How to Find a Good Charity to Donate to

5 Ways to Look for a Trustworthy Nonprofit

Steven Ma
3 min readNov 28, 2022

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By / November 28, 2022

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If you’re considering making a donation to a nonprofit but don’t know which one to choose, here are 5 factors to look for.

Maybe it’s Giving Tuesday, the end of the year, or immediately after a major crisis event. You want to donate, but there are tons of organizations that are fundraising and asking for money. Which one do you choose? How do you know it’s a good one?

In the end, you probably want to give to a charity that resonates with your heart and aligns with your values. You want your money to be used wisely and effectively. You want to make the greatest impact possible with your gift.

Here are some factors to help you choose the right nonprofit:

1. Find a nonprofit that works towards a cause meaningful to you

Start with finding a cause that you resonate with on a personal level. It might be something that affects you or your family, such as a health or civil rights issue. Maybe it’s something you heard on the news that you sympathize with, like a natural disaster or acts injustice. Perhaps it’s something that connects to place or people that’s important to you, such as a country you’ve travelled to or a region of your heritage and ancestry. Whatever the issue, there’s a charity working in that space.

2. Find a local charity in your community

If you’re having trouble finding a cause or organization, try looking for a charity in your own community. Choose a nonprofit that’s based in or operates in your city, county, or state. Find one that’s does work that would improve your community.

3. Find an organization that friend supports or works for

Chances are that you most likely have at least one friend who works for a nonprofit. They probably believe strongly in the mission of that organization. So donating to your friend’s nonprofit would both show your support for your friend as well as giving to a good cause. You also likely have friends who contribute regularly to certain charities that you’re not…

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