First thread here.
Which charity organizations you are donating or would like to donate if you had the mean? I have a few that I set up automatic deduction (NPR, PP, Cal women soccer club, Cal Alumni, my beloved UNHCR) and a few adhoc ones that I donated on impulse especially around 2016/2017. Donation was also my coping mechanism.
Please share yours, I need new ideas. TIA
St. Jude’s
Alice’s Kids
Red Cross
St. Jude’s
Make A Wish
Big Brothers/Big Sisters
NAMI at the state level. The organization provides so many practical, worthwhile programs and services but they struggle for funding.
We donate local, and we donate to places that support the arts.
I donate to organizations I’m personally involved in—a nonprofit I created and run and the US COPD Coalition. Sometimes I expand and give to more local orgs—depends on finances, needs, etc. Have also donated to American Thoracic Society, COPD Foundation, American Assn of Respiratory Care and Hawaii Association of Respiratory Care.
Have donated to Hawaii Public Radio and other charities as well.
I donate to organizations that feed people. A personal favorite is Kids Food Basket—they send home a sack supper 4 school nights and a weekend sack. Staffed almost completely by volunteers, our local one runs out of a church and feeds 1000 kids per day, with several other schools on the wait list. Direct donations stay in our school district.
Also, a farmstead community that connects disabled adults (mostly with autism) to our community, Feeding America (our regional branch), and our schools and athletic programs.
My favorite charity is DD’s college fund.
I actively volunteer and donate to her school’s booster club, which benefits all students, not just sports teams.
I wish I could say I volunteer with animal shelters and rescue groups, but I have terrible allergies, so I just donate what I can to help out.
Locally, I support my library, first aid squad, and volunteer fire company
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Room to Read
Local pet shelters.
Children’s Tumor Foundation
American Lung Association and Alpha 1 Foundation
American Red Cross (occasionally)
I am also starting to give to NAMI and organizations that support medically ill children llike Ronald McDonald House and Project Linus.
We also donate locally - church mission fund, local non profit hospice, women’s group.
The Salvation Army.
Donations overwhelmingly used for stated purpose, not for high administrative costs & not for exhorbitant salaries.
Very well run organization.
Definitely more local than national groups. Local gardens/food co-ops, libraries, children’s organizations.
^I highly recommend donating locally. The national NAMI organization doesn’t help out states at all. Each state is on its own to fund all its activities. Since a lot of grants don’t cover overhead costs, it’s a constant battle to keep the lights on, literally. 
A couple of local animal rescues
St. Jude’s
Give Kids the World/Make a Wish Foundation
As a director of a non-profit program that relies mostly on local donations to exist, THANK YOU for your support of any local org you choose to support.
Great post. I donate widely.
I’d like to encourage people to buy charity Christmas cards. I’ve been buying them for the last 25 years. It was easy to do when I lived in England because most people can easily find all sorts of charity cards there. Here in the US, it’s more difficult. For 15 years now, I’ve been purchasing UNICEF Xmas cards. They get 100% of the profits. The cards are high quality with beautiful artwork. I know some people love phot cards, but I just put a photo in mine if there’s someone who hasn’t seen my kids for too long. Photo cards make me sad because they just get put in the recycling. Sorry, I’m not keeping a pic of your kids, no matter how gorgeous they are. ?
I donate to a local group who fundraises in support of Kakenya’s Centre for Excellence, a school for girls in Kenya.
I also donate to our volunteer fire department each year by getting our Christmas tree at their annual tree sale. Far better to give that money to a local group.
For the last fifteen years, I make Mother’s day and Father’s Day donations to groups that my parents are interested in. That includes groups who support struggling women and children. I’ve donated to Save the Children many times. My dad is interested in the law so I donate to nonpartisan groups who advocate for nonpartisan legal stuff.
My husband’s family has been doing charity donations for one another for decades, so the one we contribute to for his family is Kiva, which is gives microloans to people in developing countries. That’s a great charity because the money goes on the help someone else. It’s literally a gift that keeps giving. His family donates a lot to Oxfam. My kids used to be unimpressed when their aunt would send them a birthday card saying “you’ve purchased mosquito nets for a family…or…your donation has helped a family buy a goat!” Now, they think it’s cool.
My kids like donating to animal charities for Christmas.
Me personally, I donate to the SPLC, ACLU, Brady Center, and Planned Parenthood. No points for guessing my political leanings, haha!
I have a group of friends and we all celebrate our birthdays. A few years ago, I asked them to stop giving me presents and instead donate in my name. The first year, we donated to Planned Parenthood. I love doing that. I don’t need more stuff.
This Christmas, I’m hosting a party and every one coming is donating to the charity of their choice in lieu of presents. Most people are donating to local groups (animal shelters, food pantry, library.)
Finally, I “donate” to the local library at least once a month with overdue book fines, haha!
Oops, nearly forgot! I donate to WNYC (NPR).