Jobs with Justice (JwJ) is a charity that strives to improve workers’ standards of living, fight for their job security and protect their right to organize. In 2006, JwJ raised $2.1 million for its cause.

I wonder how many donors knew only 12.5 percent of that money went to programs and services that help workers. Three and a half times as much went to pay JwJ’s employees and administrative expenses. But even more, nearly half the donated money, sat in the bank unspent. JwJ did nothing illegal, and all this information is public record, available on the Internet. Why would anyone donate to such an irresponsible organization? I suspect few of the donors looked into where their money was going. They might not have known they could.

Many people seem to believe that any organization calling itself a charity can do no wrong. Quite the contrary: While 501(c)3 nonprofits must disclose how their money is spent, they possess essentially free rein in how they spend it. Typing your credit card number into a prestigious charity’s Web site is not entirely different from donating to a homeless man on Sherman Avenue: In both cases, your money could go to anything. (The charity does have the disclosure requirement, but then again the homeless man doesn’t have employees or overhead to pay.)

While JwJ was declared the charity “most drowning in administrative costs” in 2006, dozens of others accepting millions of dollars from well-intentioned donors were similarly wasteful. Some, like the National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation, do not have huge administrative expenses but instead spend tremendous sums on fundraising. In 2006, NSTSTF had $1.1 million in primary revenue, spent $3.7 million fundraising and only put $194,000 toward saving turtles.

Yes, the organization actually spent $3.36 fundraising for every $1 it got back. It ended the fiscal year with a $10.2 million deficit. None of this is unlawful, and for some reason the donors continue giving. (You can visit the charity online at savetheseaturtle.org.)

All this data comes from an easy-to-use Web site called Charity Navigator, at charitynavigator.org, which provides detailed financial information on more than 5,300 nonprofits and calls itself the largest charity evaluator in the country. Two other sites, charitywatch.org and give.org, provide a similar service, but I find Charity Navigator the most useful.

Easy to find in a few mouse clicks, the best nonprofits allot at least 90 percent of expenses to carrying out their main programs and services. (Northwestern, for instance, spends 92 percent on this.) Imagine how much more effective philanthropists could be if they donated to the best organizations instead of to irresponsible ones like JwJ and NSTSTF. Without proper research, you never know if your money will be wasted.

In my video at dailynorthwestern.com, I address the financial stewardship of Dance Marathon’s beneficiaries, Bear Necessities and the Evanston Community Foundation.

Medill senior David Spett can be reached [email protected].