text: Format: Hardcover 
   
   After a decade at National Public Radio, Ken Stern learned a few things about the weird world of the American nonprofit sector. In his new book, With Charity for All: Why Charities Are Failing and a Better Way to Give, Stern bemoans the state of charitable activity today, arguing that most of the nonprofit sector is financially inept at best, and downright unsavory at worst. 
   
   
   
   Some charities obviously are fraudulent. Every now and then we read about them. When the salary of the CEO and money spent on phone banks dwarf the tiny percentage of revenues, if any, that go to the supposed beneficiaries of a charity, it's easy to call foul. But it's not always so easy to identify this type of non-charity. Getting charitable status from the IRS is a breeze, state oversight is weak to non-existent, and plenty of donors are swayed by words like "veteran," "children," "hope," "beneficial," "cancer," and other key words. Investigating the financials of charities can be time-consuming, frustrating, and near impossible. 
   
   
   
   Other charities, while more above-board about their financials and activities, probably should not be classified as charities. Two examples Stern explores are non-profit hospitals and college football bowl games. In terms of treating needy patients, non-profit hospitals as a whole are no more charitable, and in some cases less, than their for-profit competitors. Yet they enjoy a variety of tax benefits that give them a competitive advantage. With the bowl games, it's even harder to say that they are "charities" with the money they spend on golf outings, high salaries, travel, and entertainment. Similarly, Stern points the finger at opera companies, charities which exist primarily for the benefit of--their donors! ||||| Our Top Charities 
   
   We recommend few charities by design, because we see ourselves as a finder of great giving opportunities rather than a charity evaluator. In other words, we're not seeking to classify large numbers of charities as "good" or "bad"; our mission is solely to identify, and thoroughly investigate, the best. Read about our charity selection process and where we currently recommend that donors give.
target: – The fiscal cliff isn't the only looming financial deadline. Just a few days remain to give to charity in 2012, and Ken Stern would prefer you not make your decision "hastily, based on poor information." Writing for the Washington Post, the former NPR exec and author of this upcoming book dispels five myths clouding the topic: It's not all about the poor: There are 1.1 million charities in America ... including Oregon's Renegade Roller Derby team, the All Colorado Beer Festival, and countless hospitals. Stern explains it's "astonishingly easy" to form a charity, with the IRS OKing 99.5% of applications from would-be charities. Low overhead is a sign of greatness: A number of charity raters favor those who put upward of 85% of their income toward services, with those using just a sliver of cash on expenses often seen as the best. But investing in things like research and training can make for stronger charities. To wit, Stern reminds us that the Red Cross' Hurricane Katrina and Sandy issues stemmed in part from inadequate investment "in the infrastructure necessary to handle complex emergency relief." Picking a great charity to give to is easy: "In fact, it is enormously difficult," writes Stern who, as example, points out that more than 60,000 charities have the word "veteran" in their names. His solution isn't the easiest: Work at it. "On average, Americans spend more time watching television in one day than they do researching charities in an entire year." Put the time in, review studies published by GiveWell, and look beyond famous leaders or catchy stories. Click for two more myths, including the idea that nonprofits aren't profitable.