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Which charity would you guys recommend and why?

Raoul Duke

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To the OP, don't you anything that relates to your life / family, or some hardship you personally went through? I always feel like those make the best donations. However, if you've had a great life thus far, go with one of the above suggestions.
 

summej2

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Expense ratio isn't the only thing you should look at because is it is too easily manipulated and doesn't get at the real question: how effective is the charity? Now that makes it harder on you in finding out who to support, but in the end it is the better approach.

I think of it almost like picking a company to invest in. You are looking for return on investment, it's just that the return is in social value. There are a couple of nonprofits that try to do this kind of effectiveness rankings, but their names now escape me. You could also look at tacticalphilanthropy.com

In practice, I start by giving a small amount to organizations whose missions are compelling to me. Then I assess the information I get from the organization the same way I would a fund prospectus or a business plan. I gauge how much to give (or whether to give again) based on that.
 

Al-Wahid

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http://www.kiva.org

Kiva is an organization that provides microfinance to entrepreneurs in Third World countries such as Uganda, Sudan, and Pakistan. It seems to be modeled after Mohammed Yunus' Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. I really like this organization because you have the option to loan money rather than donate, the overhead doesn't seem to be that high compared to other NGOs, and you can actually discern the impact that you're having. Moreover, if you could conceivably make money on a successful project if you were so inclined.
 

JohnGalt

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Originally Posted by Agnacious
I have been thinking about this one:

http://www.donorschoose.org

I saw it on usa channel I think. I think education plays an important role in society and I do not believe public education ( I think this is public only) is delivering on that goal. Regardless of whether that is the problem of bureaucracy or the individual, I appluad the effort made by the front line to increase the quality of the education through innovative ideas.


Donors Choose is great - my fiancee is a teacher and when she was working in some under-funded school districts it really helped her do a lot for the kids.
 

robertorex

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+1 on kiva.

And though you move a lot, I think the idea of donating to local charities or food banks is still a good idea. When you give money to a big global organization it's easy to forget about it and pretend it's doing okay, but when you support a local organization wherever you go you get to see that there's poverty everywhere. Depending on how involved you get, you also get to feel the effects of your emotional and financial investment on a personal level.
 

Aperipan

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Originally Posted by robertorex
+1 on kiva.

And though you move a lot, I think the idea of donating to local charities or food banks is still a good idea. When you give money to a big global organization it's easy to forget about it and pretend it's doing okay, but when you support a local organization wherever you go you get to see that there's poverty everywhere. Depending on how involved you get, you also get to feel the effects of your emotional and financial investment on a personal level.


I would not donate to any charity that only provides physical comforts.
 

summej2

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Originally Posted by Al-Wahid
http://www.kiva.org

Kiva is an organization that provides microfinance to entrepreneurs in Third World countries such as Uganda, Sudan, and Pakistan. It seems to be modeled after Mohammed Yunus' Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. I really like this organization because you have the option to loan money rather than donate, the overhead doesn't seem to be that high compared to other NGOs, and you can actually discern the impact that you're having. Moreover, if you could conceivably make money on a successful project if you were so inclined.


Kiva is a great idea and it was, in fact, inspired by the founder hearing a lecture by Yunus, if I correctly recall hearing her tell the story. Loans made through Kiva are 0% interest, but there are some microfinance funds and other means if you want to loan for profit. And, yes, the overhead is quite low since many people donate their time to the effort (translators and so forth).
 

boo

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Originally Posted by summej2
Expense ratio isn't the only thing you should look at because is it is too easily manipulated and doesn't get at the real question: how effective is the charity? Now that makes it harder on you in finding out who to support, but in the end it is the better approach.

I think of it almost like picking a company to invest in. You are looking for return on investment, it's just that the return is in social value. There are a couple of nonprofits that try to do this kind of effectiveness rankings, but their names now escape me. You could also look at tacticalphilanthropy.com

In practice, I start by giving a small amount to organizations whose missions are compelling to me. Then I assess the information I get from the organization the same way I would a fund prospectus or a business plan. I gauge how much to give (or whether to give again) based on that.


The Robin Hood Foundation fits that perfectly: www.robinhood.org
 

robertorex

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Originally Posted by Aperipan
I would not donate to any charity that only provides physical comforts.

What do you mean by this? Is there a charity that deals only in psychic comfort, or one whose physical comforts provide no psychic or emotional benefit whatsoever?
 

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