<p>Which nonprofit do you love? I am really into Habitat for Humanity International but I am willing to expand my horizons. Ideas?</p>
<p>Heifer International. We know the ED and the money seems to be so well spent. I love that they have talked some Maasai tribes into raising camels instead of cows because it works better as their climate has become hotter and more desert-like. They train people to raise the animals and everyone is expected to breed them and to pay it forward by gifting some of the offspring to others in need.</p>
<p>I contribute to Modest Needs, a program that helps people who are having a crisis in their life and need a hand. Sometimes they need help getting a car fixed so that they can get to work. I think it is for people who are close to falling into poverty. You can select who you want to help.</p>
<p>My other personal favorite is a local shelter for injured wildlife that aims at rehabilitating and releasing the animals back into the wild. I also like the Nature Conservancy as habitat loss is the main reason wildlife is in trouble.</p>
<p>We also like Heifer International as a global charity. On a more personal level, we support the American Lung Association. My D has had lung issues for the past 5 years, with an unknown cause. The ALA has nurses and resipiatory therapists manning a 24 hour phone line, which has eased my mind several times. So, we support them because it is personal to us.</p>
<p>Our local Community Foundation. Many cities or communities, large and small, have a Community Foundation that promotes local philanthropy. Donations stay right there in your community. In some cases donors direct how their gift gets spent; in other cases the Foundation awards grants to worthy organizations. Most community foundations support a wide range of local causes ranging from hunger and homelessness to arts or the environment.</p>
<p>We donate to many local and national charities, and support several arts organizations but the two global groups we support, and have done so for years, are Kiva and Partners in Health.</p>
<p>[Kiva</a> - Loans that change lives](<a href=“http://www.kiva.org/start]Kiva”>http://www.kiva.org/start)</p>
<p>[Partners</a> In Health](<a href=“http://www.pih.org/]Partners”>http://www.pih.org/)</p>
<p>American Jewish Word Service, Center for Justice and Accountability and Planned Parenthood. </p>
<p>I also give a bit during NPR and PBS pledge drives.</p>
<p>We support our kids’ schools (with donations, not just tuition), our local children’s hospital, some of the Christmas giving programs, TFA, and NPR. We used to support our local orchestra until it went poof.</p>
<p>I think the senior center where I work is a pretty awesome not-for-profit. 
And we are not at all religious, but we also support a program run by a local church that’s helping to rebuild in Rwanda (schools, farms, orphan homes, etc.). A small donation goes a long way with those folks - as donations tend to do with smaller charities.</p>
<p>Almost forgot! This is a great one: <a href=“http://www.sayyestoeducation.org/[/url]”>http://www.sayyestoeducation.org/</a></p>
<p>We support the schools our kids attend/attended, our church, our local children’s hospital, Salvation Army, Partners in Health, Red Cross, and The Cure Starts Now, because I hope and pray that there will be a cure for cancer.
[The</a> Cure Starts Now Foundation](<a href=“http://www.thecurestartsnow.org/]The”>http://www.thecurestartsnow.org/)</p>
<p>Planned parenthood and ASPCA. I give to local charities more than national ones.</p>
<p>We support a local org called Hammer Residences. Most communities probably have something like it. We personally are very fortunate to not have been touched by developmental disabilities in our family, but we feel genuinely drawn to help provide options for adults who are developmentally disabled, and who’s parents or other family have passed on and/or can’t provide care anymore. This is a huge challenge within our Country’s aging demographic.</p>
<p>Founded by Alvina Hammer in 1923. Today, Hammer still draws inspiration from our founder’s passion for service. We continue to be a successful leader in the industry with self-direction at the core of our mission: to provide adults and children with developmental disabilities the opportunity to experience life to its fullest.</p>
<p>[Hammer</a> | Respecting Abilities. Reaching for Opportunities. Realizing Dreams.](<a href=“http://www.hammer.org/]Hammer”>http://www.hammer.org/)</p>
<p>We also support Heifer International. Locally our charitable donations focus primarily on arts and culture (museum, historic preservation, orchestra, public radio).</p>
<p>Quite a few years ago when I was in corporate life and was being dunned regularly by the United Way, I had the revelation (or was it an epiphany?) to support local charities rather than mega-national organizations. So, I have volunteered at Habitat and think they are great, but my local favorites are the local soup kitchen [Angels</a> and Sparrows Soup Kitchen](<a href=“http://www.angelsandsparrows.org/]Angels”>http://www.angelsandsparrows.org/)</p>
<p>and the local meals on wheels [Home</a> | Friendship Trays | Charlotte Meals On Wheels | 704-333-9229](<a href=“http://www.friendshiptrays.org/]Home”>http://www.friendshiptrays.org/)</p>
<p>Back in Joyzee our favorite local charity was [Home</a> | Our House](<a href=“You are being redirected...”>http://www.ourhousenj.org/)</p>
<p>We donate to our colleges and the kids’ colleges and the college where I work. We seem to hear from the USO regularly, too.</p>
<p>Of course we give to our local food banks and homeless shelters. We have a wonderful local hospice facility we always donate to as well and an organization that helps kids who have run away from home for various reasons.</p>
<p>We donate to our local natural wildlife shelter-I have taken a lot of animals there. Also Parkinson’s Research as my Dad died from it. Our youngest son has arthritis, so donate to our Children’s Hospital, Arthritis Foundation, and Spondylitis.org. Also the non-profit where I work- provides free resources for caregivers taking care of senior relatives. Wish we had more to donate to these and many more very worthy organizations.</p>
<p>I give to many local groups, but am also a supporter of Heifer. Another favorite of mine is Environmental Defense, as I like their approach to problem solving.</p>
<p>Reading is Fundamental. Thanks to that program, every child in our elementary school got at least four free books a year of their own choosing.</p>
<p>Locally we give our biggest chunk to the local food bank.</p>
<p>Nationally, we give to Habitat and the Sierra Club. Internationally to the UN committee on population growth (or something like that.)</p>
<p>We donate regularly to the university from which our kids graduated, H’s master’s university, a local equine rescue, other animal rescue groups, and always have a box going for donations to a local food pantry. D works for a non-profit for developmentally disabled adults and we support fundraisers they may have.</p>
<p>Wow, I learn something every day here. Never heard of Heifer before.</p>