Making gifts matter

In feeling financially pressed this holiday season but still wanting to benefit worthy causes and charitable groups, I suggested that loved ones consider making making donations to non-profits that work to conserve wild- and wetlands.
Taking an idea from a gift my wife and I received for our wedding, I suggested that my niece and nephew might want to have a tree planted in a national forest in our name.
I figured that would be easy and affordable for those young'uns, it would help more people than just us, and it could divert some money away from consumer goods to something more worthwhile.
Having just dealt with a very worldly, specific and long Christmas gift list sent late by family members and taking about 12 hours in one marathon shopping trip to fulfill the holiday wishes of little girls and boys, I am hoping more people will internalize the idea of more charitable giving — whether during December or all year round.
So I welcomed learning about the website redefiningchristmas.org, an Internet portal designed to connect people with the non-profits and to encourage donations.
Why is it important to boost charitable giving?
The group provides this as an answer on the Web site: "Consider that the amount of money spent on candy alone during the holiday season is greater than the annual budgets of the American Cancer Society, The American Heart Association and Habitat for Humanity combined."
That's both kind of shocking and not surprising at the same time.
Redefining Christmas is not about changing the holiday, but rather reexamining of the spirit of giving.
"It's about changing the way we look at gift giving and receiving," the Web site says. "It's taking money we usually spend on obligatory gifts with little meaning, and creating gifts of charity that give in multiple ways, to the receiver, the giver, and people who truly need."
A lot of information one needs to find good causes and quality organizations — and avoid the worst groups — is available at Redefining Christmas and its partner websites like charitynavigator.org, justgive.org and changingthepresent.org.
With links to 1.5 million organizations, the promoters of Redefining Christmas are confident that most people can find a charitable group that shares their interests.
With a few clicks, potential donors can give to their favorite zoo, projects like studying sustainability of food and fuel farm crops, adopt a snowy owl, protect African ranges for the good of elephants, offset one's carbon footprint, support historic organizations like Colonial Williamsburg and Many others.
But don't go there without first checking out the rating given to the non-profits on Charity Navigator.
I've investigated most of the organizations I've donated to in the past year and have been relieved to see that they've gotten favorable marks, though according to reviewers, some of them need improvement.
It pleased me to see worthy groups like the American Chestnut Foundation getting four out of a possible four stars for its efforts to "restore the American chestnut tree to its native range within the woodlands of the eastern United States using a scientific research and breeding program."
The Web site compares program costs, fundraising costs and use of revenue to rate how efficiently a non-profit will put its donations to use.
Were I to decide to give to outdoor recreation and conservation programs in Cincinnati, for example, I could pull up information about various efforts there.
And Charitable Navigator can show me that the information gathered about the Cincinnati Parks Foundation and the Cincinnati Nature Center.
There I learned that the Cincinnati Parks Foundation works with the city to enhance programs at the 5,000 acres that make up its 150 parks.
"The Foundation: conserves, manages, sustains and enhances parks and public green spaces; helps disseminate information about programs and events in the parks; develops additional private funding for park programs; fosters a greater advocacy for Cincinnati Parks; and provides a forum for community input," the Web site quoted the foundation's own description.
"Cincinnati Parks provide tranquil places where families meet, where children play and where we all relax and breathe easier,"The review gave the parks foundation high marks with four stars and a better score than many similar organizations like the New York Restoration Project and the Central Park Conservancy."
On the other end of the spectrum, Charitable Navigator gave one star to the Cincinnati Nature Center because of its relatively high fundraising and administrative costs and the $100,000-plus salary given to its director.
Redefining Christmas is a gift in itself this busy holiday season.
I'd gladly have family members and friends take advantage of the idea it promotes.
It sure would beat standing in the refunds and exchanges line after opening our presents.