’Tis always the season for lending a helping hand, and it’s vital that we place our hard-earned financial support with worthy causes who use our dollars wisely. Charity Navigator is a good first stop. It’s the nation’s largest and most popular guide to the objective evaluation of more than 5,300 American charities.

At CharityNavigator.org, we’ll find user-friendly assessments of an organization’s financial health, insightful articles on industry trends, and tips for effective giving. Their findings clearly signal who is doing a good job and who is not. The researchers have done a good chunk of our homework for us; they even verify each charity’s commitment to keeping donors’ personal information confidential, to help them avoid becoming victims of mailing list appeals. Check out their “Top 10 Best Practices of Savvy Donors.” The site is easily navigable by charity name, location or type of activity.