How much do you give to charity and who do you support?

[Anonymous]

We recently inherited some money and are planning to increase our donations this year. I'd love to know if others have recommendations of charities to support. I'm particularly interested in finding some new DC based charities that support families that are struggling and kids educational needs. Generally we give a few hundred a year to each of:

- Bread for the City
- Amnesty International
- Campaign for Tibet
- Planned Parenthood
- the Brady Campaign

Would love to add a couple more local charities that are doing good work, either with families/education (as I suggest above) or in other areas.

[Anonymous]

About $1500 per year. Around $500 is to pay for a scholarship every year at my hometown community college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Would love to add a couple more local charities that are doing good work, either with families/education (as I suggest above) or in other areas.

We give about $10K a year, divided among local/national/international and (primarily) education/social service/health charities. A couple of great ones include:

Posse Foundation -- they work with groups of kids in target cities and specific colleges to send a "posse" of kids to school on full four-year scholarships. They target first-generation college attendees--kids who are real leaders as teens, but whose parents didn't attend college and are typically lower-income and unlikely to consider 4-year school or top residential colleges.

Arlington Academy of Hope -- this is a school in Uganda started by immigrants who now live in Arlington. What started as scholarships for rural Ugandan kids turned into a large school, clinics, and higher education scholarship program. It is still a small and locally-run charity where individual donations can make a direct and significant impact.

[Anonymous]

I can't give much, but when I can, I give to A Thousand Sisters, the fistula foundation, and St. Judes.

[Anonymous]

Doorways for Women and Families- shelter for women in NOVA
SOME So Others Might Eat
WAMU/ WETA
Southern Poverty Law Center
Alma maters
house of worship

[Anonymous]

We give about $500 per year. Capitol Area Food Bank, Planned Parenthood, and CARE, sometimes also Heifer International.

We also donate $500-1000 in goods to Value Village or specific families in need in our area (house fire, death in the family, early/ill babies, etc.).

We know that we don't give as much money as some others are able to, and we also donate many hours to various local efforts.

[Anonymous]

$0

I prefer to keep my own money, but if I were rich I'd donate to Miriam's kitchen

[Anonymous]

We give around 7.5% of our pre-tax income to charity. Our HHI is around $150k. It varies some with annual bonus. So, between $12k and $14k.

We give to our Congregation, Our Daily Bread (in Fairfax), FACETS, local Parks, national wildlife organizations, our Universities and two clubs from those times, our denomination's international unicef-ish organization among others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We give about $500 per year. Capitol Area Food Bank, Planned Parenthood, and CARE, sometimes also Heifer International.

We also donate $500-1000 in goods to Value Village or specific families in need in our area (house fire, death in the family, early/ill babies, etc.).

We know that we don't give as much money as some others are able to, and we also donate many hours to various local efforts.

I always wonder why people donate to Value Village. They are for-profit, aren't they?

[Anonymous]

Planned Parenthood
Doctors Without Borders
The Brady Campaign
Women for Women International
Women on Waves (provide legal offshore women's reproductive healthcare, near places where women's healthcare is illegal or severely limited)
Sometimes local parks, museums, and community projects

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We give about $500 per year. Capitol Area Food Bank, Planned Parenthood, and CARE, sometimes also Heifer International.

We also donate $500-1000 in goods to Value Village or specific families in need in our area (house fire, death in the family, early/ill babies, etc.).

We know that we don't give as much money as some others are able to, and we also donate many hours to various local efforts.

I always wonder why people donate to Value Village. They are for-profit, aren't they?

It keeps things out of the dump. However, if they gave it to Goodwill, they may have a tax deduction.

[Anonymous]

[quote=]- Amnesty International
- Planned Parenthood
- the Brady Campaign
- Southern Poverty Law Center
- Planned Parenthood

Rather than these, best to give to organizations that don't support causes that are anti-American LW whacko (pardon the redundancy).

[Anonymous]

We now donate goods to thrift shops and online [book sellers donate to schools etc].

I stopped donating to schools and colleges. Posse does not pay the 100%. The schools fund a large portion for the selected students. Posse "brokers" the deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[quote=]- Amnesty International
- Planned Parenthood
- the Brady Campaign
- Southern Poverty Law Center
- Planned Parenthood

Rather than these, best to give to organizations that don't support causes that are anti-American LW whacko (pardon the redundancy).

NP, but I guess I should donate or create an organization to the restore the 2nd amendment - to *only* include the arms technology of 1791.

OP, thanks for the Southern Poverty Law Center suggestion - I'll add that to my personal list. Already donate to the others

[Anonymous]

We give usually about $5000/yr

Our church
MS Society
Each of our colleges and grad schools
My sorority's aid fund which provides one-time grants to alums in need due to crisis situations
Girls on the Run
Cancer Fund of America

We used to give to Livestrong but don't anymore

Lots of random $25 and $50 donations to support friends' and their kids' fundraisers (Team in Training, Ronald McDonald House, etc)