Sports | How to evaluate an athlete's nonprofit | Seattle Times Newspaper

Sports | How to evaluate an athlete's nonprofit | Seattle Times Newspaper: "How to evaluate an athlete's nonprofit

Looking to give back? More than 850,000 public charities are registered with the IRS, which means you have plenty of choices. For the past four decades, the amount of money Americans donate to charity has remained the same -- about 2 percent of gross national product. By taking the time to research where your money goes, you can increase the effectiveness of your donations. 'People can exponentially increase the good of a contribution with just a little bit of effort,' says Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy. 'Looking at what's happening with the money and what's being accomplished would be really key factors.' Athlete charities constitute a fraction of the total number of charities but should be held to the same standards. The first question to ask: Is the athlete leveraging his celebrity for charity ­- or leveraging his charity for celebrity?"