With more and more individuals in need of assistance from charitable organizations and a pronounced drop in donations for charities of all kinds, it is important to find a way to make the most of your charitable giving.

Smart Money Magazine compiled a list of 7 ways to stretch your charitable gifts which will increase the impact of your gift, even if you need to cut back on the amount.

The 7 ways of making the most of your charitable donation are:

• Giving to the neediest organization
• Give more than cash
  
• Use sites that offer matching donations
• Check financial records
  
• Seek reputable outfits
• Skip the middlemen
• Stay Focused

'Tis the season for giving! At least, the calendar says it is... but all the latest report indicate that charitable giving is on the decline now as the economic downturn forces us to tighten our purse strings more than in years past.

To try to combat that trend, Kraft Foods is teaming up with Feeding America, the largest hunger relief charity in the United States, to launch a new fleet of mobile pantries. Kraft is providing the charity with money to purchase 25 refrigerated trucks that will bring food to rural and urban areas where grocery stores and food pantries are difficult to reach. With three trips per week, the mobile pantries should be able to distribute the equivalent of 1.1 million meals per year.

This should set a spark under all of us as we prepare to shrink our holiday budget. We are still, after all, buying presents for our kids and pets. And while me may not feel we can afford to be as generous as usual when it comes to charities -- particularly food as prices keep going up -- we need to remember that there are people out there suffering from starvation. The donation of a couple cans of soup were easy to spare in past years, but it's not so now. Donations to food banks and soup kitchens is at a low point and demand is at a high, which is just a vicious circle as those who used to donate to the food kitchens are now turning to them for help instead, and charities across the country are struggling to keep up with demand.

In all, Kraft is putting $180 million into their efforts to combat hunger. If you have the means to help, think of your local food banks and soup kitchens this holiday season. These establishments can always use more volunteers to sort and serve food, and every donation helps, no matter how large or small.

It goes without saying that buying holiday gifts for everyone on your list can add up... really fast. And this season, you're probably feeling even more pinched. If you have credit card debt and are concerned about losing your job or even your home, you've probably already cut back. Why rack up more debt buying holiday gifts?

This year, a lot of people are in the same boat so it's time to get creative: How about giving the gift of your time or services to family and friends?

For example, give elderly relatives who live nearby a gift certficate for a homecooked meal or two, assistance with a time-consuming or otherwise overwhelming (at least to them) domestic chore like cleaning out the garage, offer to wash their car or give lessons in how to use a computer and the Internet. For friends and family with kids, offer your babysitting services; it could be a one-time only offer or a series of three childcare sessions spread throughout the year. If you both have kids, do an "even" swap and call it the gift of childcare.

There are plenty of excellent reasons to find a good charity to support. Charitable giving is beneficial for your country and your community. Some people even say that charity is good for you health. Being generous with a portion of our own financial blessings is also a great American tradition.

Most of us already have specific charities which we like to support. For my household, we have given various gifts to The Arbor Day Foundation, our local volunteer fire fighters, local churches, and a smattering of other deserving causes. Most of our charitable gifts stay fairly close to home, but there are also many worthwhile national and international charities.

But how to decide which charity to support? How do you know a particular charity is trustworthy? Or responsible? Or actually helping the population you want to help? The answer to these questions are as close as your computer.

Before widespread Internet use, charities relied heavily on direct mail campaigns for their fund raising. That meant paying for paper, printing, and postage, which can really add to a charity's operating costs. The Internet has been a blessing for charities by allowing them to turn to free email solicitations and online payment options, as well as making it easier for donors to find them.

Unfortunately, the Internet also opens the door for scams disguised as charities, and of course all the risks associated with paying by credit card online instead of the old fashioned way, with a check in the mail. It's great that you want to give to charity -- but it's important that you do it responsibly.

From the American Institute of Philanthropy, here are 5 tips for donating wisely online:

• Know your charity. You should never give money to a charity you know nothing about. Always be suspicious of online solicitations, and don't give until you've had a chance to review the charity's mission statement and annual report. Charities are legally required to tell donors how their money is spent. The AIP suggests that charities should spend no more than 40% of their income on administrative costs, meaning at least 60% of your donation should go directly to supporting the cause. Additionally, the charity's website should have clear information about where the operation is headquartered and how you can contact the organization, both online and offline.

It's always nice to learn about good news in a bad economy.

SunTrust Bank Private Wealth Management just released a survey that looked at 202 high net worth business owners, whose companies have at least $10 million in annual revenue, to look at their charitable giving.

And probably the best news is that 70 percent of the CEOs said that even if the economic downturn moderately hurts their business, they plan to keep their current level of non-profit and charitable giving this year.

(Moderately is the key word, of course, leading one to believe that if a business is hurt dramatically, it's going to be every man, woman and child for themselves.)

Some other findings that may be interesting to people:

• Everyone was asked why they give money or time, and the top reason given was because donations "helps make a positive change." Much farther down the list were entrepreneurs who said they give to receive tax credits, to bring positive attention to their business, to network, to establish a legacy or gain recognition.

(That said, I've got to respect the entrepreneurs who were honest enough to admit--even anonymously--that their top reason for giving money was to receive tax credits, create a legacy or some other materialistic reason. On the other hand, so what, as long as CEOs with deep pockets are giving to charity.)

As a financial writer, I'm always on the lookout for signs that Americans are making good decisions with their money. Sadly, I haven't found many recently, but here's one: soaring gas prices, economic worries, and plummeting property values aside, Americans gave a record (subscription required) $306.39 billion to charity in 2007, an increase of 3.9% over 2006. It was a much slower rate of growth than we've seen in recent years but, all things considered, you have to be pleased that there was any growth at all. The data comes from the Giving USA Foundation, a reputable organization that tracks these things. Charitable giving accounted for 2.2% of GDP.

The data for 2008 won't be available for another year, but it's hard to see how people will keep up the giving growth: the same factors that made people more tentative in 2007 have only gotten worse so far: gas prices, housing, and the economy.

Here's my advice on giving, which may or may not be popular: if you're struggling to make ends meet this year, don't be afraid to cut back on your philanthropy temporarily. If you can't take of yourself, you're no good to anyone else in the long run. Too many Americans don't have anything close to enough in savings for retirement, a burden that will be placed on future generations -- so maybe continuing to fund your own IRA is the most important giving you can do in an economy like this.

If you haven't gotten involved in a prediction market yet, this is going to blow your mind...

Essentially, prediction markets are based on the idea that large groups are better than individuals when it comes to determining unknown variables or predicting the possibility of an event. Whether the question is the weight of a pig, the release date on a piece of software, or the identity of the next President, prediction markets, in all likelihood, will be better at "guessing" the outcome than any single individual.

Although they have been around for decades, prediction markets have become really popular over the last few years, due in large part to James Surowiecki's 2004 book, The Wisdom of Crowds, which offered a very detailed historical analysis of both the strengths and weaknesses of these markets. When it came out, Suroweicki's book had a revolutionary effect, changing the way that people looked at everything from elections to how people in crowds react to each other. The repercussions of his research are still playing out.

The holiday season brings out the best in many people, especially those who give of their time and money to charities. Retailers have found a way to get a piece of the action: Offer to donate a portion of sales to a charity.

But shoppers should beware of the catalogs and signs trumpeting charitable contributions. The results of these programs vary, and there is little to no oversight of them. Many retailers don't specify how much money will be given, stating only that a portion of proceeds will be donated. Others are more specific in terms of dollars to be donated for each purchase, but in almost all cases, no one is checking up on companies to see if they really made the promised donations.

Charities are sometimes being caught off-guard by these gimmicks used by retailers - some don't even know that their charity is being used in promotional materials. Some directors of non-profit organizations wonder if such promotions could diminish the goodwill associated with their names, particularly if some of these charity drives later turn out to be scams.

I am a material girl, born of a childhood in which my family always struggled. As soon as I started making an income that was in excess of my absolute necessities, I started in on my role as the family Santa, buying multiple extravagant gifts for my parents and siblings each year at Christmas.

Lately, though, my family has taken to giving much more modest gifts for the holidays; all my siblings but one are welcoming new babies this year, along with the attendant expense, and everyone seems to be on an extremely tight budget. Even me, the Gilbert family moneybags: though I'm not eating Ramen for Christmas dinner, I'm working at simplification in my life. For today, that will mean homemade gifts for some, and nothing for others.

In the past I would have felt guilty for not having several hundred dollars of shopping under my belt, but I've managed to re-attach value in my life: giving something I've made means more, anyway, and for someone near and dear to me to have an expectation of me going broke to buy them a thing would be silly (and, in fact, might affect the dearness of said individual).

In my opinion, a spirit of generosity throughout the year can get you off the hook for the old spendthrift guilt come the holidays; setting expectations helps, too (I've been talking up the simplification and enlisting my family members in my quest for less, for example). Inviting family over for simple celebrations can be useful: my sister will be joining us for Christmas brunch, and my in-laws just left after enjoying hot cider and sugar cookies. How do you spend less and give less, without the guilt, this year?

Are you caught up in the holiday race to see who can spend the most money and reap the most toys? If you have mistakenly found yourself dedicated to the consumerist side of the holidays you might be missing the boat.

What has been lost in this yearly drive to create joy via the purchase of consumer goods? It could be the idea that we need to take time to focus on friends, family and the greater meaning of love. As discussed in an article by Jeffrey Strain at The Street.com, the holidays can be experienced with extra meaning and focus by using and creating traditions which are not based upon the amazing shrinking dollar.

This weekend's Wall Street Journal features (subscription required) an interesting discussion between Alan Murray and Laura Landro. the two debate the question "Is it possible to give luxury gifts on a budget and not look like a miser?"

The debate is certainly worth reading and I'm going to come down somewhere in the middle: It depends on who you're buying for. If you're buying for a complete label-whore, it's probably a lose-lose. Sure, sites like BlueFly.com have good deals on luxury goods, and even Overstock.com has a Prada toiletry bag for $129.99. 51% off.

But the problem with buying cut-price couture is that it's on sale for a reason, and an "OMG, that's so last season" Regina George-type diva probably won't be impressed. And, she'll know that you were shopping at a -- gasp -- discount store.

I know this seems harsh, but I actually do know people like this, and you won't be doing them any favors by buying them discounted Dior. If you're shopping for slightly less fashion-forward types who still appreciate quality and brand names, you can probably impress the hell out of them with something like this Francesco Biasia handbag -- 38% off on Overstock.

What if you're, to use Murray's language, shopping to "satisfy her Bordeaux tastes on your Budweiser budget"? You might do well to sidestep clothing all together and go with a gift that a person with those interests would also enjoy: a gift certificate to a salon and a subscription to a fashion magazine perhaps?

And if you have a friend who is trying to buy herself Bordeaux on her Budweiser budget, a copy of The Budget Fashionista might be in order.

This Christmas is looking pretty interesting. On the one hand, we have the recent discovery that many of our consumer goods are coated in lead, heavy metals, sarin, dioxin, and various other substances that will cause our flesh to melt off at the slightest touch. On the other hand, we have the equally surprising discovery that enormous amounts of debt that people can't afford to pay back can lead to trouble. In the middle, we are also being reminded, once again, that the Holidays are about something more than the mere accumulation of material goods and consumption of fattening foods.

So it looks like this Christmas will focus on a return to values.

If you're looking for something a little more values-oriented, you might check out the BOGO flashlight. BOGO, which stands for "buy one, give one," produces waterproof, durable, solar-powered flashlights that it is attempting to distribute to needy groups around the world. The brainchild of Mark Bent, a former diplomat and oilman, the BOGOlight can give seven hours of light on a single recharge, and will last up to three years.