# Which charity do I choose?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [November 3, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013 "2006-11-03T20:09:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013/1 "2006-11-03T20:09:07Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013/2 "2006-11-03T20:13:15Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013/3 "2006-11-03T20:34:02Z")
I should probably have mentioned that I’m not American, so international charities are favourite.
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### Author:  [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2006, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013/4 "2006-11-03T20:45:36Z")
You can look at [Charity Navigator](http://www.charitynavigator.org) 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.
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### Author:  [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013/5 "2006-11-03T21:03:56Z")
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??
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### Author:  [@Godfrey\_Daniels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Godfrey_Daniels)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013/6 "2006-11-03T21:20:30Z")
> **[Give hope to kids with cancer](https://www.stjude.org/donate)**
>
> Learn more about how you can support St. Jude at https://stjude.org
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### Author:  [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2006, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013/7 "2006-11-03T21:51:34Z")
You could check over [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=394126). Amnesty International, Heifer Foundation, Doctors Without Borders…
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### Author:  [@MsFancyPlants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsFancyPlants)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013/8 "2006-11-03T22:18:00Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013/9 "2006-11-03T22:46:38Z")
Wow…I completely forgot about [this](http://www.sirblah.com/misc/HBF.htm) until just now, but they’ll still take your money.
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### Author:  [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2006, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013/10 "2006-11-04T01:19:07Z")
I vote for [Heifer International](http://www.heifer.org/). Give someone a goat!
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### Author:  [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)
#### Post date: [November 4, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013/11 "2006-11-04T03:32:15Z")
Send money for the danceswithcats stray kitty feeding project. Or mail a 20# bag of Dad’s gourmet blend. They love that. 😃
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### Author:  [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013/12 "2006-11-05T02:51:10Z")
[QUOTE=dangermom]
I vote for [Heifer International](http://www.heifer.org/). Give someone a goat!
[/QUOTE]
I’ll second that. I’ve been a regular contributer to Heifer International for several years.
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### Author:  [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2006, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-charity-do-i-choose/379013/13 "2006-11-05T03:23:37Z")
Depending on how you feel about Her Majesty Queen Silvia, there’s the [World Childhood Foundation](http://www.childhood.org/)…