Use these tips to make sure you are donating your money to a well-respected charity that will help the people you’re looking to help.

Whether you’re seeing pink ribbons around your community or you notice your favorite National Football League players wearing pink socks and gloves on Sundays, you’re likely well aware of the fact that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month across the country.

Iowa State Bank & Trust Company believes in supporting causes that help raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research, but we want to make sure you know that there are steps you can take to make sure the money you’re donating is going to help the people who need it most.

Research The Charity

Before writing your check, take some time to go online and research the charity that is seeking your donation. That fact is, billions of dollars are donated toward charitable causes each year in the United States, and people will look to take advantage of your generosity. There are scam artists out there who will set up fake charities and collect money that will never go toward research or aiding individuals with breast cancer.

View the Charities Expenses

Once you’ve verified that the charity is authentic, ask for a breakdown of how the charity uses its donations. The Better Business Bureau recommends charities spend about 65 percent of its donated funds on program expenses, which allows for up to 35 percent of money brought in through fundraising to be put toward research. You can use tools like Charity Navigator to research expenses. Unfortunately, there are many charities across the country that will see their program expenses go well above the 65 percent threshold, which means they are putting more money into running the charity than helping people. Remember, the less the charity spends on itself, the more it’s spending on the cause you donated to in the first place.

Iowa State Bank & Trust Company believes in donating to causes that support breast cancer research and helping people fight the disease. To make sure you have enough money to donate to a well-researched charity, consider opening a savings account at Iowa State Bank & Trust.