Many are looking to donate money and goods to help victims of Harvey but want to make sure it gets to those in need. Find out what charities are best to use.

After all the destruction from Hurricane Harvey in East Texas, many want to find out the best way for them to donate not only money but also food, clothing and more. There are many people out there trying to gather donations, money and more but sadly tragedies like Hurricane Harvey also bring out the scammers. If you want to donate to worthy charities you can donate to charities in the Houston area, there are two websites that can help you decide.

Charity Navigator is a website that rates over 8,000 charities by their financial health and accountability and transparency.

To score the financial health, they look at their tax return and "use that information to analyze a charity’s financial performance in seven key areas that assess its financial efficiency and financial capacity, in relation to its cause area." From there they score them from 0 to 10 for the seven performance metrics and overall Financial Health.

To score accountability and transparency, they use two sources: the IRS 990 form an the charity's website. 17 metrics are then used and then a rating is assigned. To find out more information on how they rate charities check out their website.

The website is telling people who want to donate to use local charities like Houston SPCAHouston Humane SocietyHouston Food Bank, Food Bank of Corpus Christi, or San Antonio Humane Society. The website says that these charities have high ratings and are local so the money will stay in the community.

Another great website to check out is Charity Watch. This website calculates a charity's rating by evaluating their financial reporting, including "audited financial statements, tax forms, annual reports, state filings, and other documents. Once our analysis of a charity is complete, and any required adjustments are made, we perform two end calculations, then assign the charity a letter grade efficiency rating on an A+ to F scale." To find out more on how they rate the charities and a more in-depth look at their rating process, visit their website.

Charity Watch is recommending people who want to donate to Hurricane Harvey relief should donate with checks or cash, instead of goods. The website states that the charities can then use the money to decide what it needs to be spent on at that exact moment of need. They also have a list of the best charities to donate to including:

 

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