Wise Giving Wednesday: Giving Wisely on #GivingTuesday

The Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States, November 28th, is the sixth anniversary of #GivingTuesday − a designated day to donate to charities. Since its founding by the New York based 92Y, along with the United Nations Foundation, #GivingTuesday has grown into a global phenomenon with similar campaigns extended in many other countries as well. 

BBB Wise Giving Alliance encourages donors to give generously but to also find out more about the organization(s) before sending donation(s) and visit Give.org to verify if the charity meets the 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability . 

To assist donors, BBB WGA offers the following #Giving Tuesday Checklist 

1. Family Decisions. Sit down with your family and/or friends to identify the causes and charities that are most meaningful to you. See the results of our recent survey which shows that 61% of Millennial parents have talked about charity with  their children in the past year.   
2. Watch Out for Name Similarity.  Charities raising money for the same cause can have names that sound similar.  Avoid cases of mistaken identity by looking at the name carefully. 
3. What Does the Charity Do?  A charity’s name won’t necessarily reflect the nature of its program activities. Review the charity’s appeals and website to make sure you know how it plans to address the problems it describes so well. 
4. Verify Your Charity. Visit Give.org to verify that your charity of choice is trustworthy and transparent.  

Discover more tips on how to make a wise giving decision provided at Give.org. 

Video of the Week 

On a separate note, as part of our Building Trust Video Series, we are pleased to provide a video that features Jim Mitchum, CEO of Heart to Heart International (a BBB Accredited Charity), an international humanitarian aid organization that responds to natural and man-made disasters worldwide with volunteers on the ground and emergency relief supplies. 

Recent Reports 

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:

• Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation 
• Foundation Fighting Blindness 
• Make-A-Wish Foundation of America  

Finally, remember to let us know by going to https://give.org/ask-us-about-a-charity1/ if you are  interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.   

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance