^ lol I'm just glad the current state-of-the-art doesn't have a name like waifu2x.
Jul Advent calendar for December 19:
The holidays are a season of giving. And my siblings live way far away, are kind of hard to shop for, have enough stuff already, and are concerned about current events and the state of the world...
So for Christmas/the holidays, I like to donate to charitable organizations on behalf of my siblings, letting them choose the organizations.
PROS:
- As I said before: A good gift for those who have enough stuff and are concerned about the world
- Can do it last-minute
- No shipping costs!
- Most donations are tax-deductible, so they can reduce your taxes if you take the time to itemize at tax time
CONS:
- There are so many charities out there good and bad, so it'll take some research
- After you donate, it's likely you will receive some crap in the mail regularly. (All these letters asking for money make me not want to donate...)
On researching charities:
If you decide do do donations on behalf of recipients, then either
- you'll be choosing a charity for them, or
- the recipient will choose a charity, but in most cases you'll want to give guidance anyway so they don't have to work as hard.
- (Or my recommendation: ask them what issue concerns them, then find a good charity for it.)
And yeah, there are like a fuckton umptillion charities, not all of which are good.
Now, before I move on, I have some advice: If you're new to charity giving, don't worry too much about choosing which charity to give to. Don't feel pressured to go through every list. It's better to make a quick choice than to become overwhelmed and end up not giving at all.
Can you just choose a charity for me please, no fuss?
Alright, will do. GiveWell figures out which charities are most effective at saving lives per dollar donated, as well as which will benefit the most from further donations. If you give to GiveWell, they will donate to these top charities "according to where our research suggests your donation will do the most good." (100% of your donation will go to the top charities and none to GiveWell itself, unless you specifically choose the 10% tip option.)
How can I choose and evaluate charities?
If you don't have any specific charities in mind, any one of the following links will help:
- GiveWell's Top Charities
- Charity Watch's Top Rated Charities, listed by category.
- Charity Navigator's Charities with Perfect Scores, listed by category
- Consumer Report's Best and Worst Charities for Your Donations, listed by category
I have a specific charity in mind, how can I see how good it is? These sites allow you to search for a charity and see how well it scores. If one site doesn't have a score listed, try another:
- Charity Navigator
- GuideStar (must create a free account to see some info, or just use one of these BugMeNot logins)
- Charity Watch
I want the charity to have personal meaning to me or the recipient.
Alright, here is an incomplete list of stuff I came up with. Sorry for the U.S.A.-centric focus here, but the links under the previous question already cover a lot of international organizations.
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) [U.S.A.]
- Fights in court for civil rights, noted for its successful legal cases against white supremacist and other hate groups.
- rated 3 out of 4 stars on Charity Navigator; Gold rating on GuideStar
- Wikipedia article
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [U.S.A.]
- Fights in court and does political lobbying for civil rights and against discrimination. These are their positions.
- Consists of two organizations: the ACLU is allowed to do more (like lobbying), but you can't deduct the donation from your taxes. ACLU Foundation donations are tax-deductible but less flexible. (If you don't care about tax deductions, donate to the ACLU.)
- The ACLU is rated A on CharityWatch. The ACLU Foundation is rated A+ on CharityWatch; 4 out of 4 stars on Charity Navigator; Gold rating on GuideStar.
- Wikipedia article
ProPublica [U.S.A.]
- Dedicated to investigative journalism in the public interest, such as the tracking and documentation of of hate crimes.
- rated 4 out of 4 stars on Charity Navigator; Gold rating on GuideStar
- Wikipedia article
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) [U.S.A.]
- Largest nonprofit anti-sexual assault organization in the U.S.
- rated 3 out of 4 stars on Charity Navigator; Platinum rating on GuideStar
- Wikipedia article
Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) [U.S.A.]
- Provides legal services for immigrants and fights to keep families together
- rated 3 out of 4 stars on Charity Navigator; Platinum rating on GuideStar
- Wikipedia article
Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) [U.S.A.]
- Run by and for autistic people. Their activism includes successfully opposing sub-minimum wage for disabled workers. It's one of the organizations that worked with Sesame Street to help create the autistic character Julia.
- Gold rating on GuideStar
- Wikipedia article
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) [U.S.A.]
- public education, advocacy, public policy for those suffering from mental illness
- rated A- on CharityWatch; 4 out of 4 stars on Charity Navigator; Platinum rating on GuideStar
-Wikipedia article
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund [U.S.A.]
- fights for laws and public policy protecting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people
- rated 3 out of 4 stars on Charity Navigator; Gold rating on GuideStar
- Wikipedia article
Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) [Global]
- Advocates for reproductive rights such as birth control
- rated A- on CharityWatch; 4 out of 4 stars on CharityNavigator
- Wikipedia article
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) [U.S.A]
- Nonpartisan group that works on issues like global warming, ecosystem restoration, and human health.
- rated B+ on CharityWatch; 4 out of 4 stars on Charity Navigator; Platinum rating on GuideStar
- Wikipedia article
Sierra Club [U.S.A, but is affiliated with Sierra Club Canada]
- one of the first large-scale environmental preservation organizations in the world, currently engages in lobbying
- Like the ACLU, it consists of multiple organizations, including the Sierra Club (can do political lobbying, but donations to it aren't tax-deductible) and the Sierra Club Foundation (vice versa)
- The Sierra Club Foundation is rated A on CharityWatch; 4 out of 4 stars on Charity Navigator; Platinum rating on GuideStar
- Wikipedia article
(God, this writeup took a long time!)
Check back tomorrow for another day of the Jul Advent Calendar! |