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There are 86,000 registered Canadian charities. Read that again: Eighty. Six. Thousand. That’s as many charities as there are people in Pickering, Ont. Or Kamloops, B.C. And each one making its own pitch for our handouts. Usually the ones who get it are ones you’ve come to know and support. The rest might be ones that catch you in just the right mood, with just the right tug at your heartstrings, or at least present you with a persuasive brochure.

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Read more on how the Financial Post analyzed more than 86,000 lines of data from charity returns to come up with its list of the top 25 Canadian charities and red flags you should be aware of.

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But Canadians collectively give billions of dollars a year to charity — $10.6 billion in 2010, or an average of about $400 for every adult in the country. Spend that kind of money on a laptop or a stereo, and you’re certainly likely to do some research before you buy. But how much do you really know about those non-profit groups you’ll be writing cheques to this giving season? Are they really using your money effectively? Are they transparent about it? Are they running a lean operation, or are the executives living a little to cushily on the money you meant to give to the poor? An audit of expense claims earlier this year at Vancouver’s Portland Hotel Society — which provides support services for residents of Vancouver’s troubled Downtown Eastside — revealed the charity was putting staff up in luxury hotel rooms, paying for limousine rides and shelling out thousands for a manager’s off-the-clock trip to Disneyland. Canadian donors imagine their money going to help those who truly need it — not saving a pampered staffer from the horrors of having to ride in a lowly taxicab.