Lesson 1.5: Giving with Purpose: Money, Goods & Time
The Go Further companion to Lesson 1.5 in Money Decisions.
Charities Bureau Registry Search
New York's official charity registry. Charities that raise money from the public in New York generally have to register with the Attorney General's Charities Bureau — and a real charity can be looked up here before you send it a dollar.
Key ideas from the lesson
- Giving is a budget line like any other: a dollar given is a dollar not saved or spent, so it deserves a decision, not an impulse.
- Before you give, ask three questions — Mission: who exactly does this group help, and how? Money: what share goes to programs? Results: can they show impact in measured numbers, not just moving stories?
- Treat the program percentage as a first check, not a grade. The percentage starts your questions; measured results finish them.
- Scammers love emergencies. Warning signs: pressure to give right now, payment only by gift card, crypto or a payment app to a personal handle, a name suspiciously close to a famous charity — and no registration.
- If your budget is tight right now, time and goods count. Volunteering and in-kind gifts are real giving.
Why this helps
Lesson 1.5 opens with a viral flood-relief post and asks: charity or scam? The registry is how you answer that question with facts instead of feelings — registration is the floor a real New York charity has to stand on.
Try this
Pick the charity from the last fundraiser you saw shared. Search for it in the registry: is it registered? Then find one number the charity itself publishes about its results — meals served, students tutored, anything countable — and write down what it claims.
Using Money Decisions with a class?
See the whole book, or order classroom sets direct for your school.