The holiday season brings up thoughts of love, warmth and giving. While you’re busy giving presents to your friends and family, don’t forget to give back to those less fortunate as well. When you’re choosing a charity, it’s extremely important to make sure you’re giving to the right one. Make sure you’re supporting an organization that holds similar values to your own. One of the best organizations to donate to is the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, which supports UNICEF’s work on behalf of children all around the world.
UNICEF stops at nothing to save and protect the most vulnerable children globally. UNICEF has been around for 70 years, and 40 years ago, the organization realized it could save millions of lives by promoting low-cost, high-impact interventions. One example of such an intervention was providing ready-to-use therapeutic food for kids who were suffering from severe acute malnutrition. The intervention could even be as simple as teaching kids to wash their hands.
When you choose a charity, the work the charity is doing should be urgent and important. UNICEF’s cause fully embodies this. Whenever earthquakes, hurricanes or floods strike, UNICEF delivers aid to children and their families who are affected worldwide. The organization travels to these locations regardless of war or geography. UNICEF also immunizes millions against polio, as well as maternal and neonatal tetanus and measles.
Another important thing to investigate is whether the charity you want to donate to is truly a non-profit organization. If it is, it should have 501(c)3 certification from the IRS. If it doesn’t, your donation is unlikely to be tax deductible. The organization should also disclose its finances and its financial health. UNICEF meets all these requirements and more.
Now that you’ve decided on an organization, think about your giving budget and how you can maximize your charitable donation. If you have a lot of money to give away, you still want to make sure your gift will be put to good use. Choose a non-profit that’s efficient and spends your money wisely. Make sure most of the spending will be going to the stated mission of the organization. See if charity watchdog groups have recognized that charity. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF fits all of these criteria as well. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF also meets the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance’s Standards for Charity Accountability. Charity Navigator has continuously given the U.S. Fund for UNICEF the highest ratings for transparency, administration and accountability.
One of the best things about the U.S. Fund for UNICEF is that its program expense ratio continues to stay at 90 percent. This means that 90 cents out of each dollar spent goes directly toward helping children. Seven of those cents are spent on fundraising costs and 3 cents are spent on administration. With these numbers, the U.S. Fund is in the top tier of charities nationwide.
It is often said that the children are our future. If you want kids around the world to have access to food, clothing shelter, education and more, UNICEF is the best organization to donate to, because you know that a large portion of your donation will go directly to helping kids globally.