If you're new here, you may want to join our RSS feed or our free email updates group (see right column). Thanks for visiting!  The IRS has given a big boost to our Charities: Please Show Your EINs campaign. It made two important improvements to its online charity search feature (formerly Publication 78), now called Exempt Organizations Select Check:
- It’s now possible for a user to enter an organization’s EIN (employer identification number) to check if the organization is a public charity.
- Search results now include charity EINs.
We launched our Charities: Please Show Your EINs campaign last year. EINs are unique identifiers, and a great way to quickly find more information about a charity, or to avoid a faker posing as a charity.
Exempt Organizations Select Check combines the former Publication 78 with a list of organizations that have had their exemption revoked and a list of organizations that have filed Form 990-N. More IRS info on Select Check.
This action by the IRS is a positive step in donor/consumer protection. We’re hoping that the IRS will tinker with the Select Check results page a bit more, and make the “Deductibility Status” column and information a bit more understandable and user-friendly.
We regularly hear of donors who won’t give to a charity unless it spends 80% or more on its programs. At SeriousGivers.org we have a different take on this subject.
 Our caution to donors: If an organization spends more than 80% on programs, that means it is spending less than 20% on administration and fundraising. While an organization might be proud of minimizing administrative and fundraising costs, we believe that well-run organizations must spend meaningful resources on administration and fundraising. So, we suggest donors investigate further to make sure that the organization is not
- having administrative or fundraising costs paid from an outside source or
- underspending on important parts of its operations or
- mis-categorizing administration or fundraising costs as program costs.
While reported program spending above 80% might be reasonable in a charity’s specific circumstances (if, for example, it has capable and well-managed volunteers performing administrative duties), it should be discussed directly with and satisfactorily explained by the charity’s management.
Program spending percentages should not be used standing alone. They should be part of an overall evaluation of a charity and its performance. A charity spending an apparently suitable percentage on programs, where the programs themselves accomplish little, is by no means an effective charity.
Read more about program spending percentage calculations and other charity financial metrics.
Do you agree? Disagree? Share what you think in the “Leave a Reply” section below.
 Have a favorite charity, or just one you want to know more about?
Select the charity from the SGO database and for $35 we’ll
- Find the charity’s latest online IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ information return.
- Enter (or confirm) all the information for the charity’s Key 990 Data tab.
- Calculate all percentages and ratios for its Money and Ratios tab.
- Notify you by email that the data entry work has been completed.
It’s a Win – Win – Win: You’ll do good; help the charity with the job of completing its Report; and help cover costs of our work.
Sponsor data entry for a charity
We do not accept revenue from charities included in the SGO database. By sponsoring data entry, you’ll do something for the charity that it could not do for itself. You’ll also be confirming to us that the payment you make neither comes from nor will be reimbursed by the charity.
Sponsor data entry for a charity
 Ever felt turned off about “estate giving” or “planned giving” — thinking it could only be too time consuming and too complicated?
Actually, leaving a gift to a charity can be both smart and easy. Read our new guide: Smart & Easy Ways to Leave Gifts to Charity — and let us know whether you’ve adjusted your views on estate giving.
 What’s “blind charity love?”
Know someone who gives to a charity without knowing much about it other than its name or its mission? Who has just assumed that, since the charity works on an important cause, it must be worth supporting? That’s blind charity love.
Blind charity love may be comforting and easy. But it’s not a serious or effective way to make donated dollars do the most good.
Blind charity love ignores the truth that charities vary greatly – even charities working on the same cause. While many charities do strong work with the moneys entrusted to them, others lack focus or management and produce little impact.
Want to avoid blind charity love?
Get to know the charity. Look at its latest IRS information returns and annual reports. They can tell you a lot about how the charity spends the money entrusted to it. Things like whether it spends reasonable amounts on programs, administration and fundraising; which program gets the bulk of the dollars; whether it actually needs more money.
If the numbers check out, get to know the charity even better. Call them on the phone, and ask about their programs. See how they deal with you. Visit an operating program. Get to know the leadership. Ask how its programs make an impact, and how it measures that impact.
If the numbers and further checking bring positive results – give the charity some love. If the results aren’t positive – move on to another charity doing work you care about.
The SGO Find-a-Charity search engine is a great starting place for getting more information on almost 300,000 charities.
Friends help friends avoid blind charity love. Share this with a friend.
 The IRS warns that IRS impersonation schemes flourish during tax season and can take the form of e-mail, phone websites, even tweets. Scammers may also use a phone or fax to reach their victims.
- If you receive a paper letter or notice via mail claiming to be the IRS but you suspect it is a scam, contact the IRS at http://www.irs.gov/contact/index.html to determine if it is a legitimate IRS notice or letter.
- If it is a legitimate IRS notice or letter, reply if needed.
- If the caller or party that sent the paper letter is not legitimate, contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484. You may also fax the notice/letter you received, plus any related or supporting information, to TIGTA. Note that this is not a toll-free FAX number 1-202-927-7018.
This tip and others concerning the IRS and identity theft can be found in IRS Tax Tip 2012-12.
 The Internal Revenue Service has issued the 2012 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2012, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be: Continue reading IRS announces 2012 charity volunteer mileage rate
 We just finished updating the SGO database to reflect new data from the IRS Master File. The Master File listed 1,583,536 IRS-recognized nonprofit organizations. After we apply our listing requirements, 278,010 (17.6%) qualified for the SGO database.
The number of nonprofit organizations recognized by the IRS increased by 5,749 from August 2 to December 7, 2011. At the same time, however, the number of charities qualifying for SGO dropped by 9,632. We attribute the drop to fewer nonprofits being required to make the public disclosures called for by filing IRS Form 990 or Form 990-EZ (the filing threshold has increased from $25,000 of annual revenues to $50,000).
The SGO listing requirements.
 In case you missed it, DoSomething.org has published its 2011 “Celebs gone good” list — focusing on celebrities who did the most good in 2011. Lady Gaga defended her 2010 #1 rating, with Justin Bieber leaping to #2. George Clooney was #3.
Last names [in alphabetical order] of others on the list were (you’ll have to go to DoSomething.org to see the full names and rankings). We’ve given a few hints — how many can you get without going to DoSomething.org? Even tougher, can you guess the proper order?
- Cannon (hint, not Freddy),
- Coldplay,
- Cyrus (not the Elder),
- Damon (not Johnny),
- Degeneres (not Vance),
- DiCaprio,
- Howard (not Ron),
- Jolie,
- Kutcher,
- Lambert,
- Lovato,
- Michele (not Sarfati),
- Moore (not Benjamin),
- Pinkett,
- Pitt (not William),
- Radcliffe (not Ann),
- Shakira (no hint available),
- Shelton,
- Smith,
- Swift (not Tom)
- will.i.am.
Read the DoSomething.org post and list.
 Start your year off right — without giving up candy! Start an inventory of your giving.
Get the details and your free giving inventory form.
Keeping track of your giving is Step 1 in our 13 Steps to boost your donor impact.
A giving inventory is a great way to focus your giving and monitor a budget. Listing your donations is also a great help at tax time.
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