Maximizing Your Charitable Donations

This time of year is a great opportunity to give generously to nonprofits. Unfortunately, a down economy makes it tough to donate to charity, but it is also the time when such groups need the most support. If you plan to give the gift of cash this holiday season, here are some ideas to guarantee the charity of your choice gets the most bang from your buck.

Decide which issues are most important to you, and donate accordingly. If it’s promoting vegetarianism, groups whose mission is to protect endangered species or prevent oil drilling in Alaska (while both worthy causes!) might not be the best choices. Neither World Wildlife Fund nor the Sierra Club advocates vegetarianism, and they do not condemn hunting. On the other hand, Global Hunger Alliance addresses the animal-agriculture connection to world poverty, promoting a vegan diet as they work to help the world’s less fortunate.

Read over the organization’s website with a critical eye. Find out exactly what it does and see how effectively it uses its budget. Some smaller groups do a tremendous amount of outreach without paid staff, putting every dollar to work directly. National organization Mercy for Animals clearly states what it accomplishes with the support of charitable donations on its website. The World Society for the Protection of Animals USA puts 75 percent of its donations toward animal protection and 21 percent toward fundraising.

Does the group show a strong commitment to a few key campaigns, or does it spread itself too thin? Large organizations like the Humane Society of the United States and PETA have the budgets to focus on a variety of different campaigns, but smaller groups may not. The Animal Protection and Rescue League effectively worked against foie gras because it concentrated on that issue, rather than on many different campaigns.

Reward pioneering groups as well as the organizations that follow in their footsteps. People’s Grocery—a food justice organization with urban gardens and a mobile market—makes healthy, affordable food available to low-income people, and its model inspired similar work in other cities. Compassion Over Killing and Mercy for Animals also inspired other grassroots animal organizations with its innovative tactics such as open rescues, feed-ins, restaurant outreach, and showing factory-farming footage on busy city streets.

Before making your next donation, check with your employer to see if it has a matching gift program. Many big companies will match employees’ donations to any nonprofit, doubling your impact. Visit Humane Seal to see whether an organization conducts animal tests and to find cruelty-free charities, and avoid giving to groups that spend resources fighting with like-minded organizations. Let’s spend the precious few dollars the vegetarian movement has to dismantle the meat industry—not each other. It is up to all of us to donate discerningly. Just like you wouldn’t spend $100 on a piece of clothing without trying it on, take the time to ensure your donation will have the greatest possible impact on the issues you care about the most.