<p>I expect that many of us receive a steady stream of solicitations for seemingly worthwhile charities nationwide and, indeed, worldwide. </p>
<p>How do you decide whether or not to support such organizations?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>When I choose to give, I select local, community charities.
International charities may be good, but I prefer to “shop local” and to “give local” first.
Even national charities may be good, but every time I hear of a big scandal(United Way comes to mind) it reinforces my sentiment.
Yes, local ones can be extravagant, and maybe even scandalous(once again United Way comes to mind), but I prefer the close to home donation.
Generally speaking, I ignore unsolicited requests.</p>
<p>I have a found a few organizations that fill a deep need. Potable water for instance. Something life on this planet cannot be without. ( mini has info)</p>
<p>I also give $ to a local environmental organization as well as my time.</p>
<p>It is easier to feel I am making a difference when I don’t spread myself too thin.</p>
<p>There are websites where you can determine how much of your contribution actually goes to the cause you think you are contributing for, like Charity Navigator. Some of the small local ones have to hire firms to solicit for them and only 10-20% of your contribution goes to the charity while the rest goes to the firm. I try to avoid those. </p>
<p>Since we only have so much to give, I try not to spread it too thin. I have picked a number of causes over the years and tend to focus on those.</p>
<p>I strongly support giving locally – and there are some great places you can give where you can see immediately you contribution at work. Give to your local library – you can designate books, or the summer reading program, or computers or even just keeping the lights on (they will LOVE you for this one). Give to your local school – tell them you want to fund a field trip or cover the cost of supplies for a art project or just cover the kid who can’t go on the class trip. Give to your local fire department – gear and equipment for fire fighters, particularly volunteer ones is one of the best gifts you can give. Too often we get caught up in the stories of need across the world and forget that there are very real and very small needs right in our own backyards.</p>
<p>I second the recommendation for Charity Navigator:</p>
<p>[Charity</a> Navigator - America’s Largest Charity Evaluator | Home](<a href=“http://www.charitynavigator.org/]Charity”>http://www.charitynavigator.org/)</p>
<p>Make sure most of your money is going to the intended recipient.</p>
<p>Everything local. Library, schools, food bank, shelter. There is too much need right in my backyard for me to worry about other countries. YMMV</p>
<p>IMHO that you’ll feel better about your gift if you have a personal attachment to the mission of the charity. I don’t think people should go hungry (or that food should be wasted) so America’s Second Harvest is on my charitable giving list every year. Just an example of course.</p>
<p>Rather than giving away each year, my philosophy in life is to hold off and create a endowement or trust later in life (when in retirement). By donating a sum of money into an endowment later on, I’ll leave a permenant source of income for a non-proft, which will be better in my opinion than giving a little each year. But others do it differently and that’s great to.</p>
<p>As far as which organizations to donate to, I don’t donate to organizations that enable bad behavior. I don’t donate to organizations that receive an abundance of donations (red cross) as that encourages waste. I prefer to donate to American causes rather than foreign causes. No donations to organizations that encourage laziness.</p>
<p>And most of all, helping people or organizations that have helped me or my family in the past makes a lot of sense to me.</p>
<p>I just sat and we online requested that my parents names be removed from 76 mailing lists, plus submitted another 50 via paper requests. I suggested they NOT give to any one who sends them anything-address labels, stamps, dollar bills, note pads, etc., and to seriously evaluate the amount of money being spent on some of the mail being sent to them!</p>
<p>One religious organisation of their choice & one other, probably veteran’s, for them really ought to be sufficient. The next step is to tell all the callers to stop calling and asking for money. It is amazing, once you get on the list and then your name is sold, then the askers just come out of the wood work, calling & mailing for donations.</p>
<p>Years ago I was a volunteer for Planned Parenthood, and a gentleman who had fundraised for them came and spoke to a group of volunteers. He addressed this overwhelming need, with the advice that you choose the cause dearest to your heart, and support that to the best of your ability, which then gives you the authority to say no to the rest of the appeals that come your way. I have used that guideline since, with the exception of numerous $20 donations to things that have immediate heartstring tug. Such as a small shoestring charity for Cambodian girls. I met the founders at a local in house benefit. The neighborhood Thanksgiving drive. The fund for our local schools. The indigent clinic my employer helps sponsor. And those heartwarming calls from students at my kids LACs, telling me about their experience at the school, though my donation is minuscule. </p>
<p>In the past I have donated to United Way, as so many local agencies depend on the United Way money. This year I’m just giving to one of the organizations directly. </p>
<p>But, my big push effort is the environment, which I read someplace gets the lowest percentage of donor dollars. I also see many reasons for not keeping it local, as we live in a very prosperous part of the country and world, and my $20 goes much farther in Cambodia than my local community. Though yes, you really need to know your charity. </p>
<p>My disabled friend did a medicaid spend down recently. I have paid her checks for years, and she carefully donated to many causes. I’m so glad she gave while she could, as it is no longer possible. Which is why I’d encourage anyone to donate now, in our prime working years rather than waiting till the future, unless that trust has already been set up.</p>
<p>I echo the “give local” sentiment. I just wrote out a $25 check for a cause where the money goes directly to my child’s school.</p>
<p>I have had to ignore other requests for donations (college tuition bills!)</p>
<p>Once, when there was a particularly worthwhile cause but I had no extra cash, I told one of the organizers: at this point in my life, I am more able to donate time, energy, and ideas. They seemed to appreciate a sincere desire to help. Not everyone can write a check.</p>
<p>I give to organizations that have added value to the lives of our family–universities, ECs within a university that meant a lot to my kids, high school music groups that my kids spent a lot of time with. I usually donate to my church to provide Christmas gifts for the needy.</p>
<p>I also drop money into every Salvation Army bucket that I pass…and buy stuff from the neighborhood kids as they have all sorts of fundraisers during the season.</p>
<p>Charity is a actually the one area in life where I do not privilege “local”. Because need, to me, is paramount. All areas have need, but some places on earth have poverty and illness so extreme, so far beyond what we can imagine here (thankfully) that I can not turn away and leave them to their own “local” resources, which can’t possibly respond to the level of need existing.</p>
<p>So I give to reputable global organizations that i know do good work, like Doctors Without Borders, and and Church World SErvice, which does amazing work in dire areas, and I know the director so have faith in their integrity.</p>
<p>I also give to Second Harvest because hunger is such a basic need anywhere, and environmental groups, as those issues are all connected.</p>
<p>I like giving to areas which add value to my family, but I don’t think of that as charity. They’re great things to support, though!</p>
<p>As a family we served with a Christian orphanage organization for four years in Honduras. I have seen the gamut when it comes to responsibility, or lack thereof. I give both locally and internationally - predominantly to people I know, and understand what they’re doing. As we all know, there is so very much need both at home and abroad. I struggle with giving too much here at home because at the end of the day - the suffering/need locally is the “minor leagues” compared to what I’ve seen in other countries. I’ve had the opportunity to be in Peru (pretty good), Ecuador (just slightly less than Peru), Costa Rica (pretty good), Guatemala (poor), Honduras (very poor), El Salvador (very poor). In the poorer of these countries, there are very few “safety nets”. The poor, and I mean POOR live at the mercy of those who pass them by.</p>
<p>I avoid groups with large overheads when I can find groups that are doing the same work at a fraction of the cost. And since I work internationally, I don’t find that hard. This eliminates for me lots of good organizations, including Church World Service, World Vision, Doctors without Borders, Heifer International, etc. Never give through United Way. Well more than 50% of my giving is international. </p>
<p>Water (as folks here won’t be surprised) is at the top of my list - more people in the world died in the past decade of water-related illnesses than in all wars AND natural disasters combined. Far more people in Haiti died and are dying from waterborne illnesses (cholera and typhoid and dysentery) than from the earthquake. And I know how to stop it. The reason I put water at the top of my list is that, without clean drinking water, death and sickness are so common that folks can’t think straight, can’t make use of microloans effectively, can’t make use of schools, and end up in tremendously resource-consuming hospitals and clinics.</p>
<p>Never give through United Way</p>
<p>We don’t either.
I also don’t put money in Salvation Army kettles- I would rather buy the guy on the street a beer.
[U.S</a>. News - Gay groups boycott Salvation Army red kettle drive](<a href=“http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/01/9143097-gay-groups-boycott-salvation-army-red-kettle-drive]U.S”>http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/01/9143097-gay-groups-boycott-salvation-army-red-kettle-drive)</p>
<p>Donations ( of time & money) are one way that I feel I can express my social/political beliefs even more so than through voting.</p>
<p>The Salvation Army was there after my folks were slammed by a Hurricane Hugo, and they stayed there for weeks and weeks delivering water, ice, hot coffee, meals, cleaning supplies and first aid kits to the families whose homes had been ruined in an area that was without power and water. So, even though I’m not in accord with their stance on gay rights, I still contribute to them every year. They were there long after the TV cameras left.</p>
<p>Internationally I like Heifer, and Doctors without Borders, as well as a locally-based international charity where I know the founders and know that they give a huge amount rather than taking anything from the charity. </p>
<p>Our library foundation gets an annual donation in thanks for their wonderful programs that are made available free-of-charge to everyone in the community – in the tough economic times, the kids summer reading program, concerts, resume-preparation classes and adult literacy programs are a real gift to those who could otherwise not afford them.</p>
<p>One of the things I found most striking when we had au pairs from England was the notion that middle class families do not make significant charitable contributions. I think that one of our strengths as a country is that people here are incredibly generous, no matter what causes they choose to support.</p>
<p>I do a lot of my local giving (i.e. food pantry and such) through the outreach at my church.</p>
<p>I give to S’s school, the ALS Association and a few other groups that are very meaningful to me.</p>
<p>I think that one of our strengths as a country is that people here are incredibly generous, no matter what causes they choose to support.</p>
<p>I agree- unfortunately some groups take advantage of that- so it does pay to check them out</p>