As a starting point in deciding where to make your charitable gifts, you’ll want to make sure that the recipients of your gifts have tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service, so that you may claim the appropriate federal tax deduction for your gift.

A common way in which people choose a charity is through their personal volunteer work with an organization, or through the recommendations of friends. There are also a growing number of resources available to help you find a charity that provides programs and services reflecting values similar to your own, research nonprofits working in areas of particular interest to you, and learn more about a particular nonprofit before making a giving decision. Here are some resources that can help:

RESEARCHING NONPROFITS

BBB Wise Giving Alliance
The Alliance provides free online reports on about 600 national charities that include an evaluation of each charity against the 23 provisions of the voluntary CBBB Standards for Charitable Solicitations. It also publishes a quarterly "Wise Giving Guide" for donors. The Alliance was formed in 2001 with the merger of the National Charities Information Bureau and the Council of Better Business Bureaus Foundation and Philanthropic Advisory Service, and is affiliated with the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

Minnesota Attorney General
This site posts data from the federal informational tax returns (Forms 990) and other materials filed by nonprofits in Minnesota. Organizations that solicit funds in Minnesota are required to register with the Charities Division of the Minnesota Attorney General's Office. The Office also publishes a report profiling its 50 "most asked about" local and national charities.

Minnesota Charities Review Council
The Minnesota Charities Review Council seeks to promote informed giving by Minnesota donors. The Council has developed a set of standards for effective, ethical and accountable nonprofit management practices, and offers a list of nonprofits that it has reviewed against those standards.

Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
Find several resources that can help you research charitable organizations, including links to the sites of many nonprofits in the state, information about the Council’s directory of Minnesota nonprofits, and the Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence.

Minnesota Grantmakers Online
Another good source for finding potential recipients for your gifts is the Minnesota Council on Foundations' "Minnesota Grantmakers Online" service. MGO provides access to the Web's largest database of Minnesota grantmakers and grants. With MGO's Grant Search feature (available in the Deluxe subscription offering), you can find out which nonprofits have received past funding from the state's largest foundations and corporate grantmakers in areas that match your funding interests and needs. You can search for grants by up to eight criteria, including area of interest (more than 800 different categories), geographic focus, type of support and beneficiary. The database won't identify some new and emerging nonprofits that are deserving of funding but not yet in the database.  But it can be one useful way for you to put together a list of nonprofits that are working on the issues that your are most passionate about. Subscriptions to MGO's Deluxe version start at just $240 per year.