As of this week, 40 billionaires have pledged to donate the majority of their wealth to charity. Consumers inspired by the gesture can give just as effectively -- in smaller amounts.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet announced Wednesday that their Giving Pledge," a recession-inspired commitment to sign over at least half of their assets to nonprofits over their lifetime or after their death, now numbers 40 signers, including themselves. Among the philanthropists: Oracle founder Larry Ellison, director George Lucas, designer Diane Von Furstenberg and hotel mogul Barron Hilton.

The hope is that this action will inspire others to give generously as well, says Bennett Weiner, the chief operating officer for the Better Business Bureaus Wise Giving Alliance, which reviews charitable groups. Historically, charitable giving drops about 1% in times of recession, according Giving USA, an industry group. But donations have decreased at a record-breaking pace for the past two years. During 2009, they fell 3.6%, to $303.8 billion. In 2008, they dropped 2%.

With fewer charitable dollars in play, consumers should be strategic about giving -- especially if they can t afford to give much. You don t have to be a billionaire to give thoughtfully, Weiner says.

Smart donating does take a little work. Use these six steps to maximize your donations:

Check charity finances

Maximizing your donation means picking a charity that will make the most of what you give. Use charity evaluation sites Charity Navigator and GuideStar to see how nonprofits are spending your money. Ideally, at least 75% of a donation should go toward programs, says Sandra Miniutti, a spokeswoman for nonprofit evaluator Charity Navigator. (Be sure to compare programs of a similar nature for a good benchmark.)

Also look for hard numbers regarding the amount of aid distributed or impact via the number of holiday meals handed out or schoolchildren tutored. Consider, are they really fulfilling their mission? she says.

Concentrate your giving

If you can't afford to give much, focus on just one or two charities that are important to you so that your cash has a bigger impact, says Barbara Luria Leopold, a spokeswoman for the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at the City University at New York. Or fund an entire (small) project at sites like SeeYourImpact.org or GlobalGiving.org. Giving $25 to the Jane Goodall Institute s Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center (via GlobalGiving.org) provides 25 pounds of food for orphaned chimps.

Donate more than cash

Giving your time or physical goods such as canned food and gently used clothing can have just as much impact as opening your wallet, Weiner says. Many nonprofits are also seeking volunteers. Check for in-person and virtual opportunities at VolunteerMatch.org and OnlineVolunteering.org.

Skip the middlemen

The most effective way to donate is to write a check directly to the charity, Miniutti says. Pay with a credit card and the charity loses a 2% to 3% processing fee to the card issuer. Fundraising site NetworkforGood.org takes a 4.75% cut of donations paid via PayPal or credit card. (A spokeswoman for the site says the charge covers the credit card processing fee and the site s processing fee to combine and send donations. Site users have the option to cover the fee themselves instead of having it taken out of the donation.) Pledging via a for-profit telemarketing firm takes out as much as half of your donation. It s a really ineffective way to give, she says. Charities get just pennies on the dollar.

Give as you shop

Every dollar in online spending can generate a charitable contribution. Use free portal iGive.com to link to and buy from your favorite retailers, and a percentage of each purchase goes to charity -- without adding to your tab at checkout. For example, spending $50 at FamousFootwear.com generates $2.60 for the nonprofit of your choice.

Watch out for scams

Once you ve decided to give to say, the Red Cross, link to the site directly from that of a charity evaluator to make sure you have the right site, Weiner says. Charities often have names that are confusingly similar, which is sometimes inadvertent but more often a ploy to confuse donors, he says. Look-alike phishing sites set up to steal your financial information are a common post-disaster scam.

This story was updated Aug. 5, 2010. It was originally published Dec. 2, 2009.