Charitable Organizations

A charitable organization or charity is an one whose primary objectives and mission are philanthropy and social well-being. Examples of these are educational, religious or other activities serving the local community or improve common good.

The legal definition varies in the world, between countries and in some instances regions of the country. The regulation, either by state or federal government, the tax treatment, and the way in which the law affects these organizations also vary.

Charities may not use any of their funds to profit individual persons or entities. 

Which Charities do the Most Good?

Before Their Time believes a "top charity" is one that is fully transparent and accountable. Always start by checking to see if that nonprofit gives full disclosure of their financials. Check to see how they raise money, the effectiveness or their program, and if they maximize how the money is spent.

Simply put, charities that give the highest percent of the money to their cause are some of the best.

What is the Most Trusted Charity?

Trust is important between donors and a nonprofit. Donors should always check the charity's From 990, either on the nonprofit's website or with the IRS, to find out the cost effectiveness, and if your donation makes a high impact. There are also several websites such as Charity Navigator and Charity Watch that can help you evaluate and gain a better understanding of each group before donating.

Tips for Giving

• Check for exemptions from income taxes.

• Give directly and not through third parties.

• Get to know your charity.

• Check where your money goes.

• Do Not be pressured into giving.

• Make informed donations and not ones based on emotion.

• Stay away from charities offering "gifts"

Best and Worst Charities for your Donation

One way to get information on what a particular group is doing is to subscribe to their newsletter. When you join you will get updates what programs they are working on and if it of interest to you, before giving. Are they working around the world, nationally or locally? Do the funds go to support children, education or hunger? Never give in to pressure tactics. Some of the worst charities or charity scams will call you and pressure you into donating. Please report these charities to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).

Top Charities

People should always research before donating. Be wary of scams! Some scam charities use names very similar to well respected organizations in order to fool you into donating. We are not going to name what we feel are some top charities because that would be biased. However, some of the most successful charities of all time focus on children and animals.

People can make a difference when the money it spends goes directly towards the mission they are trying to accomplish!

Disproportionation of Funds

In modern times some charities have come under scrutiny for spending a disproportionate amount of their income to pay the salaries of their leadership and giving bonuses to CEO's. Always check the practices of the group and their process for compensating a person.

Before Their Time Salaries

Before Their Time spends no money on salaries of employees or high profile CEO's. All of our staff and board members are volunteers, ensuring all of our donations go to aid families of drug overdose victims and achieve our goal.

What Is The Most Effective Charity?

Charities often depend partly on donations from businesses. Such donations to charities represent a major form of corporate philanthropy. You should research and make every effort to ensure that funding, and your donations are going towards the cause the organizations claim.

Effective Charities

In order to meet the exempt organizational requirements 501(c)(3), a charity has to be exclusively organized and operated for charitable purposes. In order to receive and pass the tax exemption test, a charitable foundation must follow the public interest and all exempt income should effectively be for the public interest. For example, in many countries the charity's must demonstrate that they are supporting a public benefit.

Registered Charity

Registered 501(c)(3) charities are tax exempt, making your gift of donation tax deductible. Registered charities are an organizations established and operated for charitable purposes, and must devote their resources to charitable activities. They must be resident in the United States, and cannot use its income to benefit its members. A charity also has to meet a public benefit test.

For a nonprofit in the U.S. to be recognized as a charity under section 501(c)(3), it must be "organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes”; it must not be organized or operated for the benefit of private interests; and no part of its donations may benefit private parties. All recommended charities always need to be registered.

Before you become a donor check the IRS website if you have any concerns that the organization may not have 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. The IRS updates the details of organizations operations on it's site regularly.

Charity Evaluators

There are several nonprofits charity evaluators that evaluate the effectiveness of millions of charities. These services research all of the data available, and also often recommend charities based on their programs, mission, and spend. They are evaluated based on overhead costs, donor effectiveness, salaries, causes and even mistakes.

They look at when a group was founded, what they are promising, what they are focused on, and compare them to other charities, to make sure your donation is going to support it's goal and have an impact on the lives of those in need.

Financial statements such as tax returns, revenue from fundraising, donations, revenue from sale of goods and services or revenue from investments are indicators to assess the financial sustainability of a charity, especially to charity evaluators such as Charity Navigator or Charity Watch. This evidence can impact a charity's reputation with donors and societies, and thus the charity's financial gains.

Charity Navigator

Charity Navigator is a valuable tool designed to protect donors from scams and alleged misconduct by providing unbiased and objective information that may inform their giving decisions. They tell you about a charity and also tried to find out how the process is going. They also provide a list of recommended charities. Charity Navigator evaluates the top charities in the country based on what charities give the most percentages towards their cause.

Charity Ratings

Charity Navigator, believes that there are multiple dimensions to a charity’s operations that a donor needs to take into consideration when selecting a nonprofit to support. They rate top charities by evaluating Financial Health and ratings show donors how efficiently a charity will use their donations. It also looks at how well it has sustained its programs and services over time to their mission, and their level of commitment to transparency.

• Financial Health:

  Charity Navigator’s evaluations are based on the financial information that each nonprofit provides in its tax return, the Internal Revenue Service Form 990. They use that information, to analyze each charity’s financial performance in seven key areas. Their final score of "Financial Health" comes from combining a charity’s scores on a zero to ten scale for each of the seven performance metrics. 

• Accountability & Transparency:
  Charity Navigator uses two separate sources to evaluate an organization’s Accountability & Transparency: information provided by an organization itself on their Form 990 and information collected from a review of the charity’s website. They then use that information to score the nonprofit organization on seventeen different metrics. During this process they assess whether the charity follows best practices of governance and ethics, and whether the charity is transparent and makes it easy for donors to find critical information.

Best Nonprofits Conclusion

The best charities to donate to is hard to determine based on one factor alone. Highly effective charities receive a charity navigator rating, which can help donors research a charity to support. Another tip is to make sure your donation is tax deductible by doing a search to see if the organization has 501(c)(3) status from the IRS. The amount of giving is expecting to increase next year as the country recovers from the pandemic and business operations return to normal. Use our tips for giving as a guide and do your own research before donating.

If you are considering to support Before Their Time, we thank you in advance. We are a 501(c)(3) charity registered with the IRS. Our tax ID number is 85-2616336