I'm not sure I have to give away everything to enter those pearly gates -- Jesus often spoke in hyperbole -- but I like to give to charity on occasion. I have plenty of occasion in my travels around town.

It seems like every store has someone outside soliciting money for this cause or that soup kitchen. I just wish I had some way of knowing if all of these groups were legitimate.

I had heard that everybody who asks for money in Raleigh has to have a solicitation permit, so I did a little research. It turns out the permits are not the quick and easy litmus test I had hoped for, but I did find out some helpful information.

According to Raleigh Police Department Attorney Dawn Bryant, anyone who solicits money in a public place in Raleigh has to have a solicitation permit. They are available from the Raleigh Police Department and there's no fee.

But police do not do background checks before issuing permits, Bryant said. Do folks who get them tend to be more above board? "You can't make that assumption," she said.

The main value of permits, she said, is that while getting them individuals or groups learn the city's regulations on soliciting. For instance:

•You cannot solicit within 100 feet of an ATM

•You cannot solicit along roads and in medians and cannot approach vehicles.

•You cannot solicit at night, 9 p.m. to 8 a.m.

•You cannot solicit in an "aggressive" manner.

Bryant said the law generally does not apply to private property, but she wasn't sure exactly how private the property would have to be -- is a Wal-Mart parking lot public enough? -- and said that might be a gray area of the law. And she believes groups that offer something in return for donations, like candy bars or popcorn, are still considered to be soliciting. But she said that had never been tested by a legal challenge, as far as she knows.

I know all of this is inconclusive. But I know how I'll handle it from now on when someone approaches me: I'll give points for having a permit, points for obeying the rules and points for looking honest. Then I'll add it all up and make a decision.

Will all of this help me sort out the legitimate groups from the illegitimate? Lord knows.