Laurie Styron Talks to ABC7 News about Wise Giving to Charity this Holiday Season

Watch Laurie Styron’s full Live interview with ABC7 News Bay Area here.

During this time of year many people reach into
their pockets to donate to various charities across the country. At CharityWatch, we remain dedicated to keeping donors informed this holiday season on what to look out for when giving charity. CharityWatch CEO, Laurie Styron,
appears on ABC7 Live to discuss Giving Tuesday and how to identify efficient and responsible
charities to support.

“’…We’re just coming off of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, right, and a lot of
people, when they’re trying to buy goods and services on these days, they’re
looking for what’s the best deal. They’re also doing a lot of research into
what’s the best product, what’s the best thing I should buy. And oftentimes
people don’t think about giving to charity in that way, and that’s really unfortunate.
And I would encourage people to change that, spend a little time, do a little
bit of due diligence to make sure first that the charity you’re donating to is
legitimate, which is something you can check on the IRS website. However, there
are no laws in place preventing charities from spending 99% of your donation on
overhead, even if they’re legitimate. That’s due to a few Supreme Court rulings
in the 1980s and First Amendment concerns. So, just because a charity is
legitimate doesn’t mean that it’s efficient. So, we are one resource at
charitywatch.org. We have top rated charities posted on our website. So, if you
know what cause you want to support, but you’re just not sure which charities
working in those cause will use your donation efficiently and responsibly, we
are one resource where you can check that out.’”

“’Use a credit card when you donate. That’s what I do. A lot of credit card
companies have processes in place where if you find out that you gave to a not
so great charity or maybe to a fraudster that you might be able to recover that
money. It’s a lot harder to get your money back if it comes directly out of
your bank account. And yeah, you know, just give generously if you can. If
you are someone who is able to donate, use Giving Tuesday as a reminder that you
definitely need to be generous this year, but don’t feel so pressured to give
by the end of the day today. You’ve got through the month of December to get
your donations in if you want to take a tax deduction for 2023.’”

Watch Laurie Styron’s full Live interview here.

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