YOUR Humane Society SPCA
P.O. Box 67
994 CR 529A
Lake Panasoffkee, FL 33538
352-793-9117

YOUR local Humane Society here in Sumter County, rescuing abandoned and neglected animals, offering adoptions, free/low cost spay/neuter services and pet-food pantry to low-income pet owners as well as public education.

St. Jude's Children's Hospital or the Shriner's. Both help kids.

Hands of Mercy Everywhere "HOME" in Bellview.
 

Hands of Mercy Everywhere. HOME. In Bellview so local. Home for teenage girls who are or were pregnant. 3 homes on the same block. Faith house, Hope house and Grace house. The Founder lives in the villages and you can go and visit and see just where your money is going to be used. Also always looking for volunteers who would like to share any skills they have with the young ladies.

A non-profit to which we are committed.
 

We support Southeastern Guide Dogs (SEGD), Palmetto, Florida. SEGD is a non-profit that provides guide dogs for visionally impaired and Service dogs for veterans that are affected by PSTD. SEGD provides therapy dogs to comfort those in medical and court room situations. They provide emotional support dogs for Gold Star family members who have lost a loved one in active service. We donate our money and time. We are volunteer puppy raisers who have raise 14 puppies. SEGD provides the dogs to the recipients at no cost and provides a lifetime of follow-up services at no cost to the recipients, without any government funding.

Rotary - Check Charity Navigator . Rated as one of the best charities in the world. Three local clubs in TV raise hundreds of thousands of $ for local charities while also supporting international health programs like Polio eradication. More , thousands of hours for volunteer efforts to support veterans, food banks, mentoring high school students etc.

favorite none profit
 

Carpenters for Christ. is a 501 3C with 100% of donations goes for material and supplies for folks who need assistance with ingress and egress of their homes. Local, as it tries to service people with in a hours distance from the Villages.

My favorite is "Smile Train". Doctors perform surgery for cleft palate on children in third world countries. They donate their time and donations are used for anesthesia and supplies.

I also use Charity Navigator, especially if it is for a specific cause like a natural disaster somewhere. Unfortunately, some charities are set up so that CN cannot evaluate their books and therefore a person is kind of flying blind in those cases - even if they're an excellent charity (most of the money going to the cause).

Thanks for the heads up about Guidestar.Org, I'll start using them as well as Charity Navigator.

Wounded warriors and Salvation Army

Habitat for Humanity, Operation Shoebox, St. Jude Children’s hospital.

This doesn’t sound right, I would think expenses would be 15% or less.

Donations
 

We donate to Tunnels to Towers, Wounded Warriors, St. Jude’s Children Hospital, local Animal Welfare Leagues, Cancer foundations, MS, Alzheimer’s.

Food Bank

Butler Cubs Athletic and Social Association we deal with keeping kids off of the streets and helping educate them. If interested let me know. We are located in Western Pa. Butler to be exact. All work is volunteer and no paychecks. True to the word non profit.

I would put a big chuck into housing for families and programs to get them up and running. I would also do house for our veterans and the programs to get them up and running. If I still had funds then kids education about the bullying, drugs and self safety

Tunnels to towers t2t.org. Gives back 98%. Most charities come nowhere near that

Easy answer: The nonprofit i started and ran for 8 years.

I noticed a lack of job skills training in high schools. The focus was only on college. I started a mentoring program that put high school seniors into automotive shops to directly learn job skills and to build resumes. They had to work as a team to complete a project vehicle restoration. We'd auction the project at our spring car show/ fund raiser. 100% of our money went back into the program.

Spartan Hot Rod (our school mascott was a Spartan) still exists in Superior Wisconsin. I was actually thinking about creating a similar program for the schools just outside the villages. We'd use golf carts as projects and have a show to auction them.

I donate to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, near and dear to my heart. My husband was a 14 year stage four survivor who passed almost 3 years ago. They were there to support me through all of his recurrences, and beyond.

First Baptist Church, Leesburg Fl.. Christian Care Center .. located on campus, taking care of hundreds weekly .. Christian Care Center

One last thought
 

All mentioned are worthy . F you had millions however start a local charity to give out $$$ as needed locally yearly . Sumter and lake/ Marion all have many small organizations needing $$$
Theater groups
Animal shelters ,
Vet organizations
Woman's abuse groups etc .
Food banks .

Many have no significant funding yearly and could use a yearly stipend they can depend on

That’s not why you donate for a Pat on the back

Adamsville Baptist Church in Coleman

My favorite: FREEDOM HOUSE. Sort of like Ronald McDonald House but for families of veterans getting medical procedures. PLUS - one of the highest amounts per dollar actually going to the need - versus the administration and marketing efforts.

I was born in Superior, graduated from SSHS in 1970. Maybe I know you?

Wounded Warriors.

St. Jude, Shriners, USA CARES, Gary Sinness

Jr. High Incorporated in LA... My daughter started it and runs it. If you like helping underprivileged women that are trying to get into the arts and music than this is the non profit you want. They are located in Glendale, CA but they help the young ladies and women show their art work and help them get started with performing and name recognition. Their web site is Junior High.

Check it out please.

Non-profits Recommended to Support Our Wounded Military
 

Two I use are:
Wounded Warriors Family Support (Homes For Our Troops)
DAV Charitable Service Trust.

Most of the donations to these two actually go to those who need it instead of administrative overhead and fund raising costs.

I'd spread it out amongst several. A lot of help is need in the restaurant/entertainment industry. Many small, local places shut down for good. And many local music clubs are suffering, even iconic LA places like The Troubadour and The Whiskey are on hard times.

If you Google it you'll easily find the groups raising money.

Animal shelters are also a good one, homeless shelters and food banks too.

Your donation(s) no matter the size all help.

St Jude
 

I definitely would vote for St Jude

Tunnels to Towers

Local - Love Inc/Centsible Furnishings benefits Lake, Sumter and Marion counties, also The Haven /Domestic Abuse. On a broader scale, Salvation army & Tunnels for Towers benefits wounded veterans. Bless you for wanting to help.

Shriner's Hospital (there's one in Tampa)!
My son was cared for for nearly 12 years, and I never paid a dime. Multiple surgeries, months long stays, etc.

your competition would be the fed govt which is anti family imo based on the history of black households- @least habitat requires owner contribution of some sort labor (etc)& ]yrs ago some wanted to offer free lunches to homeless in augusta, gathat woul've been a magnet to all homeless in a 35m radius!
@ least habitatenouurages pride of ownership - if nothing's invested responsibility diminishes - again imo

Worthwhile Charities
 

As a social worker for 45 years, I have been familiar with many charities over the years. My recommendation for those that most benefit the recipients are:
1. Salvation Army - reasonable administrative overhead
2. Muscular Dystrophy Association - having had a son with MD, can tell you first hand, they do an amazing job in supporting the children and families in need
3. Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - funding is appropriately spent, in my experience
Great question you asked.

I mentioned Forward Paths (Leesburg) which helps transition aged-out foster children into functioning adults. If anyone would like me to come and speak to a group, please send me a private message. I'd be happy to meet with your group.

My passion is animals so, my favorite charity is Florida Exotic Bird Sanctuary. They are non profit and I visit often. Located in Hudson Fl. I have gotten to know the volunteers and President Patricia Norton over the years. Placed my beloved Moluccan Cockatoo there a few years ago. These Exotic Birds are not rehomed, bred or sold. This is there Forever home, where they can just be 'A BIRD'.

Williams Syndrome Association. Our family was part of the founding group in the early eighties. Research has been valuable in helping our members to overcome congenital heart defects and learning challenges.

We would donate money to some of the beautiful places we visit in Florida, like Washington Oaks state park, the Edison Home in Fort Myers, or our favorite, Bok Tower and Gardens.