Whether you're last-minute gift picking, or disoriented by malaria-induced dementia, in the event you do surrender money to charity, the last thing you want is for it to be wasted on organizational expenses. Know where your dollars go with Charity Navigator.

Using info yanked from tax filings, Charity Navigator ranks more than 5000 do-gooder groups by the sexiest of criteria: fiscal responsibility. Ratings take into account collecting-to-spending ratios, the organization's financial stability, and its propensity for outfitting the executive washroom with golden crappers. CN then gives each charity stars, from fours for those who channel the bulk of your money to the people (or trees, plankton, oil spills, etc), down to one-stars who think breast cancer research means dribbling champagne onto strippers.

All of the featured organizations' profiles accept credit card and online checks via partner site Network for Good, making donations a sub-five-minute process that's easier than beating up orphans. So at the very least, check out Charity Navigator to help fund malaria research -- because only you can prevent recklessly delirious philanthropy.