I like the International Rescue Committee (they do a lot of work with refugees) and the Salvation Army. Both get excellent marks on charity watch sites.
Feeding America foundation 4:4
Simon Wiesenthal centr 4:4
American Indian college 4:4
Doctors Without Borders 4:4
Feeding south Florida 4:4
Sierra club 4:4
American Jewish joint distribution committee 4:4
Jewish national fund 4:4
I was disappointed that so many others got 3:4 ratings, like st Jude’s, defenders of wildlife, national parks, Arbor Day fund, national wildlife federation, Americans for peace now, USO, ocean conservancy, food for the poor, & national wildlife foundation.
There are many others that only got 2:4 ratings, and many more not rated. I do want want my contributions to mean something. I am open to advice.
I stopped giving to the Salvation Army when I discovered, some years ago, that they espoused certain anti-gay positions. For example, they were against marriage equality. But in researching this matter just now, I see they have evolved. The situation is complicated, but for me, they are now worth supporting. I’m glad, because I have plenty of change lying around the house I can dump in their kettles.
@bookworm I also contribute to Simon Wiesenthal. I am not worried about St. Jude’s charity rating. They need a huge marketing effort to do the work that they do. It’s such an enormous and critical effort that I don’t mind that some money has gone to feed the drive for fundraising.
Thx, gear mom. It would be too hard for to stop,supporting some of the 3:4 charities. St Jude’s, and the USO, as examples. It was just hard seeing so many getting 2:4 ratings.
@bookworm Keep in mind that smaller, local charities are not going to be rated by charity navigator because they are too small or it’s a burden to complete the process. Other sites, like Guidestar, are out there too and some of them may require some sort of fee to be certified.
You can always read a groups 990 return and decide if you like what you see. You can see how much the top officers are paid and where they get and give money.
IMHO local groups give you more bang for your buck. If you give my agency $500 you are a huge star to me and I can tell you concretely what that money will do. I do not mean to dis a national charity because they do enormous good, but sometimes $500 is a drop in the bucket to them.
It all depends on your own personal Giving philosophy.
I agree, @surfcity. There a several local charities I give to that directly service my community or surrounding communities. I know the money is well spent because I know the people who run them. Some are run with 100% volunteer effort so overhead is minimal or non-existent. Yet, these charities are too small to be rated.
Yes, our charity us not rated because we are so small it costs too much to jump thru the hoops to be rated and audited. We run on volunteers, donated space and contributions. We are able to stretch our donated dollars due to our partners in the community and volunteers.
I agree that there are many local small worthy charities that have very little overhead.
The charity rating websites are best utilized in evaluating larger charities. As mentioned upthread, we mostly give locally to nonprofits we know are well run with causes we support. They are mostly not rated on the these websites, but 990s are public for review. @bookworm don’t interpret no rating as a negative, but check out 990s if you’re concerned about how the business is being run.
I usually give to our local Boy Scout Council. Although I have disagreed with some of BSA’s policies over the years, my sons and their friends all benefited from their involvement in the program. I give to a local charity and have also donated to Repair the World, a UJA project that provides volunteer assistance in food and education justice in several cities throughout the US. My D was involved in the program.
This thread inspired me to check out Shriner’s Children’s Hospitals, whose ads are all over the TV lately. It got a 4:4 on Charity Navigator and had high numbers. My company supports a different charity every year. We have done Wounded Warriors (while it was going on, I found out about CN and was upset by its lowish rating, so now the company vets the charities better), Make a wish and St. Jude’s. I am going to suggest Shriner’s for the next project. The major criterion is that the charity selected not be political in any way and that it not be local because we have offices in a number of locations. Helping children and veterans is a big theme for the company.
Over the years, I have donated to public TV and radio, Planned Parenthood, the Heifer Organization and local theater.
This is a great thread. So many excellent charities.
@Hanna - My sister was an attendee at the door in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I did not realize that it was still around.
I second the vote for International Rescue Committee. They just won a $100M grant from the MacArthur Foundation for their work, in conjunction with the Sesame Workshop, for the early childhood education of the children of Syrian refugees, so there is definitely the education tie-in.
We give by far our largest donation to a local free health clinic. They serve local people who have no health insurance, so no veterans, no medicaid recipients, few elderly (most have medicare or medicaid) but they have plenty of clients! I like to support local charities where I know the people that run them and have confidence that things are well run.
We do people, nature and animals. Specifically: Special Olympics, Nature Conservancy, Red Rover (animal rescue after disaster) and Hope for Paws (check out their YouTube channel).
^ I was buying my last gift at a sports gear store, maybe Finish Line? They asked if I’d like to add a donation to Special Olympics to my charge. I liked doing it that way.
Surfcity—Our local education foundation doesn’t actively solicit donations except for a scholarship
that goes to a graduating senior. The funds it raises for the local school distrct are from three yearly fundraising events (flea market, walk/run, and a dinner dance), plus a membership drive ($50 per family basic membership). The trust has been in existence for nearly 25 years. A fairly large contingent of volunteers keeps it afloat. I was active when my kid was in school and stepped away a year or so after she graduated. Friends who are still volunteers say that they are having a difficult time finding younger parents to step up and become involved. This is surprising given that most newcomers move to our town for the schools.
@Bromfield2 In my experience, every ed foundation is different. Some just do scholarships, some just do projects for lower income kids, some just do STEM etc. Many, like mine, fund a range of programs.
As to your comment about finding volunteers, we are finding it increasingly difficult to get them. We have a very small paid staff (1.5FTE) and we rely on a group of volunteers to plan an event or two. It used to be 10-20 (mostly) women who worked for a couple of months to put on the event. Now we have a smaller group and many of them are full-time working parents. I do not know if there are fewer at-home parents or if the at-home parents just are not into volunteering.
Even the PTA type groups are having issues. When my kids were in elementary school, there was a lottery to see which moms would get to help plan holiday parties. Now they often have to beg people to help. I do not understand this at all - if you can’t even come in for a one hour party once a year for your kid’s school, what are you doing with your time?
“what are you doing with your time?”
Making a living? It’s not about the hour; it’s about the hour in the middle of the day (possibly a long way from your workplace). If you’re an accountant or engineer, you can probably arrange this with no negative repercussions at work. If you’re the secretary or the phlebotomist, you probably can’t.
Here’s one group of parents who almost certainly can’t come to a party in the middle of the school day: teachers. Does your kid’s teacher get midday hours off to volunteer for their own kid?
I got an insiders view of Salvation Army this year and I will never be able to donate to them again. They lost me.
@techmom99 --how about the highly rated Amvets National Service Foundation? They aid returning vets which seems to fit your company.
@gouf78 -
Funny you should mention Amvets. My late FIL was one of the earliest members and was the head of it in our state for awhile during H’s childhood. However, I never thought about it for the company charity. Thanks for reminding me. I am pretty set on Shriners for this year, but I will put up Amvets for next year.