If you had unlimited funds, you wouldn’t even be reading this article. You would be supporting as many worthwhile animal charities as you could. However, everyone is operating on a budget of some sort, and that means you have to pick and choose which animal charity to support.
When you select the right charity, this can be a worthwhile and highly rewarding endeavor. By supporting their work, you can be safe in the knowledge your money is contributing to the animals you decided to help.
However, how do you decide which animal charity to choose? What is the right charity for you? Here are some points to keep in mind before you start parting with your cash.
What is your main area of focus?
Sadly, you cannot support every animal that resides on the planet. Due to this, you have to be selective in where your donations will go. Think about it: what is most important to you when it comes to an animal charity?
Do you want to help a specific animal like a dog, cat, panda, or donkey? Maybe you want to select a charity that helps out multiple animals as part of their efforts. Perhaps you want to help out a wildlife charity, a small local shelter, or an organization dedicated to solving specific health issues.
Once you are able to answer questions like these, you will be able to narrow down which charity to select.
What do you get in return?
Of course, the main focus of your donations is to support an animal charity. However, you will still want something in return. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a tangible item, but it could be frequent updates about how your donations are helping their cause.
Say you decide to go with one of the most popular donation options: adopt an animal. When adopting an animal, you typically gain a welcome pack which can include everything from an adoption certificate to a cuddly soft toy. You will also be provided with regular updates about how much of a positive impact your support has had. Another positive of adopting an animal is that you can select everything from an orca to a gorilla.
Check the financials
No, this isn’t your bank balance and how much you can spare – although this is important. When checking the financials, you should be looking at the financial situation of the charity you are considering. You need to see how much of your donation will go towards the charity’s cause and how much of it goes into their overheads.
Yes, certain overheads have to be covered. 100% of your donation is unlikely to go towards the cause. With that said, it is wise to see how your donation is divided up. The less that goes towards the cause, the less you should be thinking of choosing that charity.
More devious charities will try and hide this information from you. Don’t be scared to ask questions to get information about their financials.