We gave to a group associated with the American University of Beirut that is spearheading cleanup of the damage done by the horrible port explosion in August. The government had already fallen apart and their currency is so devalued that they can’t afford to give people much aid. And now there are more protests happening. 
I have a really bad feeling about Lebanon - I think it’s going to collapse soon, which could lead to destabilization of the entire region.
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@abasket - I agree about then childcare needs. I recently heard about a survey of local employers. There were many challenges listed, but childcare was the one item that appeared on every survey reply.
Our major donation is to church (and until retirement this summer donations to selected local programs via employer charitable campaign payroll deductions). This December we picked a few other charities we favor. The new one this year was a branch of Recovery Cafe (“a community of refuge and healing for those in recovery. We stand in the gap between crisis and stability.”) that operates at our church.
DAF INFO: In prep for retirement a few years ago, our financial adviser suggested we open a DAF (Donor Advised Fund) with proceeds from sale of an old, much-appreciated asset. That enabled us to get a tax break that year, even though the new standard deduction rules meant we would typically not itemize. So for a few years we’ll be doing most of our donations via DAF.
Our DAF is with Schwab, but similar can be set up with Fidelity etc
https://www.schwabcharitable.org/
NOTE: Once money is in a DAF, it can ONLY be used for approved 501c donations … you need to be comfortable with that restriction for yourselves (and heirs if you think the funds will outlive you and spouse).
Most charities we regularly donate to have some personal/family meaning.
–Our alma maters (typically we direct our donations to a specific department or area we care about rather than the general fund).
–Midnight Run (helps homeless in NYC – we have also all volunteered a great deal of time with this organization)
– Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation - family members have Crohn’s so we want to support research etc.
–Mount Sinal IBD Clinic - the hospital where family members with Crohn’s are treated
–St. Judes Children’s Hospital - my D’s sorority supports St. Judes and even though she graduated college years ago we continue to donate.
–Local police and fire departments.
–This year I donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids to support the theater industry.
–I also donate to any worthy charity that a friend/relative is involved with/doing a fundraiser for etc.
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The Fred Hollows Foundation!
"In developing countries, 4 out of 5 people who are blind don’t need to be. The reason people live with blindness is that they can’t access quality eye health care. We’ve restored sight to more than 2.5 million people – often with a simple, 20 minute operation.
We invest in training a range of people from community health workers to surgeons. Building local skills has always been, and will always be, at the heart of our work."
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My priority is helping with keeping people fed. (local)
St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital
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Your local animal shelter or sanctuary. These places fall off the radar at the best of times. They’re having a hard time this year!
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We make significant donations to the arts. This year, we increased our donations. Arts organizations of all kinds are really suffering this year. No gala. No Nutcrackers. No fundraising benefit programs. And no grant money coming in either. But lots of operating expenses like keeping theaters and concert venues heated or cooled, utilities, maintenance. We want these places to be there on the other side of this so their employees can all get back to work. This includes the behind the scenes folks.
So…If you have any arts organizations, please consider donating to these.
We also donate to our college alumni associations annually.
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We donate as Christmas gifts:
For my social justice couple : The Philadelphia Bail Fund, which provides bail assistance for low income persons w non violent arrests
For my voting rights son : The Brennan Center, working towards equity in voting access and education
For my artsy family : a local tiny museum that has been hit hard by no visitors
For my DH : donated 100 toothbrushes to our local food bank (it was on their list of needs)
DH donated for me: two classrooms from Donors Choose, a vetted funding site for teachers to request items; he gifted two NJ school teachers with art supplies for the kids at home who have none for virtual instruction
From our family to our parents: a substantial gift to a WW2 site being saved in their hometown, they met there as preteens
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We have a list of charities we routinely donate to and we upped our donations to the local food bank this year. I’m trying to convince people that we’d prefer that they make a donation somewhere rather than give us more stuff that we’ll need to downsize once we move.
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For international charity, we like Compassion (support a kid in Ethiopia) and World Vision. Also World Bike Relief - we recently donated money for a world bike in honor of an upcoming birthday
https://worldbicyclerelief.org/
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Thanks for starting this! I caught some good ideas.
We donated MUCH more than usual to food banks, mostly local.
We also donate on our regular schedule to our alma mater, and to the Bay Area Ridge Trail and our local land / youth organization. I had forgotten Donars Choose, that is a great reminder! And I am just looking at Iditarod Teacher on the Trail for this year. And a veterans’ farm in Oregon.
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I donate each year to Room to Read and this year discovered another charity I am supporting Dining for Women. Room to read supports literacy in poor nations and Dining for Women supports programs in poor nations that help women.
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Looking at paperwork today, I remembered that we donated to charities after my mother passed away (local Meals on Wheels, the low income medical clinic that she used, her Hospice organization). I am a huge fan of Meals on Wheels, which runs largely on volunteers but does need food funds too.
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My main charitable giving is to my church, which in turn supports lots of things. I have at times given to animal rescue groups, local food pantries and provision closets, Free Will Baptist Children’s Home, and some others at times. I have been considering donating to Samaritan’s Purse, they seem to be a great organization.
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If you are interested in Donors Choose type philanthropy, please see if your district has an education foundation you can donate to in addition to or instead of. That way there is no fee taken out and there is local control over your donations. Many ed foundations support teacher mini-grants in their district or you can make a directed donation to support something (STEM supplies, etc)
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We donate to our school district’s education foundation every year. Run by parent volunteers, 100% of money goes to district classrooms/teachers (though some come from directed donations at our Community Foundation).
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Long ago we used to donate to them - until I found out how much Franklin Graham makes from the organization. That caused me to start looking smaller and I found far more worthy (to me) organizations. We continued shoeboxes for a few years afterward - until I read a report from places in Africa about them. Now I won’t have anything to do with Samaritan’s Purse. We’ve switched the money donated to them to elsewhere.
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@HeartofDixie and @Creekland Holy cow I just read the 990 on Samaritan’s Purse. The amount of money the board and exec team is making is unbelievable!
One could argue that it is a multi-million dollar enterprise and needs a half-million $ IT contract for example. If that’s the case, then I think I’d choose to direct my relatively small donation to something more local, with more impact. A $100 donation to your local food pantry will be FAR MORE impactful than $1,000 to Samaritan’s Purse.
Sorry for the soapbox, but I work in nonprofit philanthropy and can’t help myself 
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There’s a reason we totally dropped them and I speak up when I see their name mentioned. Everyone can research and choose for themselves, but there are oodles more places where money is used more effectively IMO - including for Disaster Relief, Medical Assistance, and Christmas for children. I have no desire to contribute to the board and exec team for that one.
Samaritan’s Purse is a great organization which has a very low overhead. You can designate where you want your money to go (or just donate and they’ll fund the most needed causes).
Kiva is an organization that makes micro loans to people all over the world. The business plans are submitted to kiva who checks them out and then publishes their needs and takes care of the loan. You have the choice of picking a particular project to make a loan or just donating money. This truly is a loan–you can get your money back to redonate to another cause or project. It’s like funding the person who needs a mower to start a lawn company–a little can go a long way to set someone up in business. Or the sewing circle needs fabric to just get started. It’s fascinating to just read the stories.
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