Whenever something major goes well in life, I do two things: I make a donation to charity and I make a donation to myself. And I usually try to find an appropriate charity.

When The Game hit the bestseller list, for example, I donated a portion of the proceeds to a battered woman’s shelter in Los Angeles and a portion to AIDS research.

However, one of my big concerns was that I didn’t want to donate money to a charity, and then have it used for executive salaries or to throw lavish benefits. I wanted the money to go specifically to the cause it was supposed to be supporting.

So, before deciding where to donate that money, I went to CharityNavigator.org. When it comes to taxes, it is unfortunate that we can’t determine how and on what our hard-earned money is spent. But when it comes to making donations—and I think everyone, once they’re earning enough money to take care of their own basic needs, should give something back—you can have that control.

You can not just choose where it goes, but you can look up the charity at Charity Navigator and see exactly what percentage of donated money goes to program expenses, administration, and fundraising. You can also see how much money the organization takes in, how efficient it is with that money, how transparent it is about how it uses that money, and a lot more you may need to know before making a decision.

It also often lets you know whether you will be added to mailing lists, whether those mailing lists will be sold to other organizations, and whether you can opt-out, so you know you won’t be harassed (ie, punished) for doing something good.

Some charities sound good on paper, but they don’t always do good in the real world. Charity Navigator, at least in my experience, is the best place to go to ensure that your contribution will be put to the best use.

Now, you may be wondering, what’s the donation I make to myself. You’ll find out the answer in a Loop post coming up soon.