Which charity do I choose?

The situation is this: I have more money than I need. I give a little to various charities every month, but that’s donations I started making when I was a student, so they’re pretty tiny compared to my salary these days.

So what do I start giving money to? I could spread it out, but I kinda like the idea of giving enough in one place that it’s actually noticeable above the molecular level. I’m your standard commie bleeding-heart pinko. I like gay rights, women’s rights, saving whales, all that stuff.

So, hit me with any suggestions you have.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. One of my favorites. If you like holiday music, you cannot go wrong with buying the Carols for a Cure CDS.

I should probably have mentioned that I’m not American, so international charities are favourite.

You can look at Charity Navigator for suggestions, and they can tell you how efficiently a particular organization is raising and spending its money. I’ve been surprised to find how often a charity I’ve always thought well of is financially spinning its wheels, regardless of how good the cause is.

Regardless of your politics, you want your money to go to your charity of choice, not overhead. So, “Save the Gay Handicapped Minority Whales” might sound good, but check them out carefully - not for profit, non-profit doesn’t mean the same thing as a bona fide charity, a lot are pretty cagey about their actual status - they don’t want you to know. If their website doesn’t end in .org (at least for the US?) it might be suspect??

You could check over here. Amnesty International, Heifer Foundation, Doctors Without Borders…

Like Godfrey Daniels, St. Jude Children’s Hospital is my suggestion. It is a hospital/research clinic for treatment of childhood cancer and research. No child is turned away from treatment due to the inablility to pay.

Wow…I completely forgot about this until just now, but they’ll still take your money.

I vote for Heifer International. Give someone a goat!

Send money for the danceswithcats stray kitty feeding project. Or mail a 20# bag of Dad’s gourmet blend. They love that. :smiley:

I’ll second that. I’ve been a regular contributer to Heifer International for several years.

Depending on how you feel about Her Majesty Queen Silvia, there’s the World Childhood Foundation