So, you want to make an impact on your community – that’s excellent news! You may be feeling stuck and unsure of how exactly to make an impactful donation. It’s quite common to have some questions about which charity is right for you. And with so many charities to choose from, it can be an even more difficult decision.

There are a lot of resources to help you make the most of your donation. Here are a few ways that you can ensure your donation goes to the charity that is right for you.

Find An Organization That Speaks To You

The first thing that you should do when the charitable mood so strikes is to figure out what kind of an impact you want to make. Do you want to help provide education for children? Do you want to help those within your country or take part in something that reaches world-wide? These are many starting points to consider. Once you’ve decided on a cause what cause you want to give to, you can begin to research groups with the same passion that want to help that cause as well. From here, any company website that shows the kind of impact they’ve had in the past and explains what their mission is moving forward can help to point you in the right direction. Does this organization fit within your mission? And if you’re evaluating potential company-wide initiatives and not just for personal donations, is the organization in question aligned with your company’s policies and mission? Doing a small amount of research here can make this step easier.

Give To Groups You Know

It’s always good to start with charities that you know. This can mean that you know them through word of mouth or due to their past success. Of course, you may be inclined to give to smaller charities or lesser-known local groups, as they won’t have the same press that larger groups have enjoyed. This can be a tricky situation. The more you know about a group, the better, so it’s best to shy away from donating to groups before you’ve had a steady relationship with them or before you’ve contacted them to learn more about their mission and how they use donations.

Set Some Guidelines

When you donate to charity or nonprofits, you are deciding to choose to give away a portion of your money that you’ve worked hard to acquire. This is why it is crucial that you are giving to give to a charity that really who represents their mission well, as you want your dollar to reach the furthest that it can happen legitimately and palpably fashion. To make sure this happens, set up some guidelines or requirements for nonprofits and charities that you want your ideal group to employ. You can always use a charity-rating service and read reviews to see how others have responded to your top choices in the past. Even moving past operating guidelines, it’s also important to give to a charity that meets your requirements in service. Once you decide to look for places that, for example, only collect monetary donations for research or that provides housing or treatment for those in need, you can decide what kind of service you want your donation to provide.