Year-End Giving: 3 Simple Steps to Choosing a Charity

SEATTLE, Dec. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the rush to get donations in before midnight on December 31, choosing a charity can seem time-consuming and overwhelming, especially if there's uncertainty about the organization's effectiveness. Fortunately, there are hundreds of organizations that operate efficiently – and more importantly – effectively to use your dollars to address issues that most concern you; here are three quick and simple steps from the Christian humanitarian agency World Vision to help you choose a responsible charity that aligns with your passions and maximizes your contribution, all in time for a tax break.

1. Tap your resources – Use a website like Charity Navigator, GuideStar or the Better Business Bureau Charity Reviews page to research a charitable organization by name or keyword. These sites summarize important information like the organization's IRS tax status. Click around the web, the organization's website and social media pages to see what people are saying about it and how and where it spends money.
2. Ask questions – If you see something that concerns you, confuses you, or can't find something you're looking for, reach out to the organization through social media, a 'contact us' form or over the phone. Organizations are equipped to explain their business models and share resources about why and how they operate.
3. Identify your best way to give – Organizations often have many ways to give and different models of giving – from buying tangible gifts that impact those in need to giving goats to families for nourishment and surplus business. Whether you're passionate about medical aid or playtime for kids, seek a donation avenue that best expands your contributions in a way that makes sense to you.

For interviews with World Vision representatives about year-end giving or questions about the Gift Catalog, contact Christine Connolly Bell at [email protected], 323-208-2444, or Natalie Bisaro at [email protected], 708-434-5006.

About the World Vision Gift Catalog 
Since 1996, the World Vision Gift Catalog has given people the opportunity to better the lives of children, adults and communities in the U.S. and around the world through hundreds of gifts in all different areas of need: clean water, food, education, sexual exploitation, job training and others. Last fiscal year more than 186,000 donors purchased more than 475,000 gifts that raised more than $33.7 million. To order from World Vision's Gift Catalog, visit www.worldvisiongifts.org or call toll-free at 855-WV-GIFTS. Want to see where your dollars go? Watch how the Gift Catalog works through the WorldVisionUSA YouTube channel.

About World Vision
World Vision is a Christian relief, development, and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. For more information on their efforts, visit WorldVision.org/press or follow them on Twitter at @WorldVisionNews.

SOURCE World Vision U.S.