I like the idea of local charities that you can see and know you align with.
Personally I give to my church. They align with my values and I see how active they are in the community.
Ask HN: What charities do you contribute to?
11–20 of 34 posts
Re: Ask HN: What charities do you contribute to?
#12Electronic Frontier Foundation
I used to have a larger list, but it seems like every non-profit that reaches a certain size or age starts to drift, until one day you see their current projects or grants and realize a lot of your dollars are going to tangential projects.
Re: Ask HN: What charities do you contribute to?
#13Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Aquarium aside they’re a major oceanographic research center and might be what you’re looking for in the environmental space. https://www.mbari.org/
Edit: Just to add, they are a 501(c)3 non profit, you can donate here https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/join-give/ways-to-give/g...
Re: Ask HN: What charities do you contribute to?
#14unicef
Re: Ask HN: What charities do you contribute to?
#15Givewell is the correct answer. They spend a fixed percentage researching the most impact-per-dollar in reduction of human suffering, then they put the other 97% or whatever each year toward that one thing.
Give to Givewell.
Re: Ask HN: What charities do you contribute to?
#16Micro financing; Kiva.org
Re: Ask HN: What charities do you contribute to?
#17Micro financing; Kiva.org
Don't get me wrong, I like what Kiva does in theory, but it's definitely not charity. They mainly just partner with 'microloan' companies in poorer nations, who themselves can be pretty relentless about collecting their money back.
They often have pretty ridiculous interest rates, such that if you don't make a ton of money from it, you're trapped in debt for a long time. And yes, they'll come to your home to collect. Think of it as basically more aggressive payday loans. To be clear - not Kiva, but their partners.
Re: Ask HN: What charities do you contribute to?
#18I recommend giving to small and local organizations, big organization and NGOs are full of corruption and a small amount of the money given actually ends up in the hands of people who actually deserve it.
Re: Ask HN: What charities do you contribute to?
#19Recommendation: Look for something local to you if at all possible. I find it much more satisfying when I know the people who are going to be doing the work and I can directly see the results of the donations or volunteer time.
I'm not saying you are wrong, but I personally took the completely opposite approach on the basis that I live in a comparatively high socio-economic area so you need more dollars to make an impact. I chose Medecins Sans Frontieres who primarily work in poorer countries because I believe they make more impact to people's lives per dollar spent.
Re: Ask HN: What charities do you contribute to?
#20Up until about a year ago I contributed to The Good Food Institute, Sheldrick Wildlife Fund, and Nonhuman Rights Project. Now it's things like Come Back Alive and occasionally grassroots fundraisers for the Ukrainian military.