Child Sponsorship
Thinking about child sponsorship? Learn how these programs work, how funds are used, and what questions to ask before committing to a donation.
Wise Giving Wednesday: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
As families around the world celebrate their holiday traditions, BBB Wise Giving Alliance is reflecting on the spirit of giving and we encourage donors to celebrate with intention and trust.
A Modern North Pole: Holiday Cheer and Giving in 2025
It’s that time of year again, folks. Santa will soon be warming up his sleigh for his high-speed trip around the world, with Rudolph leading the way through the night sky.
Buddy the Elf and his colleagues are filling orders for Squishmallows, Labubu Dolls, Nintendo Switches, and a seemingly endless variety of toys.
A Red Ryder BB gun under the tree and a Slinky and a yo-yo in the stocking just don’t cut it anymore; modern elves have ultra-fast Amazon truck drivers filling next-day deliveries at Chuck Yeager speed.
Santa’s List and Ours: Celebrating BBB Accredited Charities
The beloved “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” has been recorded by the likes of Sinatra, the Jackson 5, Springsteen, The Supremes, Lady Gaga, and many others, warning children to behave during the holidays. Santa is famously “making a list” and “checking it twice.”
In the spirit of the season and Santa’s naughty or nice list, we’d like to celebrate the many organizations that demonstrated transparency and good governance by meeting all 20 of our Standards for Charity Accountability in 2025. We encourage you to visit our list of BBB Accredited Charities here.
How BBB WGA Checks Twice: Our Charity Evaluation Process
At BBB WGA, we make it a point, like Santa, to always check twice in our charity monitoring activities.
Here are a few of the ways we double-check to provide the most accurate information on charities, so your charitable gifts go to organizations you can trust:
- Check the accuracy of fundraising appeals, including pictures and stories. If anything seems unclear, inaccurate, or misleading, we review it again and often ask charities for additional information.
- Examine charity IRS Form 990s and audited financial statements for accuracy. Our analysts review these financial statements closely for potential questions or inaccuracies. Once an Analyst completes their review, another Analyst double-checks it to ensure organizations meet all financial Standards before publication.
- Review charity websites and annual reports to confirm they include all information required to meet our standards, such as financial summaries, a list of board members, and descriptions of program accomplishments from the previous year.
- Evaluate website privacy policies to ensure charities have appropriate measures in place to safeguard your personal information.
Wishing You a Season of Joy, Light, and Wise Giving
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or observe other traditions, we at BBB WGA wish you a wonderful and joyful holiday season! We hope you’re enjoying time with your family, friends, and loved ones in whatever way feels meaningful to you.
If you are putting out milk and cookies for Santa tonight (and a couple of carrots for the reindeer), take it easy on the eggnog, and remember that, according to Charlie Brown, “It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree that matters; it’s who’s around it.”
There’s Still Time to Give Wisely This Holiday Season
Finally, we encourage you to visit give.org before making any last-minute charity donations in 2025.
There’s still time to give, and the holidays and winter months can be especially hard on those in need of food, shelter, and other necessities.
Recent Reports
We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.
