Charities - What's your favorite?

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Danoff

Danoff

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It turns out that donating to charity effectively is actually pretty difficult. For example, you could go down to your local soup kitchen and hand out soup for the homeless. What could possibly be wrong with that? Well, you probably earn more money than it would cost to hire someone to stand there and hand soup out. Meaning if you worked a little longer instead of going to the soup kitchen, you could have employed someone to hand out soup to the homeless, which would have been doing quite a bit more good, and would be more efficiently generating value for charity with your time.

Maybe you give money to the guy at the street corner, but chances are you're giving to a panhandler instead of someone who is really in need. Some charities give a lot more of the money they receive to their cause than others. For example, according to this link the "Breast Cancer Research Foundation" is a way better call than the "American Breast Cancer Foundation". I've seen people rant about how horrible United Way is. I've seen people talk about how donations to Africa destroy the local industry. I've seen people go on rants about how buying christmas gifts for kids of a poor family reinforces the notion that those parents do not need to provide for those kids, which does more harm than good. Similarly for backpacks of school supplies. The point is, there are many pitfalls to charitable giving.

There are charities that try to solve problems, like cancer research. And there are charities that don't actually try to fix the world, but just try to improve quality of life for people who need it, like Make-A-Wish. There are big well known charity areas that receive tons of money, like breast cancer, and there are the corresponding areas that fewer people contribute to, like maybe ovarian or prostate cancer. Red Cross? Salvation Army? Give away a premium membership on GTPlanet?

Here's a list of a few that I like:
- Opportunity Village, highlighted by Penn Jillette on The Apprentice. A charity that helps get adults with special needs employment and helps them develop marketable skills.
- Wikipedia
- Linux (many organizations are set up to receive donations to spur work on linux-based development)
- Americares, medical and disaster services with low charity overhead
- Fisher House, providing low cost housing to veterans with low charity overhead

I also do patreon for a few youtube folks like TheraminTrees, and I usually try to flag a piece of shareware that I use often to go ahead and purchase. Maybe this is the year I finally pay winace.

So what do you do? And more importantly, why?
 
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I typically donate to the hospitals I work at. It's really easy since they can just take it out of my check. Also often times it's for a new building or an additional service, both of which help keep me employed since my job relies on the growth of the health system. It's self serving, but having quality healthcare in the community helps everyone.

I also donate to Team Rubicon. They are a disaster recovery group made up of veterans who go all over the country to do cleanup, rescue people, and really anything else that's needed. I have a buddy who's really involved with it and I think they do some really good work. Many of the vets are former combat medics or combat engineers, which means they are qualified to help out and don't end up getting in the way like some volunteer organizations.

When I lived in Michigan and our local area was hit by a tornado, a group of Team Rubicon volunteers were out there within hours. My buddy convinced me to come along even though I wasn't an official volunteer. They basically just needed people with trucks to help out. We spent hours pulling trees off the road to open up areas for emergency vehicles. We also pulled a couple cars out of flooded areas that had stalled out when trying to ford a really deep puddle. It was kind of a cool experience.

The group also helps with PTSD, depression, and with reducing the likelihood of suicide in vets. It gives them structure, purpose, and a good way to tackle a problem with a team.
 
National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and Habitat for Horses are our household's primary charitable donation destinations. I have tremendous respect for firefighters in general, as they perform a service that I think is virtually unmatched, but it doesn't hurt that my father-in-law is a retired battalion chief. The other should be pretty self-explanatory.
 
I’ve done a fair amount of charity work from sponsored activities to volunteer work.

The biggest was perhaps the motorcycle tour that the local BMW used as a marketing tool for their Warm Heart Fund which put computers and internet in schools in the poorest regions of the province.

I spent some time in my youth volunteering as a porter for a charity shop which sold second had furniture. I helped out with deliveries carrying all sorts of furniture from the van.

These days I don’t do any form of organised charitable giving because I feel sometimes charities can’t always be trusted to put the money where it is best used. Instead my wife and I give money but usually food to random homeless people and she gives alms to the local monks.
 
Salvation Army is the only charity I will donate to. Working with a lot of charity, hospital and donation groups has lead me to see the ugly, greedy and mismanaged under belly of a lot of organizations, but the Salvation Army has always impressed me with who and how they help.
 
The only charity I actively support is Smile Network. Much like the more well known Operation Smile they provide operations to repair cleft lips and palets, however they spend a much higher percentage of donations than OS.

Also, there is The Human Fund and in celebration of Festivus I’ve made a donation in your name! ;)
 
Not exactly a favourite Charity, but I did get a good experience with a Charity event.

I remember 6 months ago. The community that I go to for Yugioh had a Charity event. Where the winner of the tournament to choose which type of charity the money goes towards. Its $10 entry plus extra donates where the person who donates the most (which was a friend of mine who donated $80 extra) got first pick on prizes.

Overall, it was a great event. The type of Charity I represented was those for Prostate Cancer because I feel like it is underfunded. Now, I didn't win (got close tough, 7th) but it was a great time and either way a Charity was gonna get donated :).

As for the question in hand, Salvation Army is probably my favourite. Often use it when I got spare change
 
SRV2LOW4ME
Salvation Army is the only charity I will donate to. Working with a lot of charity, hospital and donation groups has lead me to see the ugly, greedy and mismanaged under belly of a lot of organizations, but the Salvation Army has always impressed me with who and how they help.
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While I can only speak for the UK side of the organisation, the Salvation Army is one of the charities I would never donate to at all.

Not only do I object to the religious side being linked far too closely to the recipients (who should never have to sit through an attempt at conversion in return for aid), but the entire attitude towards the LGBT community is the very definition of 'ugly'.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/12/1...lgbt-rights-but-were-not-too-sure-about-that/
 
Scaff
While I can only speak for the UK side of the organisation, the Salvation Army is one of the charities I would never donate to at all.

Not only do I object to the religious side being linked far too closely to the recipients (who should never have to sit through an attempt at conversion in return for aid), but the entire attitude towards the LGBT community is the very definition of 'ugly'.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/12/1...lgbt-rights-but-were-not-too-sure-about-that/
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That's something I didn't know.

I guess I'll hold off donating from them unless they change their approach to all related to the charity goal instead of select people as those are the kind of charities that I hate.
 
Scaff
While I can only speak for the UK side of the organisation, the Salvation Army is one of the charities I would never donate to at all.

Not only do I object to the religious side being linked far too closely to the recipients (who should never have to sit through an attempt at conversion in return for aid), but the entire attitude towards the LGBT community is the very definition of 'ugly'.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/12/1...lgbt-rights-but-were-not-too-sure-about-that/
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Interesting. I'm not even sure we have the Salvation Army in Utah, but instead, we have Deseret Industries which is wholly owned by the LDS church. I'm sure they do a similar thing, although I think for the most part Mormons only really want to convert you if you have money to tithe them.

They do seem to do some good in the community though. Instead of merely giving handouts, they allow people to work for them to earn money and skills so they can get a full-time job. They also offer free social work to help people get back on their feet as well. I'm sure in the end, all of this is for their benefit since they want these people working so they can join the Church and then start giving them money. But if it means there are less homeless people milling around the streets of SLC, I'm all for it.
 
The major one I donate to is the Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition just because I've seen first hand the work that they've done for the community and the good that they've done especially for QPOC and trans and gender non-conforming youth
http://www.mntranshealth.org

Other good organizations include the Human Rights Campaign and Lambda Legal both of which work with LGBT+ folx.
https://www.hrc.org
https://www.lambdalegal.org

As far as Patreon, I donate to Sophie Labelle Who makes amazing webcomics, books, holds clinics on drawing and fights for queer rights
https://www.patreon.com/assignedmale


I hate the Salvation Army with a passion because of their treatment of queer people and the "religious beliefs" they espouse. I'd never, ever give a single penny to them in all honesty
 
Scaff
While I can only speak for the UK side of the organisation, the Salvation Army is one of the charities I would never donate to at all.

Not only do I object to the religious side being linked far too closely to the recipients (who should never have to sit through an attempt at conversion in return for aid), but the entire attitude towards the LGBT community is the very definition of 'ugly'.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/12/1...lgbt-rights-but-were-not-too-sure-about-that/
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It is a bit different in Canada than the UK, at least in the area where I live. While they do still have a religious side, it is neither rammed down your throat or forced upon you. Can't speak about their attitudes towards the LGBT community though as I have never seen or heard anything good or bad, but I've never thought to inquire either, so I can't really say.

What I can tell you is the majority of your money donated goes directly to helping people in need, not wages/salaries and not to meetings and functions at high end and expensive restaurants for the people in charge, which is nothing more than free meals and vacations with peoples donations picking up the tab. Something a lot of the money goes towards when you donation to certain hospitals and other "charities", or at least the ones I've worked with or close by to. Its always a good idea to find out how much or your money will actually be going to the people in need when deciding where your money goes, and usually the salaries of the people in charge are available online.

Another reason they are the only charity I donate to is because I have never heard of them turning someone away. I have a few friends and even a family member who were down on their luck for whatever reason, and after being turned away by their churches and other organizations, the Salvation Army welcomed all 4 of them in and gave them a hot meal and place to stay. One of those men actually did quite well for himself afterwards and each year makes a significant donation to them, and I would consider him to be one of the most nonreligious people I know.

I'm not the organization is perfect by any means or that their cause is something important to everyone, I'm just saying out of all the charities out there, they put the majority of your money towards the actual people than some of the others.
 
Given that I had a friend pass away from it, I support the Terrance Higgins Trust: http://www.tht.org.uk/

This is going to sound controversial, but I feel that too much money proportionally is given to cancer charities when you compare them to causes such as HIV/AIDS and dementia.
 
In the past I've raised money for 2 charities, Joshua Foundation (Make a Wish organisation) and Cardiac Risk in the Young. The former closed in scandal, the latter is doing great work on screening youths for heart conditions that may otherwise go undiagnosed.

I also raise money for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) and Help for Heroes often through my employer.

I buy presents for local children at Xmas because we haven't got any young children in the family and it makes the Xmas shop that little bit more enjoyable.

I walk dogs at a canine rescue centre. And I volunteer at Junior Parkrun.
 
My current focus is on giving back to groups that I've benefited from. Since I've interacted with them I tend to trust them and know if they're a worthy cause to give to. Examples would be some college groups that I was a member of, Wikipedia, and the causes/assistance of people I know from my personal life and work. I'm trying to be very deliberate with money. At the moment I still consider myself to be a growth phase financially. My own financial stability takes precedence over giving to others. Whenever I feel like I have a strong enough financial base I'll be willing to give away more money and perhaps even chase after causes of my own.
 
Exorcet
My own financial stability takes precedence over giving to others. Whenever I feel like I have a strong enough financial base I'll be willing to give away more money and perhaps even chase after causes of my own.
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Yea, first make sure you don't need any charity. But I will say that I think charities benefit more from steady low-dose contributions than large windfalls. Donating $10/year to wikipedia for example, doesn't set you back much, and if it's every year, they can plan around it. That might sound silly, why would wikpedia plan around $10/year, but if they're receiving 100,000 donations from people worldwide at a steady $10/year, they can plan around a $1M budget from one year to the next.
 
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Danoff
Yea, first make sure you don't need any charity. But I will say that I think charities benefit more from steady low-dose contributions than large windfalls. Donating $10/year to wikipedia for example, doesn't set you back much, and if it's every year, they can plan around it. That might sound silly, why would wikpedia plan around $10/year, but if they're receiving 100,000 donations from people worldwide at a steady $10/year, they can plan around a $1M budget from one year to the next.
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That's a good point. My donations aren't really consistent or planned. I just reserve some amount of money for charity and send it to whatever comes up. In the case of Wiki I might have a sort of inadvertent schedule because I visit the site enough to see their fund raising campaigns and I'll send something to them every other or 3rd campaign I come across. From now on I could just make all my donations at the year's end and try to be a little more consistent.
 
Danoff
But I will say that I think charities benefit more from steady low-dose contributions than large windfalls. Donating $10/year to wikipedia for example, doesn't set you back much, and if it's every year, they can plan around it.
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This is something that also applies to time.

I enjoy volunteering at Parkrun events and at dog rescue centres, but I find it hard to commit to regular hours because it then just becomes another stress in my life! I'm much happier doing it as hoc, usually more hours when I'm off work and fewer when I've been on business travel a lot.

It does make it more difficult for those that commit almost full time to such things.
 
There is a "collection" going around for the parents of a deceased co-worker who was unmarried with no kids. I know that the collection was started by well meaning people, but people who none-the-less did not ask the family whether money was needed or would be helpful. I wonder if the beneficiaries of this collection would just as soon not take money that is going to be offered to them.

It's not going to help them cope with their son's death. This person had life insurance, so there are likely no real expenses to be dealt with. If some random co-workers scrape together a few hundred dollars, all it is a show of good will. Nothing more. And I find it a fairly pathetic show of good will.

This is put together in the guise of charity, but honestly I don't think there's a good basis to believe that the charity is needed or well placed here. What this is really is lazy people looking for a quick (very meaningless) way to pay off a little guilt at not being able to help some people who are grieving. But how about we lift a finger and do something more meaningful. How about instead of throwing in 5 bucks or 10 bucks around the office, we instead each find a photo of ourselves with the person, sign it, and send it to the parents? Something, anything more meaningful. Anything that would leave them with a little less of an empty feeling.

This person was not someone who was close to me. I'm not going to champion this cause. I would if this hit closer to home, but since it didn't I'm going to let the collection play out miserably.

That's part of what this thread is about though, misplaced or misused charity.
 
When my first son suffered a stroke at birth, it was and is by far the most stressful experience, on so many levels. He has hemophilia, which is similar to quadriplegia except only one side (half) of his body is affected; his right side. He can now walk well enough I guess, but needs an AFO foot brace and he can barely move his right wrist and fingers, though moving his shoulder and elbow has improved over the years (he is nearly 5).

One of the items our family counselor suggested as a way to ease our pain initially was to set up a charity in Lucas' name. I've never really given to charities in the past. I typically just like to give away old things on CL to someone in need. My wife however, has always given money to Mercy Corps. I think the first reason is its based here in Portland (IIRC), second, they help out developing countries by assisting to provide self-sustaining support. For example, rather than show up to a 3rd world country with pallets of water bottles, they would instead find an underground well and put a system in place so that they can use the well going forward.

So, what we did as a form of emotional therapy was setup a charity called Love From Lucas. Mercy Corps will use the funds raised to assist parents who struggle to provide for their children in the most desperate places of the world.

Going forward, I'd be more inclined to donate to places that I've benefited most from over the years; Linux, Wikipedia and some other open source apps.

Cool thread for sure!



Jerome
 
I promised a widower a donation to an ALS foundation when his wife died of it. The donation was made, and now I'm on the handout mailing list (probably forever). I don't understand why charities have to punish their donors for life with junk mail. Knowing that this was coming really did put a damper on making a donation.

I donate to my daughter's former orphanage in China, and instead of hounding us they send us updates on what they did with the money. Much better.
 
Danoff
The donation was made, and now I'm on the handout mailing list (probably forever). I don't understand why charities have to punish their donors for life with junk mail.
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Yep totally agree and that in fact had made us change and or cancel donations to certain charities. The same can be said for constant phone calls.

Our money can only go so far and we pick and choose carefully where it goes (normally a charity very close to home, as in personal circumstances) so don't drive us away by bugging us regularly asking for more, we'll donate on our terms not yours thankyou.
 
I give the spare change I have usually to the Mcdonald's charity but that's out of convenience (they have them at the tills/drive thrus)
 
St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis, TN

https://www.stjude.org/

They do wonderful work with children that have cancer and no one pays for anything which if you have a child with cancer that can be a huge financial burden along with the emotional burden it puts on parents. My ex girlfriend's youngest son had two bouts with cancer when he was about 10 years old and he spent nearly 4 months at that hospital and now he's all grown up with his own family.
 
Fight for the Forgotten
Dr without borders
I also donate time to soup kitchens and the alike, though it has been quite a while since I've had the time to do it.
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My wife tends to donate to local animal rescues and the WWF.
In the coming year or so I also intend on volunteering for things like water way and hiking trail maintenance.
Oh, and also, I do donate blood often to the red cross during our work blood drives, which seem to happen almost monthly.
 
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If there was one charity I always respected, it's Toys for Tots. One thing I am always fearful of are families who are financially struggling and can't provide gifts for their children. So I always like the Toys for Tots to deliver toys to needy families.
 
JohnBM01
If there was one charity I always respected, it's Toys for Tots. One thing I am always fearful of are families who are financially struggling and can't provide gifts for their children. So I always like the Toys for Tots to deliver toys to needy families.
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Where I work we always support Toys for Tots each holiday season and we also support about 20 senior citizens with Adopt A Senior.
 
This year I'm researching the following as additions to my annual giving list:

- Innocence project
- Doctors without borders
- Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network
- Planned Parenthood

Let me know if you know of a reason that any of these is problematic.
 

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