BOOKS

Dollars & Sense, by Mervin E. Thompson (Prince of Peace Publishing, 1993)

Don't Give it Away, by Renata Rafferty (Chandler House Press, 1999)

Give to Live, by Douglas M. Lawson, Ph.D. (ALTI Publishing, 1991)

Inspired Philanthropy, by Tracy Gary, Melissa Kohner, and Nancy Adess (Chardon Press, 1998)

A Life Well Spent, Russ Crosson (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1994)

Master Your Money, Ron Blue (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993)

Preserving the Legacy of a Family Owned Business, by William A. Snyder and Tim Bachmeyer (Estate and Business Communications, 1998)

Robin Hood was Right: A Guide to Giving Your Money for Social Change, by Chuck Collins et al (W.W. Norton & Co., 2000)

Smart and Caring: A Donor’s Guide to Major Gifting, by Richard and Linda Livingston (R D L Publishing, 1999)

Wealthy & Wise, Claude Rosenberg, Jr. (Little Brown, 1994)

WEBSITES

With an unprecedented $10 trillion expected to be passed between generations in the next 20 years, the Inheritance Project ( www.inheritance-project.com ) explores the emotional and social impact of inherited wealth.

American Institute of Philanthropy ( www.charitywatch.org ) functions as a nonprofit charity watchdog and information service to maximize the effectiveness of every dollar given to charity. The site provides donors with an as-yet limited directory to nationwide charitable organizations, with some very basic information on giving carefully.

Better Business Bureau ( www.bbb.org ), that venerable institution that monitors complaints about business practices, also has a section devoted to philanthropy. A feature is an index of advisory service reports on about 175, mostly well-known national charities. BBB also offers a quarterly publication called Give But Give Wisely for $12.

GuideStar: The Donor’s Guide to the Charitable Universe ( www.guidestar.org ) is a searchable database of extensive financial information on more than 600,000 nonprofit organizations in the United States (including The Rhode Island Foundation). Find a specific charity by name, or by subject, state, zipcode, or other criteria.

BBB Wise Giving Alliance ( www.give.org ) The BBB Wise Giving Alliance was formed in 2001 with the merger of the National Charities Information Bureau and the Council of Better Business Bureaus Foundation and its Philanthropic Advisory Service. The BBB Wise Giving Alliance is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, affiliated with the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

Grantcraft ( www.grantcraft.org )
A project of Ford Foundation, GrantCraft is designed to promote discussion about strategic and tactical lessons in philanthropy. It offers a range of publications and videos, both those developed by Ford Foundation, as well as by other funders and grantees.

NewTithing Group ( www.newtithing.org ) 
This organization helps individuals estimate affordable giving according to wealth through “a comprehensive budgeting approach that factors not only your income and investment assets into your giving decisions, but also the annual fluctuation of those assets, as well as anticipated expenditures, and tax savings from charitable gifts.”