Tis’ the season of charitable giving and if you’ve considered giving back in this time of need, think twice—not about giving but to who. ---By checking the state’s list of charitable organizations you can find out exactly how much of your donation actually goes to the program. 

By checking the Utah Division of Consumer Protection’s list of charitable organization’s you can find out which organizations devote the bulk of their donations to their cause or if more of that buck goes to other program expenses which might include salaries and compensation for board members.

That is to say whether the organization is more willing to cough up damn near all of it’s donations like Primary Children’s Medical Organization at 92 percent or whether it finds other uses for donated bucks--like the Salt Lake Police Association that devotes 13 percent or the Salt Lake Film Society that donates 1 percent to its program.

Give smarter, not harder this holiday season.