Everyone is feeling the pinch of our dismal economy. One sector that will be severely impacted by the economic woes of most Americans is non-profit organizations. Please consider a donation to one or some of those listed below. I’ve had the pleasure of working with them and have seen the successes of their courageous work. There are many more that aren’t included here; learn more about them and consider a donation to them as well.
1. More than 35 million Americans are “food insecure,” meaning they do not know where their next meal will come from. Your donation to Feeding America will help to bridge this gap. For every dollar you donate, you provide 16 bowls of food. With our serious economic decline, even more families are facing food shortages. Your critical support for this important program will help to close this gap and ensure that more people have meals this holiday season.
2. How does the gift of a goat, cow or natural resources management training translate into self-sufficiency for a family in Tanzania or a community in Nepal? Heifer International is building sustainable communities worldwide by investing directly in them with long-term solutions. Your gift will help the 60 year old organization continue its success in providing people with the tools for self-sufficiency, economic development and healthy well-being.
3. Give the gift of health. International Rescue Committee’s health basket contains medicine to prevent malaria and other diseases, materials for safe drinking water, baby delivery kits and training of local health workers. IRC asks you to be part of their journey “from harm to home” by pledging a donation this holiday season to provide much-needed health supplies for communities around the world. If your donation is in someone’s honor, they will receive a card explaining the gift.
4. Give a monkey a home. No, you don’t need to have the monkey live with you but in a beautiful tract of rainforest in Costa Rica through the Natural Resources Defense Council’s “Revive a Rainforest” campaign. Your donation of $10 will plant a rainforest tree, thereby helping to revive the Turrialba region which previously had been rainforest but is now a barren, desolate area.
5. Buy 2 pairs of shoes for $5! No, this isn’t a major shoe sale at Nordstroms but an innovative fundraiser by Soles 4 Souls to support their 50,000 pairs of shoes in 50 day challenge. The organization distributes shoes across the country and around the globe.
6. Boikarabelo is the inspiring community featured in our film, Angels in the Dust. Marion and Con Cloete left the comforts of their Johannesburg home to start Boikarabelo twenty-years ago. It has grown to include living quarters, a garden, school and health educators. Well over one hundred children who are orphans of the HIV/AIDS epidemic live there. Your donation of any amount will make a huge difference in the lives of everyone in this community that desperately needs your support to continue its basic, daily functions. Learn more and support Boikarabelo.
7. Clean up Washington! Yes, this is a refrain we hear from politicians and activists frequently (though Governor Rod Blagojevich seemed to have not gotten this message) However, one group is really doing it: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The organization “uses high-impact legal actions to target government officials who sacrifice the common good to special interests.” However, they cannot do it without citizens, like you. Please consider a donation to CREW today to help clean up our government.
8. Give a bed and blanket! Covenant House provides housing, education, health care, drug treatment and other social service programs to over 65,000 teenagers nationwide. Your gift will enable Covenant House to continue these critical programs. Support their Bed and Blanket Matching Gift Challenge and your donation will be matched if you contribute before the end of the year.
9. How about spending the holidays in a detention center? Unfortunately, for thousands of documented and undocumented immigrants and families, that will be their reality this year. Detention Watch Network is a coalition of national organizations advocating for a more humane immigration system. Your support will help to reform our inhumane detention system.
10. What is your favorite charity? Share with others where you like to donate by clicking on the comment button at the top of the page.
(photo: Mindful One, Creative Commons)
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Hello,
Jenny from VolunteerMatch here. Monetary donations are always in demand, but during these tough economic times it’s not always possible to give cash. Finding a way to donate your time and energy in your community can provide benefits in many ways.
By connecting good people with good causes VolunteerMatch works to strengthen communities. The website offers opportunities nationwide from over 60,000 nonprofits. Since 1998, we’ve referred over 3.7 million volunteers.
Whether you can donate an hour, a day, or a week and whatever your passion may be, there is an organization that needs your help.
Great idea, Jenny. You’re absolutely right that volunteering is a great way to help organizations!
Hi Sarah,
Having been in Tanzania, your second suggestion really struck a cord with me. After volunteering there for 2 months, I realized that the only way to really help the country in decreasing its poverty is to teach the locals to help themselves. This has to be done through a consistent organization that can teach them the tools to sustain themselves and develop.
Donating to Heifer International sounds like an amazing way to spend my money, and make a true difference in the long run, which is what we all need to focus on in these unstable times. Thank you for sharing such positive info/suggestions with the world. These are all great ideas people may not have come up with otherwise.
So my friend recently had a KIVA Birthday Party. What’s that you ask?
Instead of receiving gifts he told everyone to donate to KIVA.org and bring a recipe to the party instead of a traditional B-day gift. Great Idea — so why stop there? Why not extend the power to change lives with a KIVA gift certificate during the HOLIDAY SEASON.
Your recipient will create a KIVA account, redeem the gift certificate and lend the funds from the certificate to the entrepreneurs of their choice. This will not only give you and the recipient something to talk about the whole year, but you’ll be helping out an organization whose sole mission is to change lives around the world.
Talk about a gift that keeps on giving.
KIVA’s URL: http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=home
These are such fantastic ideas! I’m definitely going to use some. Thanks Sarah!
A favorite organization of mine: L.A. Diaper Drive! Help prevent families from having to choose between buying food or diapers for their baby. Give money or diapers!
Thanks for posting, it’s always good to learn about a few new organizations applying creativity and innovation to social issues– and I always appreciate a good reminder that there are still many “basic” needs that still need our attention (and funding).
I agree that we need to be particularly mindful of the pressure put on the non-profit community during times of economic crisis. It’s easy to cut support in favor of a rainy-day fund as the economic future becomes increasingly uncertain.
With nearly 2 million charities in the United States and an increasingly shrinking pie, it’s also important that we as givers are more thoughtful and intentional about where we invest our charitable dollars. We may not all pour over financial statements of the charities we support but it’s a great time to think about doing a bit of due diligence to make sure we are giving wisely. A few things I’ve found to be useful: 1) Audit your giving from last year and see if your money is really going to the issues you care about. Think of your giving as a portfolio. You may find that a real passion of yours has been under-funded (or vice versa). 2) Ask people you trust what they’ve given to (and why). Hopefully they have good answers and can give you insights you won’t find on a charity Web site. 3) Take a peek at ratings and financials of the organization just to be sure they are good stewards of your money. 4) Write down your personal “giving mission statement” to better understand how you think problems should be solved. I tend to favor really creative, entrepreneurial, long-term solutions but I didn’t realize it. Everyone has slightly different criteria but these have helped me become a bit less random (and hopefully more effective) in my giving. Even though I don’t have a ton to give, I like to “think” of myself as a philanthropist