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                                        -- Charities - Overview
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​Charities 
*  Overview    * Cardiac/Cancer/Diabetes  * Physical Disabilities
​*  Developmental Disabilities/Mental Health  
​* Disability Support  *  Special Needs Recreation *  AIDS/HIV  
*  Addiction  *   First Response/Law   *  Homeless/Food Banks   
*  Adoption/Family Services  *   Wildlife/Animal Welfare 

​- Charitable Giving      
       
       Nationally, donations in 2015 to charities from individuals, estates, foundations and corporations reached an estimated $373 billion, according to the annual report published by the Giving USA Foundation. The largest source of charitable giving came from individuals at $268 billion, or 71% of total giving; followed by foundations at $57 billion (16%), bequests at $29 billion (9%), and corporations at $18 billion (5%). 

​       For New Jersey federal tax returns filed for the 2014 tax year (the most recent data available as of June 2017), the Internal Revenue Service reported a total of over $5.2 billion in itemized charitable contributions deducted on New Jersey federal returns. While New Jersey's total amount of charitable contributions in recent years has ranked eighth highest of all states, it is relatively low in contributions as a percentage of total personal income, indeed ranked in 2016 by one survey as 49th of all states, behind only New Hampshire. In 2013, the average amount of charitable contributions on itemized returns from New Jersey was $3,042 compared to the average for the nation of $4,392; as a percentage of income, New Jersey itemized contributions were 1.6% compared to 2.2% of income for all US taxpayers. 
*  Statistics of Income, Internal Revenue Service
*  2016's Most Charitable States, WalletHub.com
*  Charitable Giving Statistics, National Philanthropic Trust
*  National Center for Charitable Statistics, Urban Institute 
*  Giving USA Foundation, The Giving Institute    
       
       Foundations, which are usually established by wealthy families, individuals or corporations, are an important source of support for New Jersey charities, and can provide more consistent longer-term funding than contributions derived from individuals or annual fundraising campaigns. While most foundations are created by individuals or families to support personal causes, New Jersey is home to one of the nation's largest in total assets, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation located near Princeton. The Foundation was initially founded by Robert Wood "General" Johnson II, the chairman and chief executive of Johnson & Johnson who after his death in 1968 bequeathed to the Foundation over ten million shares of J&J stock, then valued at some $1.2 billion, and which was the core of the endowment which grew to make the Foundation currently the fourth largest in the US in total assets with $10.5 billion, behind only The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ($44 billion);  the Ford Foundation at ($12.4 billion); and the J. Paul Getty Trust ($12 billion). Other large foundations in New Jersey include Johnson & Johnson's corporate foundation, the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Contribution Fund, the Verizon Foundation, Merck Foundation, and Hess Foundation. Another large foundation, the Community Foundation of New Jersey, offers services to other foundations in management and in advising on potential grant recipients. The Community Foundation currently manages some $30 million in assets entrusted directly to it for investment or on an advisory basis for contributions by its affiliate foundations. On a regional basis, there are other foundations organized along lines similar to the Community Foundation to pool assets or coordinate contribution programs such as the Community Foundation of South Jersey; Princeton Area Community Foundation; Summit Area Public Foundation; and Westfield Foundation.

*  Foundation Directory, Foundation Center
 
Picture
A doctor shown examining a baby at the migrant farm workers' camp in Bridgeton in 1942. Image: Library of Congress

- Registration and regulation       
      
​       Status as a charity is obtained under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code which provides tax benefits to nonprofit organizations. The benefits include exemption from federal income tax and eligibility to receive contributions which are tax-deductible to a charity's donors. The law requires that an organization (with the exception of religious organizations) apply to the IRS and certify that it has been established for one or more of the following exempt purposes: charitable, educational, religious, scientific, literary, fostering national or international sports competition, preventing cruelty to children or animals or testing for public safety. Charities also are subject to restrictions on certain activities such as lobbying and must ensure that earnings do not benefit any founder or associate or operate for the benefit of other private interests.
*  Applying for 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Status, Internal Revenue Service (pdf)
       
       In addition to qualifying for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status under federal law, charitable organizations and professional fund raisers based, operating or soliciting within New Jersey must register and file annual financial reports with the Charities Registration Section of the Division of Consumer Affairs of the New Jersey Department of Law & Public Safety under the provisions of the Charitable Registration & Investigation Act  (N.J.S.A. 45:17A-18 et seq.). The Section publishes an online Directory of Registered Charities with the status of registration and most recent financial reports.
*  NJ Charities Registration Forms, Charities Registration Section 
*  Directory of Registered Charities, Charities Registration Section 

- Research 
     
      Federal and state agencies have cautioned potential donors against giving prior to conducting research on the solicitation and cause. In recent years, some charities have been cited for excessive compensation to staff and for allocating high percentages of revenue to professional fundraisers.

       With the expansion of online outreach services, many organizations and individuals also have utilized "crowdfunding" sites like GoFundMe, Fundly and Booster to solicit contributions for diverse causes. Although some charities have also used these platforms to expand the reach of their solicitations, many causes and individuals seeking funds on "crowdfunding" sites are not qualified as charities under federal tax law authorizing deductible contributions and also may not be subject to federal and state laws requiring financial reports and disclosure of how contributions are spent.

        Other sources of information on charities include such national publishers and research services as CharityNavigator.org; GuideStar.org; CharityWatch.org;  Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance; Charity Navigator, GuideStar; GreatNonprofits.org; and GiveWell.org. Some of the sources evaluate charities on various factors; CharityNavigator.org (based in Glen Rock), for example, grades selected charities (31 in NJ as of 2017) on the basis of such criteria as the percentage of revenue allocated to administrative expenses rather than to direct support of the relevant cause and the organization's transparency in publishing financial and management information. In general, those services evaluating charities give their highest grades to those using at least 75% of its revenues for the causes outlined in the mission statement and limiting fundraising costs to less than 25% of the money raised from contributors.
* CharityNavigator.org
​* CharityWatch.org
* GuideStar.org
* Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance
​* GreatNonprofits.org;
* GiveWell.org
  
​* Before Giving to a Charity, Federal Trade Commission
​* Fundraisers Calling on Behalf of Police and Firefighters, Federal Trade Commission
* Charity Scams, Federal Trade Commission
* Best Charities for Your Donations, Consumer Reports, 12/14/2016
* Crowdfunding Popularity Continues to Soar Despite Risks to Donors, CharityWatch.org, 1/20/2017

​Charities 
*  Overview    * Cardiac/Cancer/Diabetes  * Physical Disabilities
​*  Developmental Disabilities/Mental Health  
​* Disability Support  *  Special Needs Recreation *  AIDS/HIV  
*  Addiction  *   First Response/Law   *  Homeless/Food Banks   
*  Adoption/Family Services  *   Wildlife/Animal Welfare ​
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