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Georgia
Charities & Giving
Related Topics
Find Or
Background A Business
Information
In Your State
Tips On Charitable Giving
Laws On Charities
Charity Profiles
Tips On Tax Deductions for Charitable Contributions
Agencies That Regulate or
Monitor Charities
Back To Top
Tips On Charitable Giving
*When You Are Asked
To Give, A Donor's Guide To Charities (GA)
(Has GA specific requirements for charities as well as tips & warnings)
*Charities-What To Ask Them & What To Look Out For
(GA)
Using
"Watchdog" Groups To Evaluate Charities (Consumer-SOS)
Selecting
A Charity (Getting The Right Answers) (Consumer-SOS)
Evaluating
A Charity Yourself (Consumer-SOS)
Helpful
Resources (Consumer-SOS)
Giving To Foundations
(Consumer-SOS)
Giving Securities
(Consumer-SOS)
GA Charity Profiles
Which
Ones Were Stingy With Their $
Search
Database For Charities Registered in GA
GuideStar (All
States)
Their database has more than 1,000,000 IRS-recognized
nonprofit organizations, their financial information and what they do. You can
find them by keyword or name, activity, city, state, zip code, nonprofit type,
revenue range, employer identification number, or NTEE code.
Other
Helpful
Resources (Consumer-SOS)
Back To Top
Laws On Charities
GA Official Code
Agencies That
Monitor or Regulate Charities
*Charities-Tips and Regulatory Agencies (What To Ask Them & What To Look
Out For)
GA Better
Business Bureaus
Atlanta Legal Aid
& GA Senior Hotline
*Other Consumer Protection
Agencies
Find The AARP In Your
State
The AARP offers legal advocacy for seniors and may also have state specific
consumer brochures which are available to everyone.
Back To Top
National
(Includes BBB
& FTC Brochures)
Tips On Charitable Giving
Selecting
a charity, evaluating charities and where else to go for more information. Has
GA and National.
Tips On Charitable Giving
(BBB)
Guidelines for Business Giving
Beware Of Bogus Law Enforcement Groups
Tips On Tax Deductions For Charitable Contributions
Back To Top
National
Groups That Can Help Evaluate Charities
Helpful
Resources (Consumer-SOS)
National Charities Information Bureau
Rates charities on whether
they meet acceptable standards for giving. Note: A charity will
not receive an evaluation unless a large number of people have asked about the organization.
All evaluations are done for free so the charity has no excuse for not
filling out the form.
Upon
request, NCIB will also provide printed reports on specific charities.
To order a free copy of their" The Wise Giving Guide" which tells which
charities meet their standards, write to NCIB, 19 Union Square, New York, NY 10003.
The American Institute of Philanthropy (301) 913-5200
Charitable Choices
This site gives brief
overviews of more than 200 charities, including the American Red Cross and the Environmental Defense Fund, and often includes links to the charities'
individual web sites. It has some good tips for choosing a charity and
such useful information as how much of your donation will be
spent on administration and fund raising.
Browse organizations by the field in which they work, such as children, civil and human rights of the homeless.
The Evangelical Council For Financial Accountability
(800) 323-9473
Evaluates over 900 Christian organizations and will tell you if a specific charity is a member. Some
charities may choose not
to participate because of their $200 application fee. Members must also pay annual dues which vary according to the
cash income of the organization.
Guidestar (800)
421-8656
Search Guidestar's free online data base for
information on over 1,000,000 non-profits. Guidestar makes it easy to find the
right charity to give to, and you can find charities by name, subject
location, etc... The Guidestar website can help you find
information on charities with results ranging from simple name
and address listings, to reports with extensive financial
information to reports
with additional input from charities on their mission, accomplishments and objectives.
The Combined Federal Campaign\Office of Personnel Management
(202)
606-2564
All
Members must have administrative and fund raising
expenses below 25% of their total costs or have viable plans
to get expenses below 25%. All
members of the Campaign are required to be 501(c)(3) corporations and shall certify that
they are directed by active and responsible governing bodies
whose members have no material conflicts of interest.
The CFC also requires that a majority of these members serve without compensation. To join the CFC costs nothing. Membership is free for any non-profit that qualifies. Benefit to givers: Members of the CFC must be extremely accountable with their funds. Thus donors know their money will go to a good cause and be spent responsibly. Benefit to Member Charities: CFC charities can solicit funds from federal employees at their work place so long as they follow CFC guidelines. If the employee makes a donation, such can be taken directly from the employee's payroll. This enables millions of federal workers to give money in convenient, small weekly amounts and keep track of such for tax write-off purposes. To make a donation, federal employees need merely list the member organization and weekly amount they wish to give. From there, the money will be automatically deducted from their paychecks.
America's Charities (800) 458-9505
Evaluates member charities. This group is a coalition of 92
member charities that pay annual dues based on how much they
raise each year.[ii]
Members must have less than 25% of their expenditures go to administrative costs and are required to
register with the IRS as a 501 (C)(3) organization.
Internal Revenue Service
(877) 829-5500
Speak to their "exempt organization division" to receive information on charities that filed under code section
501(C)(3).
Check out their web site for a listing of tax
exempt organizations (click on tax information for business and then click on "exempt
organizations"). Publication
557 helps describe the difference between
501(c(3), (501(c)(4)(civic leagues such as the fraternal order of police or
volunteer fire department) and 501(c)(19)(veterans
organizations).
Atlanta Better Business Bureau (404) 688-4910
Information source for old & new scams.
Use the Atlanta BBB to check up on local companies and charities.
Note: Their database may not list charities located outside of Georgia. Be sure to ask them for a free copy of charities that meet
and don't meet their standards.
Georgia Secretary of State
(404) 656-4910
Learn if a charity is registered with the state and examine their financial statements. Please note: the
fact that a charity is registered does not guarantee that it's
legitimate. To register, all a charity
needs to do is fill out an application and file it with
the Secretary of State. Also,
keep in mind that not all organizations are required to register.
Organizations exempt from registering include churches and organizations governed
by churches, schools or institutions governed by schools,
trade associations,
political groups, and fund-raising groups that annually solicit less than $25,000.
Consumer Information Center (800) 664-4435.
They have local and toll free numbers for both government and
non-profit agencies. This
agency can help you find the charity registration office located in
your state.
The Christian Stewardship Association (800) 475-1976
The Yellow Pages
Look under "Grants" or "fundraising"
Your Pastor or Rabbi may also know of organizations willing to help your
cause or endeavor.
Foundations give money to special groups that meet the foundation's giving requirements. The groups below can help find a foundation that gives to your special need.
The Council On Foundations (202) 466-6512
Provides contact numbers for local foundations.
Foundation Center
(800) 424-9836 or (404) 880-0095
No longer free
The Foundation Center can direct you free of charge, to the
organizations most likely to give grants to your cause.
Their directories
will help you locate grant makers by subject, geographic area and a variety of other factors.
While they will answer quick reference question
over the phone, they will not
do your research for you. You must
create your list of potential donors based on what you find in their library. The Foundation Center also has information on how to set up and manage foundations and other
types of non-profit organizations. Non-profits receive a free library orientation
session each Tuesday 9-10:30 a.m. Call ahead for an appointment.
The Yellow Pages
Look under "Grants" or "fundraising"