Direct link to article... [littlegreenfootballs.com]
DIRTY SECRETS OF THE WORST CHARITIES
The 50 worst have raised more than $1 billion in the past 10 years, but only a fraction went to anyone other than the charities’ operators and professional solicitors.
PART 2
A FAILURE OF REGULATION
Unscrupulous operators collect hundreds of millions of dollars each year while fooling donors. When they get caught, they have little to fear even if regulators try to shut them down.
PART 3
JUNE 13: THE REYNOLDS FAMILY EMPIRE
Operating in multiple states, one family has created a lucrative network of bad charities. In a recent year, family members took nearly $1 million in salaries while giving away a pittance in cash.
More: America's Worst Charities, a Tampa Bay Times, CIR and CNN Investigation
This is a huge & important report about the huge grifting machine that is American Charitable Giving. Remember this when you have some rightwinger claim that "Charity" can take the place of government programs.
The 50 worst have collected more than 1 Billion dollars in the past decade with a tiny fraction of that going to help people in need. The list of the worst 50 can be found here: http://www.tampabay.com/americas-worst-charities/worst-charities.pdf
The TL;DR? If you are going to be charitable, do it in person. Give your time. If you really want to give money, be very careful and give only to charities with a known track record of doing what they claim they will do.
You can find more about the charity you are considering here:
http://www.charitywatch.org/toprated.html