Charity selection

Charity selection, i.e. choosing the charitable organizations deserving your support, can be daunting task. There are over 86,000 registered charities in Canada,Briefing for the Minister of National Revenue: Charitable sector, February 22, 2022, viewed February 18, 2023. and many more non-registered non-profits, from numerous sectors. The choices are primarily influenced by personal beliefs and preferences, but the information and links below may provide some guidance. 
==Tax deductibility==
Canada and provinces offer significant non-refundable charitable tax credits. 
So if the tax credits are of interest to you, make sure the organization you want to give money to is a Canadian registered charity and can provide an official donation receipt.
In any one year you can claim:
* donations made by December 31 of the applicable tax year; 
** for the 2024 tax year the deadline was extended to February 28, 2025.
* any unclaimed donations made in the previous five years; and
* any unclaimed donations made by your spouse or common law partner in the year or in the previous five years.
==Charity selection criteria==
Your values and beliefs will play a big role in selecting one or several charities. So typically the #1 criteria is what issue or problem you are most concerned about.
However, there are also other criteria potentially worth considering, so that your donation has the maximum impact (e.g., Charity Intelligence Canada (a charity which does data analytics on Canadian charities), Rating Methodology, viewed February 17, 2023.Blumbergs Professional Corporation (a law firm), How to Decide Which Charity to Support?, viewed February 17, 2023.Moneysense, Canada’s top-rated charities 2020: Methodology, November 28, 2019, viewed February 18, 2023.).
===Mission, governance, donor reporting===
*Clear, well thought out mission
*How well governed is the charity?
*Active in Canada or internationally?
*Quantity and quality of relevant information provided by the charity (donor reporting)
===Financial===
*Financial transparency (e.g., publicly available financial statements, preferably audited)
*How much is the charity spending on administrative overhead and fundraising, versus program costs?
*Are its programs delivering measurable results, i.e. what is the social impact?
*Funding need (financial reserves versus annual program costs)
*Are salaries of top-paid employees reasonable or extravagant?
==Exclusion criteria==
A charity might be screened out if it does not fit your selection criteria. But beyond that, there are some specific red flags to watch for.New York Times, How to Choose a Charity Wisely, November 7, 2013, viewed February 19, 2023 (some US content)Blumbergs Professional Corporation, Common Charity Scams, viewed February 19, 2023.
*Is the charity making emotional appeals?
*Somebody calls you, emails you, or knocks on your door to encourage you to give to a charity that you've never heard of; at the very least, do your own research before giving
*You are offered a receipt for a donation that you did not make or for an inflated amount
==See also==
*Donating appreciated securities
*Tax planning
==References==
==Further reading==
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==External links==
*Top 100 Rated Charities (2024), Charity Intelligence Canada
*Top 10 Impact Charities (2024), Charity Intelligence Canada
*Five-Star Charities, Charity Intelligence Canada
*Strategies for smarter charitable giving, MoneySence, 2020
Category:Personal finance
Category:Tax planning