SEATTLE, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The nation's leading charity gift card provider, Seattle-based TisBest, http://www.tisbest.org, announced today that it is adding 21 new charities to which TisBest charity gift card recipients can direct their donations. TisBest, as in "Tis better to give than to receive," allows its customers to customize and purchase charity gift cards as gifts. A TisBest charity gift card recipient uses the gift card to support a charity of their choice.

"Every American can enjoy and participate in philanthropy," said TisBest founder and executive director Erik Marks. "TisBest is dedicated to expanding philanthropic giving by offering our customers a high quality, diverse set of charitable organizations to support. We selected these 21 charities from the hundreds of nominations because we believe that these finalists best fit our criteria of widespread endorsement, fiscal responsibility, ingenuity and success within their area of operations."

New charities are screened by TisBest staff around August of each year. They typically must be featured on http://www.charitynavigator.org or http://guidestar.org and have revenues over $3 million per year. The 21 new charity offerings add diversity to TisBest's current charities that received more than $350,000 in donations in 2007. New TisBest charities are nominated by TisBest customers or the charities themselves. People interested in nominating charities for TisBest can send an email to charitymanager@tisbest.org.

One example of a new TisBest listed charity is American Refugee Committee International (ARC), which helps refugees of conflict and war survive and rebuild their lives. "There is no one more indisputably deserving of charitable aid than refugees -- typically women and children -- fleeing war, violence, drought or other calamity," Marks explained. "We chose ARC because it has a solid track record of helping refugees, both with handouts and with guidance towards rebuilding a life of dignity."

Another new TisBest listed charity is Soldiers Angels, a charity founded in 2003 by Patti Patton-Bader, an "ordinary mother" of two American soldiers. "Soldiers Angels is run by volunteers dedicated to fulfilling its slogan, 'May no soldier go unloved,' caring for our troops abroad and at home. Some of its programs include homemade baked goods, blankets, handmade canes for wounded soldiers, calling cards and virtual baby showers," added Marks.

Cliff Sperber, Executive Director of new TisBest listed charity, New York Road Runners Foundation said, "We are excited and honored to join the growing list of first-rate charitable organizations that collaborate with TisBest, and we look forward to the benefits of having their forward-thinking option of fund-raising in support of our youth running for fitness programs."

        The full list of charitable organizations added to TisBest is:

    American Humane Association
    American Jewish World Service
    American Refugee Committee International
    American Rivers
    Ashoka
    Catholic Relief Services
    Direct Relief.org
    Ducks Unlimited
    Epilepsy Foundation
    FINCA International
    Friends of the Earth
    Greenpeace
    Heifer International
    Humane Society of the United States
    Hunger Project
    New York Road Runners Foundation
    Soldiers Angels
    United Jewish Communities
    USO
    Young Life
    GLAAD

In just a year since its 2007 launch, TisBest has grown to be the leading charity gift card provider. In the very near future TisBest will release a new website with features never before seen in charity gift cards, including 100% recycled plastic gift cards custom printed for each order with an image selected by the customer, or even uploaded from the customer's camera.

Visit http://www.tisbest.org for details.

About TisBest

Founded in 2007, TisBest's mission is to increase support for U.S. charities by reallocating gift dollars normally spent on "stuff" to charitable organizations, and by growing the pool of Americans that participate in charitable giving. TisBest, as in "Tis better to give than to receive," allows its customers to purchase and customize charity gift cards as gifts. A TisBest charity gift card recipient goes online and chooses to donate the money on their charity gift card to one of 250 different charities that have been hand-selected by TisBest as responsible and effective. TisBest's charity gift cards are tax deductible for the purchaser and available in any amount from $10 to $5,000.

SOURCE TisBest.org