On Friday, September 19 the first quarterly meeting of 100+ Women Who Care - NRV chapter was held.  Present at the meeting were representatives of three local charities; NRV Cares, Southwest Virginia Special Olympics NRV area, and Blacksburg Interfaith Food Pantry. 

Each presenter told us key facts about their organization and their target recipients.  The one thing that was glaringly obvious when they were finished presenting was the pressing need for help (money, time and more) right here in our own backyard.

It got me to thinking about how in my own family when we choose to give it tends to be to those in need not only outside our community, but outside our country!, typically to fight disease or disaster.  I wondered how others behaved by comparison in their giving.  If you are wondering too - here are some statistics.  All data is the property of Giving USA 2014, the Annual Report on Philanthropy.

Giving Statistics

Few people realize how large charities have become, how many vital services they provide, and how much funding flows through them each year. Without charities and non-profits, America would simply not be able to operate. Their operations are so big that during 2013, total giving was more than $335 billion.

How big is the sector?

Total giving to charitable organizations was $335.17 billion in 2013 (about 2% of GDP). This is an increase of 4.4% from 2012. Although this is the fourth straight year that giving has increased, it is still not at the pre-recession level of $349.5 billion seen in 2007.

As in previous years, the majority of that giving came from individuals. Specifically, individuals gave roughly $240.6 billion (72%) representing a 4.2% increase over 2012. And it was the additional $9.69 billion in gifts made by individuals that was the main reason overall giving is up in 2013.

Giving by bequest was $27.73 billion (up 8.7%), foundations gave $48.96 billion (up 5.7%), and corporations donated $17.88 billion (down 1.9%).

Corporate giving accounts for just 5% of the total giving in 2013. And it was down primarily because of the slow growth in corporate pre-tax profits.

Five types of charities have reached or surpassed all-time high giving levels since the recession ended in mid-2009.

- Giving to Education charities was up 8.9% to $52.07 billion.

- Donations to Human Services charities were up 2.2% to $41.51 billion.

- Foundations saw an increase of 15.5% to $35.74 billion.

- Health charities experienced an increase of 6% to $31.86 billion.

- Charities that focus on the Environment / Animals saw an increase of 7.5% to $9.72 billion.

Giving to International charities slowed due to fewer overseas disasters.

Historically, Religious groups have received the largest share of charitable donations. While this was still true in 2013, the percentage dropped by 2% from 2012 making this the fifth year in a row it was down or flat. Even with the 0.2% decrease in donations this year, 31% of all donations ($105.53 billion) went to Religious organizations. Much of these contributions can be attributed to people giving to their local place of worship.

The next largest sector was Education with 16% of all donations.

Consider joining 100+ Women Who Care - NRV to help us reduce the need locally.  Your contribution combined with those of your peers can have a large impact (up to $10k) in any given quarter.  It's not easy for a local organization to raise that amount of money in such a short time-frame.

How to Pick the Right Charity and Maximize Your Donations

100+ Women Who Care NRV is currently looking to increase it's donor membership.  As such we've been reaching out to all of our friends, acquaintances, business partners, neighbors, etc.  Only one asked the question - "How do I know this is the right choice?"  But, that got me to thinking that I needed to have an answer to that question.  The best response I can come up with was what I've read on lifehacker.com.  The post originally appeared on MoneySmartLife.com.

An important aspect of having well-rounded finances is charity. Giving is generally accepted by many personal finance experts as an essential part of good money management. Your giving should be like other aspects of your financial management where an effort should be made to ensure that you are getting the best value for your dollar.

Maximizing your charity donations can mean more people helped by a cause that you care about. Here are some ways to maximize your donations:

Research Before You Give

In some cases, only 30 or 40 cents of every dollar given to a charity actually goes toward the people it's supposed to help. Administrative costs, and other costs sometimes eat up the donations. Inefficient charities tend to enrich a few executives at the top without doing a lot of good overall.  100+ Women Who Care NRV give 100 per cent of all contributions directly to the local charitable organizations members choose.

Know How Your Charitable Donations Will Be Spent Before You Give

Before you give, research the charities you are considering. Websites like Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org) show you how much of your donation actually goes toward the cause (aim for an organization where at least 70% of the money goes to help others). At 100+ Women Who Care NRV we ask that when you nominate a charity and make a presentation, that you include this information about the organization.

Set up Regular Contributions

Rather than giving unpredictably, you can set up regular contributions. Some charities prefer smaller, but regular, donations to erratic larger donations. You can commit to monthly donations, or even set up a charitable trust to operate in a way that provides regular income for the charity. These regular contributions can give the charity something it can rely on—and take some of the pressure off in other areas. This allows the charity to better serve those populations that need the help.  With 100+ Women Who Care NRV you are doing just that!  You are establishing a consistent giving routine of quarterly donations!

Go Local

One of the things that I particularly enjoy is going local with my charitable donations. You can really see the effect your donation has in your own community when you give locally. Look for local charities that make a difference right where you live. Smaller, community-based organizations often (but not always) use their resources effectively, and they can have a tremendous impact on the local population.  This is the whole premise of 100+ Women Who Care NRV - to have local donors give back to local organizations!

Get Personally Involved

If you really want to make sure that your charity donations are doing the most good for the dollar, you can become personally involved. Donate your time as well as your money. You can help by volunteering at charitable events, and performing a number of other tasks. Another possibility is that you could be named to a charity's board, and help make the decisions.  At 100+ Women Who Care NRV meetings you may hear about local organizations that need more than money.  If something inspires you, why not take this next step?

In the end giving, whether it be money, time, or both 'only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have.'