It isn't as simple as you may think
It's a season for giving. But donating to a charity may not be as simple as just sending a check. A charity watchdog group has guidelines.
Charity Navigator's Sandra Miniutti says there are three things to check.
"You wanna look into the charities financial health; their commitment to being accountable and transparent; and also check out their results -- you wanna know what kind of impact they're having in the community."
But even if a charity is legit, you need to research where your money goes.
"Just because a charity may have the name 'cancer' in its name doesn't mean that it's doing research; maybe it's doing advocacy work."
Miniutti says it isn't always better to go with the big name charities and you need to do your homework.
