBB Wise Giving Alliance (give.org) and do a look up on your favorite charity. For example, my old employer, Lehigh Valley Health Network got a GREAT rating of 4 stars, with a 96% score.

Conversely, the very important sounding United Cancer Support Foundation got a 1-star rating with a score of 59% for its liabilities to asset ratio, program expense ratio and document retention policy.

So, before parting with your money this holiday season, do yourself a favor and check it out!

Research for this post can from https://cafamerica.org/blog/the-spirit-of-giving-why-the-holiday-season-is-crucial-for-charitable-donations/, Charity Ratings and Donor Resources | Charity Navigator, https://give.org/, https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/insights/professional/b/industry-insights/posts/holiday-giving-season-surge-