Charitable Giving Recommendations

[cincystache]

I'd like to give some money to charitable causes but am a little overwhelmed by all of the options out there. I'm looking for specific recommendations related to;

1. Renewable Energy
2. Poverty
3. Education
4. Other?

Does anyone have any recommendations under these categories and/or other categories? What do you think is the best way to have maximum impact when giving away money?

[woopwoop]

I have been supporting the Matenwa Center in Haiti for a couple of years now. One of my friends works for them pro bono and they do remarkable things - opening schools to teach Haitian kids in their own language and building gardens to feed kids (since poor nutrition really hurts learning rates). So that would knock off #2 and #3 on your list: http://www.friendsofmatenwa.org/

[johnny847]

What about a different approach? Instead of looking at maximum impact for your $, are there any causes in particular you feel strongly about? On a personal level, not a societal level.

[Cranberries]

Doctors Without Borders

[Jack]

I suggest finding a local small charity, so that you can see the impact that your donations make (and see that the money is getting spent efficiently). I can think of at least three or four charities just in my neighborhood that would be great choices. (They are my community association -- which is not the same as a "neighborhood association;" it's an optional-membership thing that organizes block parties and other useful stuff -- a bicycle co-op, an after-school program for at-risk youth, and a semi-independent spin-off of the community association that fixes old/poor people's houses so they don't have to sell and move.)

[Playing with Fire UK]

http://www.thelifeyoucansave.org

For global poverty, The Life You Can Save evaluates charities working with the world's poorest people and rates them based on the evidence of lives saved and improved. If you want to know how many lives you can save for your dollar, this is the place. They publish the methodology so that you can make choices that align with your beliefs.

Also:
www.intelligentgiving.com
http://www.intelligentphilanthropy.com

[RunHappy]

I give to the local food bank, so people in my area will not go hungry and the local animal shelter.

On a larger scale I usually donate to American Diabetes Association, Doctors without Borders, Red Cross, or AIDS research.

[Jellyfish]

I also give to my local food pantry.  It's a great organization, and I also volunteer there regularly.  It makes the contribution seem much more personal than just writing a check when you can meet and talk to the people the organization is helping, and it makes it better that they live in my neighborhood.

[DK]

givedirectly.org
heifer international
Nurse-Family Partnership
donors choose

[cincystache]

Thanks everyone. Looks like some great suggestions. I will take a look at the sites you provided and do some more research of local charities as well

[Mesmoiselle]

http://www.thelifeyoucansave.org

For global poverty, The Life You Can Save evaluates charities working with the world's poorest people and rates them based on the evidence of lives saved and improved. If you want to know how many lives you can save for your dollar, this is the place. They publish the methodology so that you can make choices that align with your beliefs.

Also:
www.intelligentgiving.com
http://www.intelligentphilanthropy.com

I Give to Charity water through that site, $30/month.

Then I give $20/month to a local animal sanctuary I've physically visited.

And then I give a couple bucks to Wikipedia. And then my husband donates $20/month to red cross because it's heavily encouraged by his work, and my boyfriend gives $20/month to MS because his aunt died of 'S.

And since our goal is to give 1% gross income away, we either give more to one of those or pick a different charity after we've gotten our w-2s and see how much we earned over this year to make up any difference from our base giving.

[TrumanGrad]

I second the recommendation for thelifeyoucansave.org (they also have a podcast now).  After listen to Peter Singer on the NPR/WBUR's On Point (http://onpoint.wbur.org/2013/12/10/charity-giving-peter-singer), we were persuaded to change our giving strategy to one where our dollars would go further by helping fight global poverty and the health issues that go along with being extremely poor, so now 50 percent of our charitable contributions go towards those types of charities.  I would highly highly recommend listening the NPR show I referenced above - it really changed my outlook.

I would also recommend looking at givewell.org - they rigorously evaluate charities and only a few get their seal of approval.

Based on The Life You Can Save and GiveWell, some of our top charities are the Fistula Foundation, the Against Malaria Foundation, giveDirectly, and the Seva Foundation

[DK]

And then I give a couple bucks to Wikipedia. And then my husband donates $20/month to red cross because it's heavily encouraged by his work, and my boyfriend gives $20/month to MS because his aunt died of 'S.

a husband and a boyfriend. impressive.

[fallstoclimb]

Give Directly and Against Malaria are two of the most effective charities in fighting global poverty and unneeded gifts.  So little money (to Americans) goes such a long way there, and ethically I think it makes the most sense to put your charitable dollars in that arena.  Maximum impact is always going to mean global giving.

.....that said, we give lots of money to domestic causes, which I don't really think are quite as defensible from a philosophical standpoint but it makes me feel a little better about the fact that my country's policies & politics bum me out on a daily basis.  Give Directly and Against Malaria combined get half of our charitable dollars, but the other half go to Southern Poverty Law Center, Equal Justice Initiative, Planned Parenthood -  and then also a local charity that provides health care & resources to homeless in my city, because I don't want to ignore my own backyard. 

And right now I'm dealing with seasonal depression (come back soon sun?), so I'm about to place an Amazon order to send some needed things over to our local women's shelter, because sometimes giving THINGS feels better than giving dollars, even though that's not very logical. 

[norabird]

I also love Peter Singer and Giving what you can. Personally I give monthly (small amounts right now) to Innovations for Poverty Action, Drs without Borders (MSF), and givewell. I want to add in donations to the UNCHR and MOAS for refugees starting this month. I'm hoping to get to a tithe-level of charitable givings of my take-home in 2016! Also will be upping my 401k of course :).

I have thought about donating to carbon offset charities in the past but frankly when I look into environmental charities it seems that they are less convincing. If someone here has a recommendation I'd be happy to hear it but that has been my experience and why I focus on poverty/health in my donations. I do also give occasionally to NPR, wikipedia (but usually only $3!), my local library, and occasional local charities when they reach out and I'm feeling flush. Not as defensible a use of my money, but I get great benefit from them and am more fortunate than many of my neighbors, so it feels appropriate.

[NextTime]

This is my favorite. It's a local 501c3 (Topeka,KS) and I plan to get involved at more than just a financial level soon.

https://trashmountain.com/

It is a religious organization so may not be for everybody. But it hits on everything you mentioned; renewable resources, poverty (teaching self-sustainability), education, etc.

[DeltaBond]

I donate to two things - Charities through work that help end human trafficking, and the local agency that handles the children who are in foster care and group homes.  They have christmas wish lists, and people can buy the toys and take them to the agency.

Locally, I'll do a river clean up type thing sometimes, too.

[Gin1984]

I give to planned parenthood, ali forney center (a LGBT shelter for teens who have been kicked out of their homes)and fundabortionnow.org, because all of these help people right now keep from going into poverty.

[LmoArk]

I give, typically goods and not money, to homeless organizations in my community that help people who are struggling with homelessness learn skills which include handling their finances.  They are allowed a certain amount of time in the program (a couple years I think) and at the end many of the people, mostly single mothers, are able to get their own home/apartment and have learned some skills that will help to keep them self-sufficient.

I lived in the DMV for years and there is was AACH, Arlington and Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless.  I loved that I could help people do better for themselves in my own community.