Charity

[Calvin6s]

With Thanksgiving (and Christmas) fast approaching, I'm always on the look out for a worthwhile charity.  So maybe we can use this thread for recommendations on the following:

1.  Preferred charity type (feed/shelter homeless, veterans, etc)
2.  Preferred charity research sites (give.org, charitynavigator.org, etc.)
3.  Local v. National v. International
4.  Preferred charity
5.  Any other important factors (tax deduction, etc)

Charity is important, but so is making sure of the effectiveness of your donation.

[El Barto]

I'm sure you share my affinity for the ACLU. We shouldn't forget all the drug dealers and rapists languishing in jail because of fascist cops and their disregard for due process this holiday season.

I've actually been knocking around finding a place to donate some time to. The only money I'd donate would be to myself, but I do have some time here and there that I wouldn't mind giving to others. As for a cause, people shouldn't be hungry in this country. Frankly, charity shouldn't be necessary to prevent that, given what we all eat, but since it seems to be the case that would be my first choice.

[millahh]

Seconded on ACLU, I have a set amount that goes automatically each month.  Typically do a yearly to Amnesty International as well.

Too bad ARC is worthless...but you're better off throwing a handful of pennies in the general direction of a crisis situation than making a donation to the Red Cross.  The aftermath of Sandy permanently soured me on them.  https://www.propublica.org/article/the-red-cross-secret-disaster

[Calvin6s]

Homeless shelters or kitchens are usually at the top of my list as well.  Do you normally go local or larger scale?  I already donate to these places, but I've been on the fence if I should just increase my local shelter donation or if I should add care for veterans.  This reason is homeless veterans (or just struggling) have already proven they will make the best out of a situation.

I've also donated to firefighter charities, but that is off and on (purely due to my preference to homeless causes).

Also, I've recently moved and would prefer to donate to local shelter/kitchens, but I can't find them.  Anybody have a local charity website that helps them make sure you donate to the charity that gets the best bang for the buck?

[Cool Chris]

My family is woefully bad about not contributing much to charity. We parry that by arguing to ourselves that my wife's work with special needs kids covers that for us, but being that is her job, it is a crappy argument. Since our daughter has started school, we have found time to volunteer at every single event the school offers, and contribute to the school's food and clothing drives throughout the year. We also frequently donate old clothes and books too. So yeah, we give something our of time, but nothing worth shouting about.

[Chino]

I give St. Jude $100 per quarter and Planned Parenthood $10 per month. Every time I go to Petsmart I give $5 to homeless pets. That's about the extent of my charity giving these days. I used to do more, but having a mortgage has made it difficult. I'm too lazy to look into writing them off on my taxes. 

[hefdaddy42]

We give money and food/household items to a local shelter/halfway house.  My wife and I have also done a fundraising concert in the past for them.

We also contribute food to a local backpack program (a backpack full of non-perishable food is sent home with needy school children every Friday so they at least have enough food to live on over the weekend).  For some of those kids, the only meals they can actually count on having during the week are the free breakfast and lunches provided through school programs.

[Stadler]

The ACLU.  You guys are killing me.

Anyway, United Way often gets my dollar.  I donate a LOT of goods to Goodwill (and shop there too; CDs for $2!!).  There is a local charity here in northern CT called Allied's Attic that gives to local community efforts.   

[Chino]

Ahhh. Completely forgot about United Way. My company has great ties with them and I have money taken out of each paycheck as a donation.

[hefdaddy42]

Yeah, forgot about Goodwill.  We make multiple donations a year.

[lordxizor]

My giving falls into a few caregories:

Helping local people in need (local food shelf and homeless shelter)
Helping people around the world in need (sponsor a child through one of those charities, feed my starving children)
Environmental causes (World Wildlife Fund, Sierra Club)
My local church

We give to other charities on a less regular basis depending on what's going on in the world.

[TempusVox]

Our list is pretty extensive.

We donate to a homeless shelter here locally, as well as a soup kitchen, Childrens Hospital of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati Symphony, and the Freestore Foodbank.

Nationally, and internationally we donate to:

Doctors Without Borders
Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund
Easter Seals
American Red Cross
Marine Toys for Tots
Nature Conservancy
Wildlife Conservation Society
NWF
The Honeybee Conservancy
Amnesty International
Habitat for humanity
Ronald McDonald House
National Novel Writing Month -formerly Office of Letters and Light
Make A Wish
Bryce Harlow Foundation
First Book
Reading Is Fundamental
Susan B. Komen
Smithsonian Institute
International Elephant Fund
Save the Elepahnts
The Elephant Sanctuary
North American Indian Womens Assoc.
Cherokee Indian School Board
F & AM Ohio Masonic Home
Valley of Cincinnati Scottish Rite

We send checks for most. Do some work for others. All of these charities have had meaning for us in our personal lives somehow. It's great that you want to do something. I would choose a charity that you feel some sort of connection with and donate to that one. Then research it as much as you can. Not just from a monetary standpoint, but you can really find yourself getting involved in supporting the cause in other ways, which is very rewarding indeed. We get asked by a lot of other groups that we usually turn down. My wife likes to never say no, so even a small donation is usually forthcoming when anyone asks;  but the charities I listed are ones we support each year for sure. And all of them need help in a big way.

[Stadler]

I forgot; I've volunteered for Habitat For Humanity several times (though I haven't done it recently).

[kaos2900]

The ACLU.  You guys are killing me.

Anyway, United Way often gets my dollar.  I donate a LOT of goods to Goodwill (and shop there too; CDs for $2!!).  There is a local charity here in northern CT called Allied's Attic that gives to local community efforts.

I thought the same thing. I'd rather burn all of my money rather than donate a single penny to the ACLU.

I'm more into donating time and services over money. I just don't trust these companies to use monetary donations smartly. I donate blood, am a student mentor, and volunteer at various places through my work.

[Chino]

The ACLU.  You guys are killing me.

Anyway, United Way often gets my dollar.  I donate a LOT of goods to Goodwill (and shop there too; CDs for $2!!).  There is a local charity here in northern CT called Allied's Attic that gives to local community efforts.

I thought the same thing. I'd rather burn all of my money rather than donate a single penny to the ACLU.

I'm more into donating time and services over money. I just don't trust these companies to use monetary donations smartly. I donate blood, am a student mentor, and volunteer at various places through my work.

I can't donate blood because I take a medication that will kill the fetus if a pregnant woman gets my blood. It's fucking stupid. What would be so hard about labeling my blood as male only? They already have to label the blood type.

[Stadler]

^^^ Tiger blood!!

That's another one: I donate blood, though again, not in some time (my company used to have blood drives at work and I would go every time I could).  Free cookies!

[El Barto]

The ACLU.  You guys are killing me.

Anyway, United Way often gets my dollar.  I donate a LOT of goods to Goodwill (and shop there too; CDs for $2!!).  There is a local charity here in northern CT called Allied's Attic that gives to local community efforts.

I thought the same thing. I'd rather burn all of my money rather than donate a single penny to the ACLU.

Ironically, when you got arrested for defacing US currency, it'd likely be the ACLU that defended your right to do it as a symbolic gesture of protest. 

And for the record I was being facetious about it, knowing that Calvin likely feels the same way you do. Thought I'm a big, big fan, myself.

[Calvin6s]

I saw the ACLU bait, but this isn't the PR forum so I let it just be yet another suggestion.  If somebody wants to donate to them, that's great for them.  As I said (in the PR forum), we donate to our self-interest whether we want to admit it or not.

Heck, even being asked to add $1 to your Cheeseburger lunch charge for St. Jude's for children is all about "I was a kid once.  I know kids.  I have kids.  My friend's kid ...." self-interest.

Nothing wrong with putting your money to something that speaks directly to you.  I will be donating to the Institute for Justice? 

[El Barto]

It wasn't bait and it wasn't a suggestion. It was a playful remark. 

[Calvin6s]

Movin' on. Anybody care to share their method for researching a charity and what main factors do you place the most weight upon.

I'm out of practice as I like to focus my money on a primary recipient, and since it is local, my move has me going back to the drawing board.

CharityNavigator.org was my original research site (although it is more about national/international charities), but that was years ago.

Give.org looks promising.

[Neon]

I don't really donate to a lot of organized charity foundations or organizations, but I do often donate to individual GoFundMe accounts (or something similar).  I'm part of a supporters group for soccer fans and I typically either donate to people I actually know in need, or friends of friends who are in need.