Getting Started with Volunteering

Volunteering for the first time can be intimidating, so our friends at Golden, a turnkey solution for creating and finding volunteer opportunities, have rounded up some tried and true tricks to make it easier and to ensure you get the most out of your experience! 

Avoiding Charity Scams During COVID-19

Philanthropic leaders like Barack Obama are encouraging financially-able people to help those hit hardest by COVID-19. After the former president’s encouraging tweet, we saw a 500% increase in dollars donated through Charity Navigator’s Giving Basket. This is an important indicator, that during difficult times, Americans band together to help those who help others. Disasters bring out the best in each other. However, sometimes they also bring out the worst.

Easy Ways to Give to Charity

At Charity Navigator, we believe that every donation - small or large - has the power to make a difference, and we know that charities feel the same way. In addition to small or large cash donations, there are alternative ways to give to charity that benefits both you and the charity.

Not everyone has the means to give a cash donation, so here are some additional ways to donate to your favorite charities:

University Nonprofit Courses Use Charity Navigator As Part Of The Curriculum

It is Tuesday at noon, and twenty civic-minded undergraduate Emerson College students enrolled in the course Nonprofit Fundraising Campaigns take their seats. In another classroom, twenty-five students enrolled in Introduction to Nonprofit Communication Management are learning which nonprofit organizations they will partner with to provide a social media audit. There is a buzz in both classrooms, as students discuss assignments, campaigns, and nonprofit organizations. This generation of college students are social justice and equity-minded and, as part of Gen Z, “The core values of the generation are reflected in their prioritizing social activism more than previous generations and in the importance they place on working at organizations whose values align with their own.” (Welcome to Gen Z, Deloitte, 2018)

An Invitation to Experiment and to Learn With Us

A New Blog Series on our Journey in Building a New System of Nonprofit Evaluation

Over the next few months, Charity Navigator will launch the first of a number of new indicators that will provide a more complete picture of nonprofit performance, allowing us to evaluate a much larger swath of the nonprofit sector.   As part of the rollout, we will launch new nonprofit profile pages that contain more data in an easier to use and more interactive format with an eye to modern design. 

When Disaster Comes to Our Doors

COVID-19 is definitely a different kind of disaster. With the increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters, we seem to have become accustomed to watching from afar – seeing images of devastation, hearing the anguished voices, donating to those in need – and then going on with our days. But this? This one won’t allow us to turn our attention away.

Spring Break: A Guide to Donating Your Time

Tick. Tick. Tick.

You’re staring at the hand on the clock inching closer to 3:00 pm. It’s almost spring break and you’re ready to pack it up and travel somewhere warm with a beach or just stay local and relax with friends at home. Either way, this spring break you may want to give back any way you can, no matter where you are in the world. Spring break gives you an opportunity to catch a breather and get a chance to donate your time to causes you’re passionate about.

Spring Cleaning: Clean Your Way to a Fresh Start

The snow is melting. The birds are chirping. The flowers are blossoming. Spring is officially right around the corner! 

Spring is a great time to clean your way to a fresh start. If the turn of seasons isn’t enough to motivate you, keep in mind that organizing your home may also help to reduce stress, improve heart health, and even increase your productivity. Decluttering your space is not only healthy, but it’s also a great way to give back and help those in need. 

Protecting Your Privacy When Donating

With donations from individuals accounting for the majority of all charitable giving, it’s no wonder that many nonprofit organizations rely on you for donations. 

When you support an organization, you trust them to keep your information secure and confidential. With the European Union’s recent implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you might be wondering if a similar law exists in the U.S. Many states have made strides in an effort to protect consumer’s data privacy, yet there is no federal law currently in place. That means many organizations may be collecting your personal information. But what exactly is being collected?

Selfless Self-Care: How to Improve Your Mental Health by Giving Back

Our friend Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE Charity, shared the powerful physical and mental benefits of giving back.

Every year, I meet hundreds of youth and educators through WE Schools, our charity’s service-learning program. I ask them all the same question: What issues are you most concerned about? In the past, answers varied, but lately, there is a singular, common response: young people want support to address mental well-being.

Mental health is a huge and growing challenge across North America. Twenty-percent of American adults will experience a mental illness. More than six million American children under the age of 18 have been diagnosed with anxiety or depression.

Investing more in care and treatment will be part of the solution. But mental health is no different than physical health—preventative care can significantly reduce the need for treatment and interventions. Each of us can work proactively to look after the mental well-being of ourselves and others. And one surprisingly effective tonic is giving back.

Ask a Fundraiser: Why Do Some Charities Have Two Addresses?

You may have noticed that some charities have more than one address, either listed on their Charity Navigator rating page, the charity’s own website, or on a piece of mail or email that the charity sends to you. 

This has raised some questions and even made some of our users suspicious of these charities. But, there is a simple reason that charities have two addresses.

Solicitation Overload: Why So Many During the Holidays?

You may have noticed a major uptick in the number of times you heard from charities in the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years.  We heard from a number of Charity Navigator users and supporters asking why they were receiving so many emails and letters and what they can do to cut back. 

Often, the holidays bring out the best in people - they give back to causes close to their hearts and even ask their loved ones to make a donation in their name instead of getting gifts. As a result, many charities receive the majority of their funding during this special time of year. When you couple this with the midnight deadline on New Year’s Eve for tax-deductible giving, charities respond by increasing the number of emails, letters, phone calls, text messages, and more.

Should You Feel Good About Donating at Checkout?

Here's a common scenario: you just spent the past hour adding items to your shopping cart at your local supermarket.  You get to the register, place all of your items onto the counter, and proceed to be rung up.  Now you're asked to consider making a donation to a charity.  A myriad of questions float through your head before you ultimately decide whether or not to press yes or no.  This form of donating is called point-of-sale donations.

We Deal in Hope: The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation

Renee Parsons is the Co-founder of The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation and President of PXG Apparel. A passionate philanthropist, Renee is a member of the global organization Women Moving Millions. She and her husband, Bob Parsons, are Giving Pledge signatories.

Years ago, Bob and I pledged our support for the people of Haiti with an emergency donation after the 2010 earthquake. Knowing we needed to help, but not sure where our funding would make the most difference, I turned to Charity Navigator. It was through the Charity Navigator website that we discovered Hope for Haiti.

Reflections on 2019: A Letter from our CEO

Dear friends of Charity Navigator,

It's hard to believe that 2019 has come to an end--with so many firsts and new initiatives, the year seemed to fly by at Charity Navigator. This past year has been one of transformation and progress.

As I reflect on the past twelve months--what we achieved, what we learned, and where we’re going at Charity Navigator--one thing continues to ring true: we wouldn’t be the trusted resource we are today without the confidence of millions of users and the generous support of our donors.

Each year, tens of thousands of users show how much they value the ratings and tools we provide by making a donation to support our work. For that, the entire team at Charity Navigator is deeply grateful. Thank you for your generosity. As a small token of our appreciation, I’ve outlined some highlights from 2019 that you made possible.