The good you do as a charity donor or volunteer matters — so be sure to do it well by choosing charities wisely. This is no time to give to charity wasters and fakers.
The role of charities
Charities step in to help meet human and society needs. Charities do work that the government chooses not to do, and that private businesses can’t make a profit from; charities don’t need a profit, but depend on donations to survive.
Support for charities has never been more crucial
Starting in 2025, U.S. government services for those in need have been slashed, as has goverment support for charities.
Individual and family giving is the main support for charities
Together, you, me and other individuals and families across America make the work of charities possible.
Individual and family donors are crucial to charity and community success.
- We are by far the largest source of support for charities and their work.
- We provided 74 % of the donated dollars (more than $438 billion) to charities in 2024 – and that excludes giving through family foundations and donor-advised funds. Source: Giving USA 2025.
Not only that, volunteers provide huge support to charities and others.
- More than 28% of Americans (more than 75.7 million people) formally volunteered for an organization between September 2022 and 2023. In total, these volunteers served an estimated 4.99 billion hours with an economic value of $167.2 billion. Source: Americorps.gov
Make the biggest difference — support strong charities doing solid work
While many charities do strong work with the moneys entrusted to them, weak charities lack focus or management and produce little impact. Weak charities waste donated money and volunteer hours.
“Charity” fakers do double damage — they steal from us and they steal from those we want to help with our donated dollars and hours.
It’s up to donors and volunteers to evaluate and monitor charities, to find and support strong charities doing solid work.
This is no time to give to wasters and fakers
Direct your dollars and hours to top-notch charities — boost the impact of your giving. It’s never been more important!
Find strong charities doing what you care about
My mission is not to tell you what charities to choose — there are too many folks out there already trying to do that.
My mission with this site is to help you find and support strong charities, especially those focused on what you care about and working in locations you care about.
I’ll also help you set up screening tests so you can see if charities meet your standards.
Take a look at Savvy Donor Resources and my free and low-cost Savvy Donor Guides. See my list of top free charity research websites and my guide to finding a charity’s IRS Form 990 in three minutes or less. Maybe even take the quick quiz to see if you’re already a Savvy Donor.
