Have you noticed how satisfying it feels to make a generous charitable gift?

It could be $15; it could be $150,000. You've made your charitable decision: your heart is pounding and your head is full of selfless thoughts. You send in your check, or drop your cash in an envelope, pick up the phone and make that pledge or fill out that credit card information and you think it's all over but the thank-yous.

Wrong.

You, friend, may have just become part of your charity-of-choice's "watch-like-a-hawk" list. That "cause" you've just so angelically supported may start to treat you like you're Shakespeare's Juliet and it's time for the balcony scene. You may feel you've got to duck and hide every time the phone rings. Oh the mail you'll receive.oh the messages you'll find! You've got a new best friend and if you've chosen rashly you may find your name has been sold to 1000 other new best friends as well. And what happened to your generous gift?

"What kind of business is this?" you'll wonder and rightly so. If you're inclined to be a skeptic, particularly of the self-helpful kind, you may want to do a bit of investigating before you give or pledge again.

The business of fundraising and fund development has come under the microscope in the past decade. In the past, charitable dollars have been hidden, misused, redirected and stolen. There's been a call for a new accountability in fundraising and philanthropy and all good nonprofit administrators and board members welcome it.

As a consequence of this new "open" environment, there are a number of resources to which you, as a prospective donor, can turn for more information. By my last count, I had almost 50 of these bookmarked on the Internet. They range in content from Guidestar, a database full of detailed and important information on thousands of nonprofits ( www.guidestar.org ) to the National Association of Philanthropic Planners ( www.napp.net ) a group of independent financial advisors ready to match business interests with philanthropic interests and the National Association of Family Wealth Counselors ( www.nafwc.org ) who are interested in preparing heirs for the responsibilities of family wealth.

All foundations - private, independent, public -- are monitored by the government via tax codes and laws, but best business practices are a matter of individual organization. The Funeral Service Foundation (FSF) did its own review of how-we-do-business this spring to make certain our donors needs - and our needs as funders -- were being well-served.  

Though the philanthropic urge is often tied to the "heart," making a decision about where to allocate your charitable dollars should be taken as seriously as investment planning. If it is a significant personal gift, you might ask yourself what kind of impact you want this gift to have? What principles do you wish to express through your gift? How might your gift serve or impact your heirs? What personal goals can you further by "investing" in this charity or foundation? What rewards will you gain? How could you involve your children or grandchildren in your actions?

The concepts of integrity and professionalism are just as important in the not-for-profit sector as they are in the for-profit, perhaps more so.

Interested in my 50 favorite self-help philanthropic Web sites? Email me at kbuenger@funeralservicefoundation.org and I'll send you my list.

--Kathy Buenger