^We also do the gift giving tree for foster children also. I love that. And we also help with the food pantry.
^^The Wounded Warriors out of Jacksonville, FL has a dog training program. I don’t know it if it is one big organization with just one pot of money, but when I lived there there were a lot of fundraising done just for the dog program. I know WW also has programs that support family camps, vocational training, and other services so I think the fundraising may be separate. Many of the high school kids did their community service fundraising for the dog group and they could then visit ‘their’ dogs.
St. Mary’s food bank, meals on wheels, the animal shelter I volunteer at as well as NPR and the dems.
This year for my birthday I asked my friends to tell me what charity I could donate to in honor of them ( I don’t like asking people to make donations for me)
Here’s who I ended up giving $100 each
- Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation
- Greater Chicago Food Depository
- Chicago’s Night Ministry ( homeless assistance)
- ACLU Foundation
5)Planned Parenthood Foundation
6)Mogen David Adom
7)Alzheimer’s Foundation - Lurie Children’s Hospital
- Children’s Hospial of LA
- The Chicago Public Library Foundation
It’s interesting reading about all of the amazing charities out there- it makes it hard to choose. We donate throughout the year to our local Humane Society, and also to LA Children’s Hosp.- our DS2 received many services there over the years. We also donate to Nature Conservancy. I work with homebound seniors in our area and see so much need among this group so regularly donate funds to this group.
The Wounded Warrior Project had some bad press last year about not getting funds to veterans. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/charity-watchdogs-question-wounded-warriors-spending-on-vets/
You may be talking about a different charity, there are several with similar names.
Give to what speaks to you. As mentioned above, $100 to one organization gives more charity bang-for-your-buck than $10 to ten organizations.
We mostly give locally. Sometimes good charities are not well run in local offices. I work both ends of nonprofits (giving and asking) and hear about disfunction in local organizations that look good on paper but misspend funds. I’ve typed then erased my top two that had local issues (both were mentioned upthread). One was easily found on a google search of local charity issues. With the other, both DH and I tried to donate/work with the organization and had no communication back.
I favor the Ronald McDonald House. When my niece was going through leukemia treatments, my sister talked about how lucky her family was to live within an easy commute of a world class children’s hospital, and said she really felt for families getting treatment at that hospital who were from far away and depended on the RMH for lodging, food and so many other things.
Also my sister and her family just came back from their Make AWish trip and stayed at Give Kids the World. She raved about the fantastic job that organization does, and I will probably support them in the future.
@CardinalFang, I love you for your comment about community colleges. Thank you for getting it!
As for charities, I don’t think anyone has mentioned Donors Choose which allows the donors to fund classroom projects for grades K-12. You can read the proposals and pick the one that speaks to you most. Stephen Colbert auctioned his set from The Colbert Show and donated all proceeds to this charity and he continues to promote them on TLS.
With winter setting in, it’s on my list to send a donation to a local charity that provides stable, transitional housing for women (single or with children) who are homeless.
I’m on the board of a local non-profit that provides integrative support services for people undergoing cancer treatment. This is an organization that operates on a shoe string budget so any donation is welcome and makes a difference. The bulk of our charitable giving goes here. We also contribute to various political campaigns and organizations like the DSCC. H was treated well by his graduate institution (support over and above stipend and research assistantship and tuition waiver) so he gives to it on a regular basis. We make a yearly contribution to the UU Church we attend and the local food pantry. Our church gives half of the Sunday plate to a local charity–different charity each month.
I give to Planned Parenthood, the local public television station, the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation.
I also donate to the Patient Assistance Fund at the regional Comprehensive Cancer Center. The PAF provides funds to low income cancer patients to pay for their travel and lodging costs while they undergo cancer treatment at the center. Having cancer is tough enough, you don’t need to worry if you can afford a tank of gas so you can travel to your doctor’s appointment 4 hours away or wonder if you’ll have to sleep in your car after a long day of chemo.
I echo those who already mentioned the local Education Foundation. If you’re in a school district with an effective foundation, they are an excellent way to donate to a local cause and help education!! PM me if you want more info as I am very involved in this world.
My charity focus is environmental, decided at an early age. To that end I donate to Planned Parenthood, and some smaller regional environmental advocacy groups, as well as groups working with refugees, such as Doctors without Borders, and the International Rescue Committee.
Thinking in this environmental vein, Sierra Club has a sub group that works with inner city kids to get them out and experiencing nature, and develop skills for dealing with natural environments, Inner City Outings. Checking, ICO, accepts separate, tax deductible contributions. It is hard to develop voters who are pro environment if they have never hiked a trail or been on the water or in the woods.
surfcity, my district has a very effective educational foundation.
We are making a larger than usual donation to charity this week. We haven’t quite decided where to donate, though. (We’ve decided where our main donation will go; just have to decide on the other smaller ones.) I prefer donations to be used locally. (Why would I donate to an organization to help homeless youth in NYC?) There are homeless everywhere, if that was my particular interest.
The Civil War Trust does great job protecting Civil War Battlefields from development so they get sizeable donations from us. We also give to various environmental and arts groups.
Project Lifesaver provides GPS bracelets for Alzheimer’s patients and others who may wander off. In many cases, you could also donate directly to your local law enforcement office’s fund for this purpose. PL keeps a small administrative fee before disbursing to the local LEOs, so we give directly to our sheriff’s office.
Mike Rowe’s foundation to support technical/vocational training in skilled trades is another charity I like.
40% of homeless youth identify as LGBT, I donate to Lucile’s Place an organization that attempts to help these folks, they can provide emergency housing, help with cell phones, bus passes in order for them to find employment.
As the mother of a gay child I was shocked at how many parents turn their back on their gay children. I do all I can to help them become productive members of society.
I also donate to the food bank and habitat for humanity.
We give to The Cure Starts Now, which supports children battling, or those who have battled, DIPG and all forms of cancer. DIPG is horrible, with the median survival time nine months from diagnosis. Many are diagnosed as very young children. My sweet friend was diagnosed just before her seventh birthday and lived only eleven months. Her last months were very difficult for her. She would be a junior in high school now, singing and dancing, and thinking about going to college. I still miss her every day. https://thecurestartsnow.org/donate 100% of donations, after credit card processing fees, goes directly towards research.
We give to our kids’ colleges. We are grateful for the educations they received.
We give to an animal rescue group. We love our grandpuppy and hope other rescues find wonderful homes.
This year, I added a direct donation to a city high school and requested the funds go to the counselor for student needs.
Charitynavigator.org is a site that rates various organizations as to their effectiveness.
Tons of good info and articles on the site as to guidelines for picking an organization and how to protect yourself from scams.
One of my favorites is Samaritan’s Purse. They do the “Christmas Shoebox” program every year.
I ran 50 charities that I have given to thru Charitynavigators. I was shocked at how few received. 4:4 rating. Others got a 3:4 rating. I’m dropping everything below that.
Many were not rated, which I don’t take as a good sign.
I give to many ones mentioned here and also to: Union of Concerned Scientists (they do excellent research) https://www.ucsusa.org/ and the Southern Poverty Law Center https://www.splcenter.org/
There’s also a good addiction service place that is local. They have residential treatment for both men and women. Needed now more than ever! https://www.bridgehouse.org/
Also a group that fundraises for our local, excellent, arts high school. https://noccainstitute.com/