St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is an EXCELLENT choice...I trained there as a nursing student back in the day...all they care about is helping to save children with an excellent support group for the families!!!

St. Jude, DAV, Boys Town..to name a few......what's charity touches your heart?

St Judes, Shriners, DAV & Tunnels to Towers.

Cross Catholic Outreach. Financial statement is front and center on their webpage. And they let you know how and where your money is being used. Cross Catholic Outreach | Catholic Outreach Ministries for the Poor | Delivering food, shelter, and hope to the poorest of the poor

Mine is the Salvation Army as well. They went to the top of my list when I was in the Army. The Red Cross doesn't do or give half of what the Salvation Army does.

I lived in Baton Rouge when Katrina hit. All the disaster groups came into town to help. We set-up a meeting of the groups to assign responsibilities and disburse money. The Red Cross demanded to chair the meeting, take charge of the situation and disburse the funds. They were disinvited.

At the same time, the Salvation Army came into town. They did not attend the meeting, they did not ask for any funds, they just went about their business. A colleague commented, "They're like the Quakers, they keep to themselves and just do their thing."

I prefer to help local charities. My favorite is Centsible Furnishings on 441, a concerted effort of over 30 local churches . The proceeds from sales in this resale shop are given to the needy in the trip county area. Great place to donate your items, big or small.

My favorite charity is all the fast food employees or anyone else in a very low wage job here in this area. They are working for minimum wage but they are working and doing the best they can. I go in and tip them and include a written inspirational message.

St Jude
 

100% Saint Jude. They take care of families visiting the many cancer stricken children. They are legit. Been donating to them over 50 years 👍

It's the Salvation Army for us....I ring the bell for them and donate heavily throughout the year. They take the least for themselves (11%) and only spend 7% on marketing

When I was in the service and needed help to get home for a funeral the Salvation Army helped me. I went to the Red Cross for help first, they wouldn't help me even though I had donating pints of blood to them for years and was one of their certified Red Cross First Aid Instructors and a Water Safety Instructor. I've never given a dime to the Red Cross again. Take a look at home much they pay themselves...and they determine how much of what you contribute to a cause will actually go to that cause vs. be held for some other cause

When I was in the Navy in the 80s, I was asked to contribute to the Combined Federal Campaign(CFC), which distributes monies to various benevolent organizations. One of the biggest was the United Way. When I learned what they paid their CEO, I was quite disgusted. Not sure why a charitable organization needs to pay a CEO that much(which I believe was over $300k?)?! Regardless, I withdrew from CFC, and have been very conscious of where my donations go, ever since. I agree on Salvation Army, and many of the others(children's orgs), and I also agree on the Red Cross comments. But, nonetheless, I still believe in giving.

Shriners Hospitals for Children
Doctors Without Borders
Americares

World Vision

Favorite Charity or Good Cause
 

Voices for Children of NC FL supports children in dependency (aka foster care) who are represented by a Guardian ad Litem. Voices for Children of NC FL has no paid administrators, just a paid bookkeeper. We have been in business since 1992. Currently there are over 2,100 children from 5 local counties who are in dependency. The state does not provided enough financial support to take care of all of their needs. 100% of your donation goes to take care of the children's needs. I am the treasurer and I know where the money goes. The address is Voices for Children, PO Box 40662, Ocala, FL 34478. If you would like more information, let me know and I will be happy to talk to you.

Go to charity navigator

Same problem with st judes officers make multiple six figures

Do local church’s

United way pays local leaders 300,000-400,000 in small towns medical dental vision 401K better benefits than most jobs

This is the only cause I donate money to, when I'm able to donate anything at all:
All Hands on Board Marketplace

Tucker is a friend from college, he's been living with ALS for over a decade now. He's absolutely brilliant and helped design the intricate computer system he uses now to help him communicate and do his artwork. He lives at home with a small 24/7 professional nursing staff. There are dozens of other unpaid volunteer "caretakers" for Tucker, from his immediate and extended family, to lifelong friends he's made, to friends he's made through his former job in the film industry. It costs around $10,000 per month for Tucker to just - live. Disability and medicaid covers a good amount of it, but not all.

Edited to add: if you felt you needed to receive something in return for a donation, you could just buy some of his artwork instead of donating. I think he'd probably like that even more. Tucker Stilley

He can't eat, breathe, eliminate waste, without machines. He has no ability to move any part of his body, other than his eyes, and I believe he can still twitch his lips to smile on one side of his face. He is non-vocal, but communicates by computer with a special device that tracks his eye movements (one of the few muscles he still has control over).

His art is unworldly, and he has a team who helps him with gallery exhibitions (he attends via live video streaming from home). Tucker and his wife Lindsay are two of the most remarkable people I've had the honor of knowing. Lindsay is a true warrior woman, a talented film editor, devoted caregiver and childhood love of Tucker's, and fierce mama-bear to their daughter Juno (who is exquisite in her own right). I met Lindsay first, she lived two floors directly beneath my dorm room when I was in my second year at Emerson College.

100% of all donations goes directly to Tucker's care. The family takes no "administrative fees" and pays the pay-pal fees themselves unless the donor chooses to do it for them. The Cohort for Disembodied Artists (the name of his non-prof) is a true non-profit charitable organization and donations are tax deductible.

Habitat for humanity pays huge salaries medical dental vision retirement and college tuition - I’ll pass

Patriot Service Dogs, puppies trained by women prison inmates and then donated to disabled vets and also Salvation Army.

Yes. Always check Charity Navigator. Organizations must post their IRS990. In it, they are required to list salaries of “highly compensated employees.” Some salaries are truly exorbitant. And I mean you have see it to believe it.

We avoid national charities. Locally, we support SoZo Kids (poverty in Ocala National Forest), the Girl Scout Alumnae drive for local homeless children, and “Kids, Cops & Christmas” sponsored by the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office where a deputy takes a child to a store and lets the child choose his gifts at the same time establishing a positive relationship with a LEO.

There are many local charities run by volunteers with little or no overhead.

Charity Navigator - Your Search Results

Out of these 1,000 separate Habitat for Humanity's listed, which one are you referencing?

Many responses have said that they do not give to charities that pay big salaries, especially the national (or international) charities.

So I ask you:
What is an appropriate salary and benefit package for the head of a large national (or international) organization with multiple departments, locations across the country (or globe), and multi-thousands of clients?
What is it worth to know that the money is accounted for accurately? That the conditions and restrictions of each gift have been followed?
How much should you pay a sales rep (fund raiser) who brings in most of your annual budget?
What about the grant writer who applies for money from foundations and United Way and the government? And write reports back to those grantors?
And the staff to support these people?
And don't forget the other overhead costs: insurance, rent, utilities...

Yes, some spend excessively on salaries. But I want to know that the people managing the charity are experienced, capable people who can give me confidence that best practices are being followed and my donation is being used well.

People like that are not inexpensive.

Coats
 

Thank you everyone for the great information. Are there any charity groups this year collecting coats for those in need? I would like to donate them to someone who needs them rather than the thrift stores.

We give to the Elks National Foundation (ENF) which supports youth and veterans (Charity Navigator info) and some hospices in Maryland.

Sheriff's Boys' (and girls) Ranch

St. Jude's CEO makes over a MILLION DOLLARS a year in Salary. Also St. Jude's has a Board of Directors with each making HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS a year. Also they have a very large "EXPENSE" of paying for COMMERCIALS. (Good cause though. Love Danny Thomas. Wish more CELEBRITIES did this type of thing.)

Generally Large Charities are Businesses. They just happen to deal in the areas of Charity.

My idea is to give to individuals in need identified by your church, local charities and local officials like police, etc. It makes more of an impact than going into a MEGA CHARITY and 100% goes to help.

My answer is that organizations like St. Jude's should be headed up by a Committee of Caring Retired Professionals that "VOLUNTEER" their time. There are zillions of RETIRED MEGA WEALTHY DOCTORS AND CEO's.

Best and Worst Charities for Your Donations - Consumer Reports


Here's another excellent source, to ensure donations are well spent.

For many years I have donated monthly to three charities, St Jude; for children with cancer. ASPCA; for Animals and Purple Heart Foundation; for Veterans.

M i a
 

my choices are st jude's and unicef to fight world hunger
what amazes me about this thread is
" where are all of the usual suspects" ?

I “adopt” children from very needy areas of the world. One recent adoption was 2 young sisters in Tamil Nadu. They stay there, I just pay for their shelter, food, and education to grade 12. Just trying to give them choices they might otherwise not have.

Strange that the well known charities are not mentioned at all

I look at charities where expenses and fun raising are less than 20% of amounts raised.

Some well known charities keep sending me "gifts" like calendars, pads and address labels that we do not need or want and they get ignored.

I remember the discovery that Boys Town had accumulated a lot of wealth. Some wag came up a twist on the inscription on their iconic statue "He ain't heavy, he's my broker." Boys Town Has an Embarrassment of Riches - The New York Times

As for me I like to donate items I no longer use to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to sell in their thrift stores. One time when I was moving I was getting rid of almost all my furniture, beds, TV and more and found a local church which was helping a local family who had lost their home to fire. They took everything. My father donated to The Salvation Army. My mother preferred Goodwill which I later learned enough about to not donate. An aunt donated heavily to American Indian charities as she was a public health nurse and had seen their needs up close and personal. Most of my cash donations are to extended family members in need as well as my church. When smoking in restaurants, on planes, in public buildings and more was a huge problem back in the 1960s and 1970s I contributed as much as I could to ASH, Action on Smoking & Health founded by a GW Law professor by the name of John Branzhaf in 1967. I was in the DC area at that time and knew first hand about him and his efforts. His accomplishments running that charitable organization are remarkable! About ASH – ASH > Action on Smoking & Health

My USPTO coworker and law school classmate, Clarence Dittlow, went on to become the executive director of The Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit founded by Ralph Nader and Consumers Union that has saved countless lives. Clarence M. Ditlow III, Auto Safety Crusader, Dies at 72 - The New York Times
Home - The Center for Auto Safety

Interestingly he drove a Corvette in the late 1960s when I knew him.

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Combat Veterans to Careers. Local, and well-deserving IMO.

If you have a charity you contribute to and make purchases on Amazon.com sign up at smile.amazon.com. If you do Amazon will contribute 0.5% of the things you buy to the charity of your choice. It looks like any charity that files an IRS 990 form is on the list of charities to choose from.

The 0.5% comes from Amazon, it doesn't change the amount they charge you. Not all items on Amazon are eligible for Smile but many, maybe most, are. It seems like everything that Amazon sells or fulfills is eligible.

And most of them are RETIRED for a reason: they don't want to have to work anymore. Volunteers don't have to show up for work. There's nothing in it for them, if they don't feel like it, they can just drop out, it's nothing to them. They have no vested interest in the success of the place they're volunteering for, unless the charity benefits them or their family personally.

Getting paid - is another matter entirely. If the charity does well, then you do well? That's a damned good incentive to show up and work 50-70 hours a week.

Being a CEO of a charity is a JOB. It's not a volunteer gig. I want someone who is MARRIED to that job running a charity. Being a CEO involves lots of experience in lots of different subjects. Not just in "being a CEO." I don't care how much money they make. I care more about what percentage of their revenue goes into that salary.

If their salary is only .01% of their total revenue, and they're making $4 million, then I say - they've earned it. If their salary is 5% of their total revenue, then I would recommend looking into some other charity.

:ho: This year I made "Combat Veterans To Careers" my charity at AMAZON SMILE. Everyone who is a member of AMAZON should use AMAZON SMILE. Cost you nothing, prices are the same, and your charity gets 0.5% of what you spend. Half a percent doesn't sound like much...... but it adds up.

From Amazon web site:
"Every little bit counts
When millions of supporters shop at AmazonSmile, charitable donations quickly add up.

You have generated $18.12
as of December 03, 2020
Your current charity
Combat Veterans To Careers
has received $1,152.06
as of November 2020
All US charities have received $216,932,702.17
as of November 2020"