How do you decide what charity/ies you will give to regularly?

[Jenny in Florida]

I generally start with organizations with which I have some particular connection. When I left my non-profit job and got a big pay bump, one of the ways I soothed my conscious was by promising to devote a percentage of that raise to organizations doing good, hands-on work in my community. 

Currently, I have a list of organizations to which I donate regularly through automatic monthly withdrawals. At the moment, these are:

• The Coalition for the Homeless (which I first became aware of a couple of decades ago when the folk group I sang with performed there every few months)
• Harbor House (which I learned of when they did an event to raise funds for their pet care program. After doing some research, I learned they are the only shelter in the area that accepts pets along with people who are fleeing domestic violence. This benefits the pets, of course, but also the people, since many people won't leave abusive spouses if it means abandoning their pets.)
• The Pet Alliance (our area's largest no kill/very low kill shelter. Although I had heard the name on the wind, I got more interested in the organization when the husband of one of my former coworkers began working there.)
• Our local public radio station (I've been a member of my local station whenever I could afford it pretty much for my entire adulthood. It's my primary source of news and entertainment.)

I also support our county library (of which I was a fan and "super-user" for a couple of decades before I worked there for a few years), but they don't make it easy to do monthly donations. So, I make a note on my calendar and make lump sum donations to both the library, itself, and the friends of the library organization once a year.

For Christmas, I donate to Nathaniel's Hope, an organization founded by a local family in honor of their young son who passed away. I discovered them when I was recruited through a previous employer to volunteer for their holiday event several years ago. I've gone back to volunteer every year in addition to donating goods. to the effort. 

[mom2scouts]

We give mostly locally to Habitat and animal rescues, but sometimes give internationally through groups our church supports. We also support military or veteran groups and military education groups because it's a specific interest of one child and we had another kid in the military. Deployed soldiers are often very young and far from home for the first time and I have a soft spot for them. We have a moderate income and aren't able to donate a lot of money, so we try to give a lot of volunteer time to groups.

[TechWife]

We donate to charities with which we have a personal connection. We regularly donate to our church, to an organization that provides Bible studies and teaching internationally that we have benefited from for many years,  and to the children's hospital that saved our son's life several years ago and at which I volunteer.

What issues or causes are important to you? I would start there and then look for a local organization that is well run and is working in that area. Some examples might be literacy projects, food banks, homeless shelters, health care providers, churches, politicians, or advocacy groups for various causes.

 

Edited December 8, 2020 by TechWife

[mom2scouts]

19 hours ago, popmom said:

This is definitely something to consider. Thank you for the reminder. At least with my daughters' animal rescue--it's completely run by college students--both undergrad and grad students. No one takes a dime of salary. The vast majority of the monies donated go directly to caring for/vetting the animals they take in. A very, very small percentage goes to fundraising. Most of the fundraising they can do for free through social media. Okay so that was a shameless plug. If anyone has any end of the year money to throw at an excellent rescue 501 c3 whose mission is to save dogs on death row at shelters in rural Alabama and Georgia, shoot me a pm and I'll send you a link. 😉 They are also very active in educating the community about the importance of spay/neuter. They visit schools, meet w/ local gov officials, take the fosters to class to raise awareness (the profs have been so supportive) etc. And if you are interested in adopting or just want to follow them on social media, also shoot me a pm. They have transported dogs all over the US--as far as California. ❤️

My grandpuppy came to a rescue in our state from Alabama. Maybe your daughter's organization brought him!

[popmom]

1 hour ago, mom2scouts said:

My grandpuppy came to a rescue in our state from Alabama. Maybe your daughter's organization brought him!

It's possible! Small world! ❤️