It’s great to donate some of your money to needy individuals either directly or via charities. If you donate to an organization that is registered with the government as a non-profit, 501(c) 3 class organization, your donations are tax-deductible! Unfortunately there are many fake charity organizations that are only seeking to steal your money. There are also many real organizations that are poorly managed, giving a pittance of its donations to their targeted mission, while directing the majority of its donations to pay hefty, six-figure salaries of the organization’s executive directors!
Never respond to an unsolicited phone call asking for a donation over the phone. If you have any interest in their sales pitch, ask the caller what their web address is. Chances are, they have none. If they tell you the name of their web address, write it down. Then tell them you will review their web site and consider making a donation using their web site, without making any commitments or pledges, or giving them any personal information. Then hang up, search for their site. If you find their site, review it thoroughly. Then check their use of donations at a charity watchdog site.
If you are interested in donating part of your earnings to a charity, but are reluctant, due to the many scams and poorly managed charity organizations, you can find out how well your donated investments would be used by your favored charities at any of these charity watchdog sites:
CharityWatch
BBB Wise Giving Alliance
CharityNavigator
You can also donate your blood to another person via the Red Cross. Also, if you donate your blood platelets or plasma, you can get paid for it!
Consider donating your unwanted Christmas gifts to Goodwill or other local thrift store.