December isn’t just the month to buy holiday gifts for friends and family. It’s also prime time to support the causes that matter most to you, in part because it’s your last chance to get a 2012 tax deduction for charitable donations. “Historically, Chicago has been a very generous community,” says Edith Falk, who heads Campbell & Company, a local consulting firm for nonprofits.

If you’re thinking about contributing more this year than in 2011, you’re in good company. According to the trend trackers at the Chicago-based Giving USA Foundation, after the worst decline in five decades, donations by individual Americans and family foundations reached $298 billion in 2011, the second consecutive year of gains. And the forecast for 2012 looks promising. “Nationally, everybody is very optimistic,” says Geoffrey Brown, Giving USA’s executive director.

Sadly, the recent recession-fueled downturn dealt some local charities a deathblow. The Jane Addams Hull House, for example, ceased operation in January after more than a century. But there are still 25,000 or so nonprofits in the area clamoring for your dollars. The big question: Which of them will make the best use of your money?

That’s where this story comes in. Chicago quizzed professors, philanthropic consultants, and the brains behind the website Charity Navigator—a nonprofit that rates the viability of charities on a four-star scale—to come up with key guidelines for sizing up an organization (see “How to Vet a Charity”). “Donors should look at three things: financial health, commitment to accountability and transparency, and results,” says Sandra Miniutti, vice president and CFO of Charity Navigator.

Don’t have time to do the vetting? We did it for you, identifying 15 standout area nonprofits in seven categories that meet widely accepted guidelines for financial health and deliver on their stated missions in measurable ways.

If you can’t afford to add a new charity to your list this year, remember that you can offer another valuable asset: time. The nonprofit Chicago Cares (chicagocares.org) organizes groups of volunteers for more than 200 local opportunities every month, from reading with at-risk students to cooking breakfast for seniors. Check their calendar for an event near you.

The Gold Standard

Not only do these 15 local nonprofits pass the screens, but they’re recommended by experts in the charity world for making excellent use of donations.

METHODOLOGY: Chicago started with a list of 53 four-star local groups from charity navigator, then narrowed it down to 15 after applying the screens at left and interviewing staff. salaries come from the most recent 990 forms but, in some cases, were updated by the charities themselves; budget percents come from charity navigator. *Coyne is compensated through McDonald’s Corporate.