I run a non profit that provides housing assistance to veterans in Philadelphia.
First, look at the financial statement called “statement of activities” - it shows you the percent of costs spent on admin and fund raising. If that percent is above 7 to 10%, its not a well run charity.
Don’t worry about the directors not getting paid, most charities have that. Most non profits have volunteer boards. If the executive leadership is NOT getting paid, that is bad, you want talented leadership, just like a for profit company, leading strategic decisions.
Most charities would prefer a larger donation vs many smaller donations. So dont feel bad about giving to more money to fewer charities.
If you are getting bombarded with donation requests from a charity, its not well run (those messages cost money). You might be getting monthly emails about their impact (i.e. who they are helping).
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