Ka-ching! Do you support charities? Of course you do, if you fit the average Canadian profile. More than eight out of 10 of you have given cash to a good cause within the past year. Ever wonder if your money actually makes it to the people who matter?
MoneySense has the answers – at least some of them – on its personal finance website. Check out its just-released chart that rates 100 well-known charities on their “efficiency.” We all understand you gotta spend money to make money. But which non-profit organization is spending six bucks to raise a hundred, and which is spending almost sixty? How much of the money these agencies raise actually gets poured into programming?
One caution: Some groups may not look so good on paper because they’re saving up funds now to flow into research projects later. The MoneySense editors recommend you use the chart only as a starting point. If you have questions, talk to the charities directly.
Now if you’ll pardon me, I’m off to check on my charities. It feels a little like checking my funds on the stock market. Except a bear market could be a really good thing… if you’re talking about a non-profit nature conservation group.
50 Good Deeds 