Givinng to Charity

[Tyler Durden]

Not sure if this is the right spot, but...

I just cut a check to DAV and began to wonder if there was a better charity to donate to.  I started looking into it a little bit and found DAV is rated a "D" by the Charity Watch website, but a 98/100 on Charity Navigator.  Not sure what that's all about.  A charity by the name of Operation Homefront was rated very high for a veterans' charity.  Also, the highest rated cancer charity by Consumer Reports was the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Anybody familiar with those last two?

Also, I remember Jack having a guy on several years back with Bella Medical Ministries that did some impressive work in Haiti, but that doesn't seem to exist anymore.  Their FB page is gone and Google doesn't return much.  Wonder what happened there?

[Carl]

I have donated to  http://www.purpleheartfoundation.org/  ,I never really looked at how they rate...but I think it may be better just to give to someone

who needs help.PUT MONEY IN THEIR HAND,not some group.

[LvsChant]

I agree with Carl... cut out the middle man and all those administrative expenses that plague so many large charitable organizations by giving locally... maybe there is a local foodbank, or even a local veteran's group (if you like giving to veterans) that would get more of your donation directly where it needs to go.  My husband donates time and money to a local organization that drives veterans to doctor appointments... virtually no overhead at all and a really useful way to assist.

[David in MN]

Charity is such a bad issue. "Big Charity" has done more damage to this noble cause than one can estimate. Be very careful. The vast majority have problems with internal costs (look at their books) and many advertise one cause but give to another.

Bottom line for me: if I wanted to launder money and skim off the top in present day America my preferred method would be opening a charity. The closer you can connect the donor and receiver the fewer problems you'll find.

[bigbear]

When Wounded Warrior was in the news a few months/years back about their expenses I read quite a few good things about Fisher House Foundation. 

Here's a list of rating for veterans focused charities.
http://www.military-money-matters.com/charities-ratings.html

[FrugalFannie]

you want a charity that gives 100% to the people it helps? Here's one for you http://www.shiresharing.org/#mission

I know the woman who runs it. I have volunteered for several years. All the food is packed and delivered by volunteers. No one gets a dime of the money. They helped over 600 families last year.

Now, does this charity ACTUALLY change anyone's life? I doubt it. But then what charity does? But it does make 1 day a year much better than would otherwise happen. And maybe, for some, just knowing that there are good people out there who care, will change their life.

[Carl]

This is why I rotate LTS Long Term Storage Foods and medium term storage to a neighbor who needs help.

[Smurf Hunter]

At a minimum, support your local foodbank.  Sure, feeding a family down the road isn't as exotic as global causes, but a person is a person, and locally your dollar goes further.

[surfivor]

I've never heard anything bad about the salvation army

[CandyGram4Mongo]

+1 for Fisher House.  I've got first-hand experience w/them - they are great.

[Carl]

I've never heard anything bad about the salvation army

Salvation Army is better than most as 84% of your donation get to their program charity service. See how the rate at #6

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Guide-to-Giving/America-s-Top-50-charities-How-well-do-they-rate

[surfivor]

Salvation Army is better than most as 84% of your donation get to their program charity service. See how the rate at #6

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Guide-to-Giving/America-s-Top-50-charities-How-well-do-they-rate

 That's what I give to, salvation army .. they also have quite a visible presence in the area

[Richard (richard)]

I give primarily to Salvation Army, I know of people that have been helped by them.
We use to give to the local churchs' annual rummage sale until one year when we donated boxes of Lego's, hundreds of dollars worth. I was the first one in the morning of the sale and there were no Lego's, all gone. But how could that be? I was the first one in. I then learned that the church volunteers had first pick, for free. The night before a church "volunteer" loaded up the Lego's and probably sold them on Craigslist.

[Carl]

Maybe a LEGO hoarder or plastic survivalist?

[CandyGram4Mongo]

An alternative to making donations is to do micro-loans on kiva.org.  You’re NOT donating - you’re underwriting a micro-loan to an ambitious person who wouldn’t otherwise have access to capital.

You make a loan, they pay it back, and you can then re-lend that money to another ambitious person.

I have “recycled” my initial stake 5 times.  So each dollar has done $5 good to helping people become self-sufficient.  I don’t earn interest.  I’ve made 192 loans and have only had two defaults.