Pajiba

Habitat for Humanity, yay! It's fun to build stuff.

AmeriCares

Los Angeles Regional Food Bank

The Jimmy Fund

I donate to several on a regular basis, so I hope it's okay to list more than one, 'cause I can't choose between (among?) these worthy causes.

ACLU
Amnesty International
Southern Poverty Law Center
Human Rights Campaign
NARAL

I picked these because they deal with issues that are getting no love from the current administration...

What a great diversion!

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has always been my favorite since it hits both on my lawyerly side and, more importantly, my nerdy side.

I know it's early for repeats, but I'm going to second Heifer International.

Gilda's Club Worldwide

It's named for Gilda Radner and provides free social and emotional support to men, women and children living with cancer, their family and community of friends.

Great diversion...

Wow, I can't believe you guys picked my favorite right off the bat! I will add my name to the Heifer Project cartel.

I like lots of little charities that would never win so in the interests of consensus I concur that Heifer International is actually awesome (in every use of the word).

the SPCA! yay animals!

the SPCA! yay animals!

One of the few worthwhile things my office does is work with Heifer International. I also support the ACLU and Doctors Without Borders (and, although not monetarily, the NY Blood Center). And Catholic Charities, ruining my liberal street cred.

How about the Innocence Project? I really can't think of anything worse than serving hard time for a crime I didn't commit.

There's a Comic Book Legal Defense Fund???? What do they defend? Is there a whole body of tort law built around justifying Superheroes who break stuff in the course of their world-saving exploits? I'm intrigued. Please elaborate.

I'll add a vote to Heifer International and Habitat for Humanity, both great non-profits.

Doctors without Borders, the Innocence Project

Amnesty International and FINCA - a microlending non-profit.

Voices for Pets

Caringbridge.com (a website for people with a terminal illness)
Susan G. Komen Foundation (breast cancer awareness, started here in Dallas)
Habitat for Humanity

Winrock International

Doctors Without Borders
World Wildlife Fund
The Seeing Eye (guide dogs for the blind)

My all-time favorite charity is The Smile Train for the following reasons:
1. Free surgical repair of cleft lips/palates;
2. The beneficiaries are children;
3. One Hundred per cent (100%) of the donation goes to the beneficiaries, i.e., no fund raising or administrative costs;
4. No philosophical or political qualifications for treatment;
5. The surgical repair immeasurably improves the lives of vulnerable and impoverished victims.

Please go to the website. I am convinced that you will agree.

SPCA.

ACLU

okay, now i feel like an asshole. not only for the double post but for my vote. although i am sometimes loathe to admit it, i guess people are more important than dogs and cats. but just barely. i'm changing my vote to the Southern Poverty Law Center or Habitat.

Amnesty International
UNHCR
ACLU
SPLC
Greenpeace

PaddyDog - I went searching on the interweb and found this web site for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund: www.cbldf.org

kb - I think your suggestion was a good one. It's hard to choose when so many issues need our attention

Yeah! Heifer is fabulous!! I drive by the HQ every day going home. The world village should be built soon.

I also support the ASPCA, Susan G. Komen Foundation, and many others.

I'm not afraid to be an asshole, I like animals MUCH more than most people.

ASPCA
Humane Society
Best Friends Animal Society

I'm not afraid to be an asshole, I like animals MUCH more than most people.

ASPCA
Humane Society
Best Friends Animal Society

My bad! Seriously, my computer froze up and I thought it didn't go through. Truly wasn't trying to be obnoxious and double post.

Habitat for Humanity/Global Village

Doctors without Borders
Oxfam

Habitat for Humanity
Best Friends Animal Society

My two favorite national charities, but there are a slew of state and local charities I like to help out with time and money. Go local!

1.House Rabbit Rescue Society
(locally BUNNYLUV rescue)
2.Ronald McDonald House

I have two favorites: Modest Needs, and Project Peanut Butter.

i'm so glad you mentioned heifer international. second that.

Melody - you must live in Little Rock. The Heifer Project HQ is a must-see, especially if you live this close.

And Covenant House deserves a huge shout out for the work they've done in the past and continue to do.

Oh man, I wasn't even even going to go into the people/animal debate when I voted for Voices for Pets but someone else did so now I feel the need to jump in.

Animals are much better than people. Animals do not rape and torture eachother. They're not greedy and they do not pollute the world. They deserve all our help because most of their problems are caused by us.

Sorry, I have 4 favs.

I find that the Salvation Army (actually a church) always seems to be first in when a disaster strikes, and most of the money donated to them actually goes to helping and not to salaries.

Second Harvest Food Bank.

Doctor's without borders (they actually returned my check after the big tsunami and said they had too much money donated, and perhaps another organization could benefit, really).

Smile Train.

Amnesty International. They're actually under a budget shortfall right now, so if you'd like to contribute on your own, they desperately need to make up some dough by the end of the month.

clowns without borders. seriously: www.clownswithoutborders.org

An AmeriCorps program by the name of City Year. They do all sorts of cool stuff for kids. Check 'em out at cityyear.org.

amFAR: The American Federation for AIDS Research

Since people are suggesting multiple organizations:
America's Second Harvest
Medecines Sans Fronteires
St. Jude's Children's Hospital
Heifer International

I find that the Salvation Army (actually a church) always seems to be first in when a disaster strikes, and most of the money donated to them actually goes to helping and not to salaries.

I was just about to jump in and say this exact same thing, because the Salvos hadn't been mentioned by anyone yet. And yes, they are a religious based org but they are NOT in any way missionaries; their only criteria for whom they will help is need, and no sermons are included.

My vote goes to the Salvation Army...even though I don't see a single organization here that doesn't richly deserve support.

the innocence project

Smile Train, fo sho!!
Also Habitat for Humanity.
And Compassion International.

Great idea, Pajibers!! Way to use your powers for good and not evil. :)

I'm gonna go way off the beaten path.....I am a member of our local community theatre group, and we are trying to build/purchase a new/used building to use as a theatre for our group, our local community chorale group, and others. We do a lot with the children of our community and want to re-instate children's theatre workshops that used to be held around here in the summer time. My town is very, very small and there just isn't a lot to do here (no theatre, movie or otherwise, other than us, no malls...nothing) so we are trying to find ways to get kids involved in something, other than just running the streets. We could use all the help we could get...
www.rushcountyplayers.org (Rush County Players)
(yes, we are STRICTLY non-profit!)

I am also a big ASPCA fan!!!

I'm a registered nurse, working on a cancer floor, so my choices are cancer related:

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Susan Komen Foundation
American Cancer Society
and
Caringbridge.com because a lot of our terminal patients use this service.

OK, now I need to get out my checkbook.

Special Olympics :-) Close to my heart :-)

All of these organizations are great! Hugs to all the Pajibans out there today...but can we return to sarcasm and nastiness tomorrow please?

ASPCA
Habitat for Humanity
Drs Without Borders

The Matthew Shepard Foundation
NARAL
ASPCA

Aww... Pajiba cares!

If I donate money I like to keep it local, so along those lines I will be giving lots of money at the end of this year to the Oregon Food Bank. But since they're unlikely to get a lot of votes from folks nationwide, I'll choose Lutheran World Relief. They actually help to implement sustainable living practices in impoverised nations, rather than throwing money and supplies in them that ultimately leave them permanately dependent on outside help.

Oh my god--although I remember you guys mentioning it in a previous review, I forgot what NAMBLA was and had to Google it. Yikes!!!

Any animal charity works for me--thank you Agent Scully, you said it well!--but in the interest of consensus, we'll go with SPCA.

Rush County Players (yay, live theater!)
Habitat
Human Rights Campaign

Water For People.

According to Guidestar, their admin costs are really low, which means the money goes where it's supposed to, they're small so the money will make a big difference, and what could be more important to those in 3rd world countries than clean water?

1. CARE

(if you only use one of mine, please use CARE)

2. MSF

3. ACLU

4. Oxfam

5. Amnesty International

doctors without borders

My vote goes to the fuzzy ones as well.

SPCA
Greyhound Friends of New Jersey (where my sweet girl came from)

But for people I'll go with the Salvation Army, if only because they have enriched my wardrobe for years.

Second posting, but I want to encourage as many as possible to visit The Smile Train website. No other charity of which I am aware gives 100% of the donations to the beneficiaries. I do not think I am over stating the case when I say that the repairs to the children's cleft lip/palates in essence gives them their lives back. Otherwise, they are relegated to the very fringes of existence where they are all too often the objects of shame, suspicion, and ridicule, even within their own families.

I also must respectfully disagree with those who assert that the Salvation Army does not propagandize and prosthelytize. I used to work with them and have seen their missionary zeal in practice. I would also encourage donors to look up the admin/fun raising v. flow through ratio of any charity. I was astonished to learn that more than half of the donations for many so-called non-profits are spent on internal expenses (I am looking at you PETA).

Planned Parenthood.

I love their Pledge a Picketer campaign. The anti-choice (aka fundie) protestors are making us MONEY. Take that, fundies!

My favorite nonprofit is one that actually fits in well for this site - Film Aid International (filmaidinternational.org). They screen free films for refugee camps across the world.

I'm also a fan of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and Modest Needs.

Best Friends Animal Society.
The animal lovers out there can check it out: www.bestfriends.org
Also, I'd like to add my vote to some of the more popular ones, namely:
Greenpeace
ACLU

Habitat for Humanity!...or the HRC. Whatever floats.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/home.cfm



i travelled with them in college for a semester in guatemala and it was single-handedly one of the best experiences i had in my life because i learned about "perspective" (read: i'm a spoiled western nation little brat). no matter how hard i thought my life was, there were at least 2.5 billion people suffering more.

I'm pretty fond of Amnesty International, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and the American Red Cross.

Like katy up above, I don't donate very much to larger nonprofits, admittedly mostly because I know small local charities are always struggling desperately for funds due to being both A) small and B) local, which make it hard to get publicity or convince visitors of their relevance. I worked for a summer for an English nonprofit of that sort, and try to support local efforts when I can--though on a shoestring grad student budget I don't manage to donate much these days besides time volunteering. (One day...one of these damn days...)

Rudy - I don't see why it's such a big deal for a non-profit to have half of its money go to overhead. Not every charity is the United Way. Believe me, there's very few people lining their pockets at charities, PETA included.

By the way, the Smile Train's overhead/salaries/etc. were paid by Computer Associates, who has some execs serving time for massive fraud. I'm not trying to detract from the ST's mission or anything, but we should recognize that lots of charities are supported by companies with less-than-savory histories.

National Multiple Sclerosis Society

My faves are ASPCA and Heifer International, and, since I know I'm not the only Joss fan on the board, I'll do a shout out for Equality Now. They're all really good suggestions, however - what a great diversion!

Women for Women International
, a global network to help women affected by war, matching rape victims and refugees in war-ravaged countries such as Rwanda, Sudan and Afghanistan with sponsors who write to them and send donations - $30 a month - to fund employment training and rehabilitation.

Women for Women International
, a global network to help women affected by war, matching rape victims and refugees in war-ravaged countries such as Rwanda, Sudan and Afghanistan with sponsors who write to them and send donations - $30 a month - to fund employment training and rehabilitation.

yay for a comment diversion that gives back!

1) Heifer International, one fo my good friends is working at one of their farms, so I have learned a lot about it and it a great organization!

2) Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

3) Habitat for Humanity... ditto an earlier post...building stuff is fun!

I'm going Innocence Project as well.

My big nonprofit is Free The Children (http://www.freethechildren.com/index.php)

The Kilburgers have done worked for years to aid in the plight of child labourers worldwide for years. They focus on youth to youth education and ambassador programs as well as providing needed aid. Unlike a lot of non-profits 91% of their funding goes directly into aid programs for at risk kids and their communities. They focus on ensuring that children worldwide have acess to education, healthcare, sanitation and water as well as helping to find alturnative incomes for families that would normally send their children to work in near slave labour conditions.

I have friends that work with Free the Children and the thing that has always impressed me the most is their dedication. Everyone involved from Craig Kilburger on down make my teeth hurt with their goodness and willingness to sacrifice to allow others a chance at a better life.

Amnesty International

Back in my school days I used to collect donations for Amensty Internation every Candle Day. It rained every year and we would get abused by everyone from teenagers to business men.

This method seems a lot simpler.

There's a Comic Book Legal Defense Fund???? What do they defend? Is there a whole body of tort law built around justifying Superheroes who break stuff in the course of their world-saving exploits? I'm intrigued. Please elaborate.

LOL. Essentially, they fight censorship and defend the 1st amendment rights of those in the comic book industry. You wouldn't believe how much censorship goes on (I'm looking at you Comics Code Authority). http://www.cbldf.org/

Along those same lines, I always contribute to ACTOR http://www.actorcomicfund.org/ The help provide moneatry to aging comic professionals. Most legends that help create our most popular heroes of today don't have any retirement or health care because everyone worked freelance.

I also give to the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation (http://www.mkacf.org), which helps fight domestic violence and cancers that affect women.

Doctors without Borders!

My favorite nonprofit is one that actually fits in well for this site - Film Aid International (filmaidinternational.org). They screen free films for refugee camps across the world.

I'm also a fan of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and Modest Needs.

Definately Doctors w/o Borders

I think we need to support promise city, they are recently in the middle of an unexpected population explosion

yikes, now i feel snarky for wanting to vote for 'TBA' of 'Host versus graft'. (Arrested Development, how I miss you....let me count the ways)
How about Knitters without borders? (yes, I am serious)raises money for doctors w/o borders.
also red scarf project www.orphan.org

Hurray for the CBLDF and heifer international
and this is somewhat off topic, but I am anal when it comes to facts, and I'm sorry Agent Scully, but several species do in fact use rape as a reproductive strategy (like ducks, oddly enough), African wild dogs often eat their prey alive, and have you ever seen what a cat does when it gets its paws on a mouse? not that you should ever judge animals by human moral standards. Also, non-gmo pigs are horrible polluters (b/c they can't digest phosphorus) but that's actually our fault - we bred them that way. (I am full of semi-useless facts.)

I was sold on the success of microlending, so donate funds, supplies, spare sewing machines, etc to the Wisconsin/Nicaragua Partners of the Americas which set up home and village-based businesses in Nicaragua's poorest areas. They've made amazing strides in the last few years, and the idea is being exported to other countries.

I hate to insert any contention into the feel-good diversion, but I have to agree with those who have a down on the Sally Army. They are quite anti-gay in their activities and have refused membership to homosexuals.
Also, having worked for a 501-C-3 for several years, it actually is a big deal if a charity spends anything more than 20% tops on overhead. It's virtually impossible to justify more than 20% on overhead from an ethical accounting point of view. Salaries, office space, etc. should never consume as much income as the intended recipients of the charity. If they do, you're paying someone too much, renting above your means, etc. or not in it for legitimate reasons.

National Rifle Association

Let's face it, the ACLU doesn't protect the second amendment.

National Rifle Association

Let's face it, the ACLU doesn't protect the second amendment.

I will second the Women for Women International. It would be nice if the recipient of our Pajiba love was an international organization as there are quite a few of us who hail from outside of the US!

I will also second Amy's shout-out to Covenant House!

And if we're considering organizations that provide surgical repair for conditions that cause social stigmatization and isolation of young people, how about UNFPA and the Campaign to End Fistula??

The vote that won't really count goes to the Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue www.rmgreatdane.org (if just one person from this site donates to those gentle giants I'll be a happy lady!)

And my real vote goes to the Heifer...cool name...cooler cause!

MADRE - a human rights organization that works "with women who are affected by violations to help them win justice and, ultimately, change the conditions that give rise to human rights abuses. And we challenge US policies that undermine human rights." Small but fierce.

Throwing back-up votes to:
MSF/Doctors Without Borders
Oxfam
CARE

I would also encourage donors to look up the admin/fun raising v. flow through ratio of any charity. I was astonished to learn that more than half of the donations for many so-called non-profits are spent on internal expenses (I am looking at you PETA)...
It's virtually impossible to justify more than 20% on overhead from an ethical accounting point of view. Salaries, office space, etc. should never consume as much income as the intended recipients of the charity.

I think these are legitimate concerns. A lot of you here seem to be more charity-savvy than I am, so I'll ask this: I seem to remember hearing about a "watchdog" website where you can find this kind of info on nonprofit organizations; e.g., what percentage of donations goes to their overhead.
Does anybody here know anything about such a watchdog organization, or am I just crazy? And if you do know about them, this would be a good place to post their URL.

I am into pets so here it goes:

Greater Chicago Ferret Association. Fantastic group that does very well with a very misunderstood and fantastic animal.

Illinois Bird Dog Rescue. This is a home run group with a very dedicated woman at the helm. Again taking care of a breed/s that people do not understand what they are buying into.

My wife and I have adopted from both and are beyond reproach and need as much assitance as possible.

Thanks

They deserve all our help because most of their problems are caused by us.
Well said, Agent Scully.

1. SPCA
2. Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

Terry Fox Foundation.

The man was THE greatest Canadian, IMO. His story is inspiring and tragic but b/c of what he accomplished - people like me will never forget him.

Terry Fox Foundation - not just for Canadians.
(in fact one of most spine tingling moments of my life was when arriving at the Terry Fox Run in Malaysia and seeing a video of Terry running on the jumbotron as we approached).

ACLU
DonorsChoose
MADRE

My top pick is definitely Heifer International for their amazing programs helping poor people and communities all over the world.

Other favorites:
Habitat for Humanity - because helping people build their own homes makes all the difference.
The Salvation Army - one of the organizations that just keeps working and helping people in America's most depressing inner cities.
Engineers Without Borders - designing and building basic water and sewer systems in areas where those alone will save hundreds of lives from disease.

Great diversion.

The Sacramento Children's Home. I work for it. It started as an orphanage in Sac over 100 years ago, and has now grown to include services that range from crisis nurseries to family counseling, group homes for kids with behavioral issues to the after-school literacy program that I work for.

My particular program tries to make up for the gap in the amount that low-income kids are read to. A middle class child has been read to for thousands of hours by the time they enter school, a low income child...maybe 100. We read to them, give them activities to get them interested, have them write to make connections and improve comprehension and critical thinking. It's a very cool program, and the kids love it.

All of the funding for the organization comes from donations, a few grants, and a Mexican restaurant annexed onto the main building that does catering and private parties, and is run by clients of the Children's Home

SPCA, all the way. Go, dogs, go!

This is an organization that is actually making a dent in the problem it is tackling, and the subject beneficiaries are far more admirable than 99.9% of human beings. The San Francisco SPCA is one of the finest entities I have ever come into contact with (having done some pro bono work for them in the past), not just among non-profits, but among all organizations. They are well-run and grimly, pragmatically efficient at furthering the human race's stewardship of and obligations to the politically mute beings we share this galactic pebble with (notwithstanding the posh pet holding area that garnered headlines, not rational analysis -- that unit was privately paid for).

And go Kissing Suzy Kolber -- fuck you PC po-po, KSK is the shit. Absolutely guaranteed to offend, or your money back.

I always go for the causes that have directly affected people close to me, in the hopes others don't have to go through what they/I have gone through. So I have:

1. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

2. National Down Syndrome Society - Next week is the New York Buddy Walk. One of my buddies will be on the big screen in Times Square during the photo montage. She'll be the adorable little girl holding her new baby brother.

3. March of Dimes

Everyone that was looking for a watchdog group:

Charitywatch.org is a good start. They review the financials of most major charities. They have a list of their top rated non-profits on their website.

You can also request a non-profit's yearly financial reports; they are required by law to provide them to the public.

Paralyzed Veterans. (because I'm an Air Force brat)

Doctors Without Borders. (because my dad was the knd of country doctor who would take a sack of oranges as payment & tell the HMO to fuck off had he lived long enough to see them come into existence)

Habitat for Humanity. (because I admire Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter)

The Gay Men's Health Crisis Center. (just because)

Hey guys! I love and definitely second the SPCA, but don't forget the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children!

Given the nature of this site, I don't feel any shame in professing my love for The Human Fund, founded by the celebrated philanthropist, George Costanza.

The Human Fund: Money for People.

But seriously, the only organization I've donated to so far (I'm only 18) is Greenpeace, and it was through them that I found out about a teach-in I attended this weekend on confronting the triple crisis of global warming, peak oil, and resource depletion/species extinction. The event was put on by the excellent International Forum on Globalization. I encourage everyone to check out ifg.org and read some of their reports.

All of the nonprofits mentioned are worthy causes, but this one kind of covers everything to do with every species in every aspect.

The Jimmy Fund.

My 5-yr old nephew was diagnosed with leukemia last year and they are just beyond words. Everyone from the Boston area knows the Jimmy Fund, but until my nephew was diagnosed I never really grasped how amazing the organization truly is...they will always be my non-profit of choice.

Smile Train.

smile train

If I had to pick one, Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), just because they are so freaking awesome.

Also, though,
Salvation Army

Doctors Without Borders

This is local to Fort Worth, TX...

The WARM Place, an acronym for What About Remembering Me

They run grief support groups for children and young folk (age 5-25) who have experienced a death loss (parent, sibling or other important loved one). Families are required to attend together so they learn to heal as a family with age appropriate groups for everyone. When it opend its doors 18 years ago, The WARM Place was one of only a handful of such programs in the country and became a model for others. If you ever want to become involved in something similar in your community, ask your local children's hospital or area hospice agency for the programs to which they refer their families.

I can't decide so I'll put two up:
Planned Parenthood
and
The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center

www.rushcountyplayers.org (Rush County Players)

GO LIVE THEATER! Rush County Players....totally not for profit! That's my favorite Charity!

I have to say SPCA.

Planned Parenthood
Operation Smile
SPCA
St. Jude's Childrens hospital
Habitat for Humanity

The Center for Biological Diversity. They protect wildlife from extinction using the Endangered Species Act. They are most famous for protecting the polar bear, but just last week they took action to save an endangered three-foot long spitting worm! If that isn't punk rock, I don't know what is. www.biologicaldiversity.org

I love Heifer International, happy to see it get lots of love here. All the others are worthy as well, except the NRA. I ain't down with that one.

I also want to give a shout out the hungersite.com because its free and all you have to do is click to contribute. It has links to all of their other worthy sites (breast cancer, literacy, child health, rainforest and pet rescue) and every click helps. So if you're short on money but want to help make the world a better place in your own small way go to the hungersite.com. Okay, I'm jumping off my soapbox now.

If I only get to vote for one I'd go with Planned Parenthood, if I get two the second would be Heifer International, and if I get three: Southern Poverty Law Center.

Habitat for Humanity
~ a full-time Americorps volunteer

I've been lurking around this website for a few months now, and I am finally commenting. The Okizu Foundation is a nonprofit near and dear to my heart. Camp Okizu is a camp for children with cancer and their families. While you may have heard of other pediatric oncology camps, Camp Okizu is one of a kind. Recognizing that childhood cancer affects the entire family, it hosts weekend family camps. Also, it is one of the only camps in the nation to provide camps for siblings of childhood cancer, a demographic hugely in need with very little resources. Most childhood cancer organizations drop the families if the child passes away, but not Camp Okizu. Okizu continues its support of the families, providing bereavement family camps for families who have lost a child to cancer. During the summer, Okizu has four SIBS (Special and Important Brothers and Sisters) sessions and three oncology sessions. The best part? Every family member goes to camp for free. Not a penny is required. It's located in Northern California, but because of its unique and inclusive services, some families fly to camp from all over the country.

Seriously, Okizu is amazing. Especially the siblings program. It's fucking hard to have a sibling with cancer when you're a kid yourself, and Okizu is one of the only programs offering them support. Their slogan: Until there's a cure, there's camp.
Holy shit. I wrote a lot.

I also like to support Bitch magazine because non-profit, independent feminist media needs all the support it can get.

Oh, please don't choose anything animal related. *Is a bad liberal sometimes, doesn't give a crap about animals*

I vote Teach for America. Because, you know, dumb kids = dumb grown-ups.

The UN's World Food Program is desperately lacking in funds. It has had to cut the rations it gives to refugees in Sudan in half in recent years.

This is something that needs money, does incredibly great work, and would directly benefit from your donations. Rather than just needing money to spread awareness or help people who are down on their luck, which are good too, this program is very directly helping people who need this help very, very much.

Direct Relief International......don't think I've seen that here yet.

Add my vote to Heifer Int'l and Planned Prenthood as well.

Parenthood, sorry. Can't stand to have incorrect spelling

I have three:

1) The Stephen Lewis Foundation: www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/

2)The International Committee of the Red Cross

3)The Terry Fox Foundation (87% of the money raised by this charity actually goes to cancer research)

ACLU

Doctors Without Borders

And since no one else has mentioned it, how about the American Red Cross? I know they got a bad rap after 9/11 but they do a great job and charitywatch.org rates them an A+

The make a wish foundation .
As a father of a terminally ill child they gave me one of the greatest weeks ever with my son.

Medecins Sans Frontieres

Heifer International is the shit. It's the exact model of aid we should be giving to developing countries...none of this Bono crap.

Planned Parenthood would be cool too.

Hey guys, I have to give a shout out to Global Fund for Women. What they do is give grant to the small NGOs and collectives in developing countries that work with women's issues (reproductive health, sexuality, political enfranchisement, etc.) and really need a boost. I run an NGO in a developing country and one of the biggest issues is getting funding as a small organization, particularly for building infrastructure and sustainable day-to-day operations. We need folks like GFW, and they can't give money unless they're getting money. So yeah, check out the website (www.globalfundforwomen.org) and donate some cashola! Every little bit helps.

Rush County Players gets my vote too. This group bends over backward to help out every cause in their county to include things like volunteering for police scenerios which are not fun, by the way... This little group has stayed afloat for more than 30 years and are housed in a building that's crumbling around them- 2 working outlets in the building, leaking roofs, sometimes only 1 working toilet... Obviously, they do not host their performances in this building (sometimes they can't host their rehearsals their either,) they rent auditorium space and it's expensive, not to mention royalty fees, and all the other fees every production has. The fee to participate is nothing and it gives everyone (particularly the youth) in the county something positive to do. Go RCP!

I'll second the Oregon Food Bank...yeah locals. :)

Other than that, though, I'd go for Doctors Without Borders or the Red Cross.

the human fund, www.charityapple.org

Equality Now

EricC, Seriously? You do not understand why spending over 50% of donated money on fund raising and admin expenses is "such a big deal"? What? Do you put so little thought into other aspects of your life or are you universally profligate? C'mon Dude, catch a clue.

Cheers to those who investigate a charity before donating. (^5 Jerce!) Otherwise you are encouraging and facilitating deception, if not outright fraud.

Moveover, who gives a rat's ass if those donating to a charity are committing fraud in unrelated endeavors? It does not in any way taint the charity.

I want to know what the chairty is doing with the money I donate. If 100% goes to the beneficiaries then that money is going to where I intend and not being siphoned off. I also care deeply about the conduct of the charity which is why I cannot support the Salvation Army. Not only are they homophobic (^5 Paddydog!) but they bully vulnerable homeless people with their sermons before food prosthelytizing.

As for children v. animals, I choose children every time. Drastically improving the life of another human being, especially a child, is where I consistently spend my chairtable dollars. Others make other choices but for me it is not even a close call.

Great diversion, yet another reason to love Pajib(i)ans!

Heifer International is my favorite. A family friend who recently passed away always used to give animals in our name for Christmas. Now we all do it in his memory.

Rush County Players - Live community theatre!

SPCA looks like it's a sure winner (and a worthy one!), but I have to support my Rush County Players(www.rushcountyplayers.com). Community theater still lives in the heartland, and may it ever thrive.

Rush County Players gets my vote for my favorite charity! As said before, they are completely non-profit, and they care so much about their community and particularly their youth! It's a wonderful organization! Rush County Players; PO Box 33, Rushville, IN 46173---www.rushcountyplayers.org

Rush County Players is a wonderful non profit organization for families in our own county, as well as outside of our county to get involved in a worthwhile family oriented theatre group.We have many people from outside the county as well come to our auditions and get involved in all aspects of theatre. Our goal is to obtain a suitable building for this theatre group to continue its efforts as we strive to involve all ages in live theatre productions. It is heartwarming to see(at times) 3 generations participate in our live theatre productions. We value families and believe that valuable life's lessons are learned by all who participate in theatre productions.Please help us to continue and expand with this worthwhile endeavor.

Never heard of them before, but as a member of a cushy university-supported non-profit theatre group (albeit on a different continent), I'll go for the Rush County Players...

Other than that, Doctors without borders.

International Justice Mission - They work to rescue victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery and oppression. They not only work to free the victims, but they help equip them afterwards to transition into their new lives. And they pursue legal action against the perpetrators. They are a really great group, and they have a pretty good rating on charitynavigator.org.

Teach for America and Reading is Fundamental - Because education is incredibly important, and there's a huge need for quality teachers out there.

City Year- and as someone who's been through it, I can tell you that it helps its corps members as much as it helps the communities they work in.

I would have to say Habitat for Humanity and 10,000 Villages.

Rush County Players It's a great group! Yeah its really non profit! Great for the community.

Oh, and I forgot the Ronald McDonald House! My grandmother voluteers there every Monday and she is 80! That place is soo great!

I give my money to very unglamorous causes - my church, the homeless, disaster relief, etc. I give my time as a lawyer to the homeless and to public school parents trying to navigate NYC's insane bureaucracy (when I'm not defending large corporations :)).

"Moveover, who gives a rat's ass if those donating to a charity are committing fraud in unrelated endeavors? It does not in any way taint the charity."

I disagree - I've been following the Computer Associates thing and see it as robbing Peter to pay Paul. Fraud isn't some abstract endeavor - it robs lots of small-time investors of their savings. Sure, it's not quite as bad as a lifetime of being shunned because of a cleft palate, but just because a charity does good works doesn't mean that it's somehow above scrutiny. Also, those execs sat on the Smile Train's board and were very involved in the charity. The Smile Train wouldn't have existed without CA. To me, that's different than a mere donation.

Dillony, you've never heard of us cause we are buried in the middle of a very boring state. But, we are one of the longest lived community theatre groups in this state, and are committed to helping out our community, thru working with other organizations (every summer, Relay for Life-American Cancer Society, and currently the Humane Society, as well as United Way, Red Cross, etc) and directly with youth in our community, to give them something better to do than run up and down the streets, play video games or whatever. We want to give them a place to learn, to thrive, to grow, and to be positive people. As a completely member and community supported group, we thank you for your support! Rush County Players!!!!

Italian Greyhound Rescue Foundation. Almost every penny goes to paying vet bills for rescue dogs (and the pennies that don't are paying for minor expenses like postage for mailing fundraising auction items).

ASPCA (but never, ever HSUS)

Oxfam
Doctors without Borders

Boys & Girls Club

Doctors without borders


http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

1. The House Rabbit Society
everyone should have a house bunny :-)

2. The Marine Mammal Society

3. National Wildlife Federation

Heifer International or Doctors Without Borders

SamanthaT, I do not want to hijack this thread with a discussion on fraud and charities but I must respond to your comment briefly. Suffice it to note that it is precisely because fraud is not "an abstract concept" that the putative fraud committed by CA reps upon shareholders does not taint other unrelated activities. That does not change with the severity of the fraud or the vulnerability of the victims. It remains relevant only to the defrauded and fraudulent parties. This is a fundamental concept that I drilled (ahem, rhetorically) into my law students. The putative fraud, even if proven, would not be actionable against the charity. That is a material--not a personel--difference. The key analytical point is evaluating the activities of the charity in light of their charter/goals, not ascribing irrelevant behaviour/activities to non-germane parties.

That The Smile Train passes through 100% of the donations to dramatically improve the lives of children is beyond peradventure. Others may validly choose other charities for personal reasons but the untainted actions of The Smile Train doctors is entirely different from the politically/philosophically motivated and animated actions of some charities, e.g., The Salvation Army, see above.

There's a suspiciously large number of people from Rushville in this thread. Not hatin' if the people of Rushville happen to be representin' (I'm a former south-central IN theater nerd myself, so I know how hard it can be to get financial support for the arts in that area), I'm just saying, that's an awful lot of votes for a local theater troupe of a southern Indiana town with a population of less than 6000.

My fav non-profit is the Gulu Walk Foundation.

The walk happens once a year and it's to raise money for the children of Uganda.

*Shameless plug time*: If you go to www.guluwalk.org/learn and search "team ramrod" you can donate money to my team!

My vote is for the ASPCA. This is a great diversion, and it warms my cold, cold heart to see so many Pajibans who care!

"The putative fraud, even if proven, would not be actionable against the charity."

Nobody's claiming that it should. I simply wanted to point out that the reason the ST has to spend nothing on overhead is because its overhead is taken care of by a huge corporation, not because it's such an incredibly well-run charity. Many charities with less popular/sympathetic (some would, admittedly, say "worthy") goals couldn't ever gain such support.

I don't think that CA's ill-gotten gains are entirely irrelevant to the discussion on this thread. Irrelevant in a legal sense, yes, but not in the Pajiba sense. Feel free to quote me on that one, fellow posters.

Mercy Corps bitches!

s. pisaster...thanks for noticing (RCP). I am a BIG Pajiban, and so alerted my theatrical peeps to this site (not the first time I have sent people here..) we are not proud...just happy to get the name out there!

Oh and I also like Oxfam, and I just received this message from them: "A leadership group of Oxfam donors has established a Matching Gift Fund that will double every donation we receive between now and Oct. 1, 2007 - up to $1 million!"

Doubling our gift would be awesome!

The Human Fund

I'm disappointed in y'all. No parallels to draw between the Rush County Players and "Waiting for Guffman"? For shame, for shame.

Rush County Players has my vote!!!

The Road Home, which is a local homeless shelter dedicated to getting people back on their feet. More than just a cot and a bowl of soup.

I figure, free publicity, if nothing else.

the Riverkids project. RiverKids provides community-based care for children and families at risk of child trafficking in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

I also forgot to add to my list: US Marine Corp Toys for Tots program.

Great program. They are also highly rated!

disclaimer: I work for the ACLU of Alaska-Bong Hits for Jesus!

ACLU
RAINN
Amnesty International

Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres.

They do good work, eh.

Habitat for Humanity-I was also a full-time AmeriCorps member that worked at a Habitat affiliate for a year. That was the best way to spend a year after undergrad while figuring out what I wanted to do with my life.

Definitely second Heifer International.

Also on the list:
Doctors Without Borders
Habitat for Humanity
Human Rights Watch
Planned Parenthood
Women Living Under Muslim Laws (rad progressive organization for Muslim women around the world).

This year, I donated meager amounts of money to the ACLU and March of Dimes. If I had more, I'd also give to Planned Parenthood and Alzheimer's research.

Rush County Players

Habitat

Marine Corp Toys for Tots

Nebraska AIDS Project, South Dakota Boxer Rescue,
Planned Parenthood, Humane Society

Okay, I've got a few that I love, so I'm just gonna list them all.

Habitat for Humanity (I've volunteered with them before and it's just such a great time

CODEPINK (because I've noticed that nobody's mentioned these gals and they're just great, I used to be involved in their Boone, NC chapter when I was in college)

Doctors without Borders

Amnesty International

and Salvation Army

Professional fund-raiser for 10 years here - for a variety of non-profits including a university, Girl Scouts, and small arts organizations.

The general ratio of overhead expenses should be in the 25-30% range (higher for large organizations like American Red Cross, lower for small local ones). It would be nice if all non-profits could give 100% to their beneficiaries, but that would also mean that nobody but the rich could afford to work for a non-profit. As it is, we non-profit workers generally make 85% of what someone in a comparable position at a for-profit would make. As an example, I have a grad degree from an ivy league school and have been in my profession for 10 years - and I make less than $55 K.

Not that I'm complaining. Working for a non-profit has ample, non-monetary rewards.

I was glad to see some support of art organizations. Social causes are really popular right now and your local art institution/cultural site/live arts group are feeling the pinch. And that type of support is always the first to be cut in government/foundation/corporate budgets. So, if you have a few spare dollars, consider investing in your arts organization locally.

Rush County Players

Rush County Players has my vote too!

RUSH COUNTY PLAYERS

Medecins Sans Frontieres (doctors without borders)