Opinion: How to Avoid Charity Scams

People digging into their pockets for holiday contributions to charity, particular those who give to organizations that share their own religious views, should take care to make sure they are not subsidizing “charlatans or extremists,” a New York Times columnist urges.

Noting that religious Americans give more of their incomes than others, the writer Nicholas D. Kristof said holiday donations “could accomplish far more if people thought through their philanthropy [and] did more research.”

He identifies as troubling examples Feed the Children, the Christian hunger charity mired for two years in legal and management struggles; the Hebron Fund, which supports a hard-line Israeli settlement in the West Bank; and charities in Gaza that are manipulated by or support Hamas.

Mr. Kristof cites several Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and secular charities with “strong track records” as alternatives for people who want to support good causes.