‘Tis the season to give! It’s a hectic time of year with gearing up for the holidays, finding the perfect gifts to give the special people in your life and making year-end donations to the meaningful causes you support. With so many important charities, selecting the right fit for your donation can be difficult. Being accredited is a very big deal to non profits and our donors.

Give.org is the website for the BBB Wise Giving Alliance (WGA), an organization dedicated to evaluating national charities and reporting on their practices. Just as the Better Business Bureau focuses on consumer protection and industry self-regulation, the Wise Giving Alliance performs the same function for charitable organizations. They do the research and compile the data so donors can make informed decisions when selecting a charity to support. And they promote high standards of conduct for charitable organizations. Local Better Business Bureaus similarly report on regional charities.

Here at CfR, as we begin to close out 2018 with our Year End Appeal and ask for contributions, it’s important to have accreditation, transparency and honesty.

Read more about the benchmarks of giving and Casting for Recovery’s charity review.