BBB Tip: Make giving together a holiday time activity

Holiday gatherings of family and friends can sometimes be challenging, as we all know. So, to liven up a holiday occasion, consider making time to talk about charitable giving as a group. This could offer a chance to discuss causes that matter to each of you.

For parents, a family-giving conversation affords an opportunity to introduce children to the rewarding practice of philanthropy and to provide some helpful guidelines for making giving choices. That way, children can learn early about how supporting charities can benefit their community and feel proud of their contributions. Some parents give an allowance with the expectation that some of the money is set aside for charity, while others encourage children to do chores in exchange for money they can donate to their favorite charity.

Here are some tips on how to get started.

Set aside time to talk about charitable causes. It’s important to arrange a specific time. Participants should agree that the conversation during this time will be about charitable causes that are important to each person and that you might want to support.

Everyone who is present at the meeting, whether adult or child, should have a chance to speak in turn. Ask someone in the group to write down all the causes discussed. Then look to see which ones have support from most people – or ideally, everyone – in the group.

Consider joining forces to support a shared cause or charity. This involves picking one or more causes or charities that resonate with the whole group. Then the group members can decide to support charities that represent those causes, either individually or by pooling their resources.

Sometimes groups form on a permanent basis to research charities together and jointly decide to give to agreed-upon charities. Later the group can evaluate annual reports and other impact information from the supported charities and talk about the results of their donations. These are often called giving circles. This kind of structure could also apply to a family foundation or other family-giving vehicle.

Research the charities you are interested in supporting. Once your group has identified causes that you want to support together, the next step is to find charities that are addressing those issues. Your group may decide to look at charities that are national in scope or at regional charities serving your community directly.

Be sure you check whether the charity is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which is a charity deemed tax-exempt by the IRS. If your state of residence requires charity registration to solicit donations, the charity should also be properly registered. It is also important for a charity to have sufficient expertise and resources to carry out the programs it promises to deliver, and the charity should report on its results.

Here are some resources you can use to check on charities:

• BBB’s Wise Giving Alliance and many local BBB organizations evaluate and report on charities using the Standards for Charity Accountability. You can find BBB Charity Reports any time through Give.org.
  
  
• IRS charity lookup – You can check on whether an organization is in good standing with the IRS as a charity through its charity lookup page. This lookup tool can also provide access to a charity’s IRS Form 990, which is a tax-exempt charity’s statement about its finances and governance in a prior year.
  
  
• Your state’s attorney general – If a charity is required to register in your state in order to solicit contributions, your state’s attorney general’s office can tell you whether the charity is in good standing.
  
  
• Charity websites and annual reports – Be sure to review what the charity says it is doing. On an annual basis, the organization should issue a report that lists the charity’s mission, its board officers and board members, a summary of the prior year’s program accomplishments, and financial basics, including the total income in the prior year, along with breakout totals for the program, administrative, and financial expenses. Websites also often have helpful information about what a charity is doing. Be wary if a charity is too vague about its programs and how it uses donations.

Evaluate your impact. Don’t forget to go back after making your donations together to see what happened with the charities you decided to support!  Giving to a charity you have researched carefully is one way to feel good about your donation, but the other part of that is to learn more about the charity’s impact and how your contribution helped to support it.

Consider volunteering as a group. If you truly care about a charity and it is able to accept volunteers, it may be fun and rewarding to volunteer for that nonprofit in a group in addition to donating.

Look into year-round support. The majority of charitable donations are made in the latter part of the year, and many people volunteer for charities during the November and December holiday season. But most charities are year-round operations and could use your support (both donations and volunteer help) at other times of the year. Consider becoming a sustaining (monthly) contributor or setting aside days throughout the year to volunteer together. Keep the giving spirit alive throughout the year!