Tips and useful links for donors

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How do you decide where you donate? And whom to donate to?

Are passion, belief and identification with a cause the most important aspects of how you give?

Tips for Donors

Here are some of our tips and useful links for donors:

  1. Check a charity’s commitment to accountability and transparency: This is critical because, according to CharityNavigator.org, charities that follow good governance and transparency practices are less likely to engage in unethical or irresponsible activities.
  2. Obtain copies of its financial records: Realistically, most people don’t do this. But often, charities which spend a lot on administrative fees, or have seen income plummet and expense surge, or have a low amount of saving, point to a lack of sustainability.
  3. Make a long-term commitment: If a charity deserves your support, it deserves your support and trust over a long period of time.
  4. Be proactive: Don’t donate to the first organisation that asks you for money. Do a little research – there are lots of good causes.

Useful links

Giving Tuesday The simple idea behind #GivingTuesday is to encourage people, charities and businesses to donate time. It has grown into a global movement, covering countries the US, Australia, Singapore, Canada, much of Latin America and Israel.
Small-Charities-Coalition-Banner Volunteer to support trustees and staff or simply volunteer for small charities, via the Small Charities Coalition. You could mentor, advise and guide the charity in a specific area of their work e.g. business planning, finance or HR. It could be short-term or long-term.
Young Philanthropy Young Philanthropy’s mission is to educate and empower a new generation of philanthropists to take a leading role in transforming society. It enables young professionals to join together and invest their time, money and skills in niche charity projects, with matched funding and support from senior philanthropists.
 City Philanthropy A three-year initiative (2013-15) funded by the City of London Corporation’s charity City Bridge Trust (CBT). It comprises a number of constituent elements funded by CBT to achieve a two-fold mission: to embed a culture of effective philanthropy in the City of London (and Canary Wharf), particularly among a younger generation of professionals; and to promote London as a global centre for effective philanthropy.
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The Voluntary Sector Data Tool usesuses data from the Charity Commission’s register of charities. The original concept for this tool arose from a collaboration between South London CVS Partnership andNCVO.