Thinking about the best ways to give to charity? Here's where to start.

In 2021 , individuals donated more than $326 billion to philanthropic causes.

Americans have participated in an astonishing amount of charitable contributions in the last two years .

Charity Navigator is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free access to data, tools, and resources to help donors make informed decisions about philanthropic giving.

Charity Navigator offers in-depth analysis of nonprofits.

Ratings are based on four different "beacons": accountability and finance, leadership and adaptability, culture and community.

Impact ratings, specifically, are determined with systems designed by the nonprofit Impact Matters .

The organization has given out more than 1,500 nonprofit ratings, but the site boasts more than a million more.

Social justice movements have re-popularized multi-organization giving.

Giving Circles connect individual donors to a specific cause or group of nonprofits selected by the circle members.

Charity Navigator lets you do a similar method of donation through its Giving Basket, a digital cart that lets you add several donations in varying amounts to different organizations.