Afraid to give because you don't want to be taken? Or do you want to make sure your contributions will make a difference? The following sites rate various charitable organizations. Two cautions:

• Since each site uses unique rating criteria, a charity's ratings may vary from site to site.
  

• You will not find all reputable charities listed on these sites. There are hundreds of thousands of tax exempt non-profit organizations in the U.S. alone. Reputable, effective charities -- especially if they are small or regional in nature -- may not appear on these sites. If you can't find a charity evaluated here, try to dig deeper. Ask for a copy of its most recent Form 990 filed with the IRS and decide for yourself if it is worthy of your support.

Charity Navigator
Your guide to intelligent giving
http://www.charitynavigator.org/

Give.org
BBB Wise Giving Alliance
http://www.give.org/

GuideStar.org
Connecting people with nonprofit information
http://www.guidestar.org/