What charities would you give money to?

[LoveSpringsteen]

In no particular order:
Harvest for Hunger / Local Foodbanks
American Diabetes Association
Salvation Army
World Central Kitchen (Jose Andres' charity)

 

[disneyseniors]

If you were a billionaire

I hear people say they were donate to charity if they suddenly came into massive amounts of money but which charity would you donate to?

LOL, I've often said I wished I was a millionaire so I could donate Alot to St. Judes Research and Children's Hospital.
I do donate to St. Judes, and no other one. If I have extra money I donate to Wounded Warriers and COPS (which is for the families of officers who died while in service) We have been recipients of this amazing organization.

 

[nursejackie]

I have a monthly direct debit to Cancer Research UK which I started almost 19 years ago. Cancer has ravaged my family and I'm sure it'll be on the horizon for me at some time based on history so hopefully my donation will help with future treatments that I may need.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I hand out actual money to real life homeless people and know real community leaders who work with actual poor people and give the volunteers gift cards to places where they can buy stuff.

It's easy, if you see a homeless person pick up a sandwich at a nearby store and drop 5, 10 or 20 in the bag, give them the bag and tell them to look carefully in the bag. I completely reject the idea that homeless people do not deserve money in their own hands to care for themselves.

 

[goofyernmost]

There are so many worthwhile out there.
My Favorite is St. Jude Hospital. I hate cancer and cancer in children is just freaking unacceptable.

Second is Disabled American Veterans. There are many out there that are worthy but this one gets a larger percentage of dollars donated directly to those that need the help. We as a country should be taken care of them, but as usual it goes to political pay raises instead.

My third has quieted down a lot recently and that is Make a Wish. I used to do all sorts of things for Make a Wish. Time and life kind of got in my way over the years.

 

[fortwildernessishome]

The same charities we donate to now. Toys for Tots, our two local food pantries, our local animal shelter where we have adopted our cats from and help random people in need like we do now, but on a much grander scale!! Oh, how fun it would be to have millions to give away!!

 

[fly girl]

I do research to make sure the money I give charities to are spending the majority of each dollar on the cause, not to fill executive wallets. I do know that running an organization such as Ronald McDonald House and St. Jude's is going to take some of my money to run the organization with competent workers. But I understand to each his own. How you want to donate your money is up to you.

The ones I really like are Ronald McDonald House, Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinsons, Freestore Food Bank (local), St Jude, Salvation Army.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I would start a Middle College. The one I attended in high school changed my life--I might not be here today without it.

 

[Travel60]

Years ago we decided to focus our contributions on education, particularly minority or underserved populations. We already support scholarships at 3 universities named for deceased relatives. Would probably bump the endowments by a million each. Also already support an internship program at DH alma mater that demographically has become diverse, a scientific research program at DD former all girls high school, general support at DS former high school. Would probably bump those to $250,000 each annually. Then we'd go to service teaching program at DS former college and say "what do you need....give us a proposal". Finally increase support to local organization that provides for families of children in hospital (think more comprehensive Ronald McDonald house) and local organization that provides resources to women who have been rescued out of servitude.

Edited to add: I've often had idea of community based low-income housing in group setting....possibly in under-utilized inner city school. Using help from intended tenants and community, transform each classroom into studio/ apartment. At elementary level provide housing to single parent households and at high school level to students without reliable housing. Housing would come with responsibilities....group cooking in school kitchen, cleaning and maintenance duties, childcare for parents who can work, tutoring, etc. Community services provided for basic healthcare, skills training, social services, cooking, sewing, maintenance, etc. I see a lot of synergies. Expensive to fix up and furnish the schools but would serve those communities well. Could spend a few mil on that.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I'd encourage everyone to give to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society https://www.lls.org/ and the CLL Society https://cllsociety.org/.

But, that's b/c they may hold the key to my cure. They do great things, and you can buy merchandise to wear that helps spread the message and gives you something nice for your wardrobe (I sent my family masks from LLS for Xmas)...

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

If you were a billionaire

I hear people say they were donate to charity if they suddenly came into massive amounts of money but which charity would you donate to?

My go to's are:

The Salvation Army
Unicef
St. Jude's Childrens Hosp
American Red Cross


If I ever won a Lottery there is an organization locally I would love nothing more than to give millions or billions to.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I would start my own charity and name it after my Mom. When she was battling cancer for six years, we often fell behind on the bills and I pretty much ruined my credit paying them or paying for her medications that weren't covered by insurance. Many times I had to call one of the utility companies in tears and beg them not to shut us off, I had a cancer patient in the house. We never got to the point where it was food or medicine, but it was damn close. My charity would give cancer patients money to pay their bills, gift cards for the local supermarket, money to buy medications. Show me a bill, and the charity could pay it. It's horrible enough to have cancer without worrying about your bills or how you're going to pay for things you need. You should be able to put all your mental resources into battling the disease. My mother spent far too much time worrying over those things.

 

[Feralpeg]

When I was a kid, there was a television show called The Millionaire. Each week, the millionaire would call his assistant in to research a person or family. The story would be around the people being researched to see if they were truly deserving. The end of each show involved the person or persons receiving a million dollars from an anonymous source. I always thought that would be amazing to be able to do this.

I'd like to have a foundation. The purpose of the foundation would be to give help to deserving individuals. For instance, you hear of people who've lost everything in a natural disaster or who need money for a medical procedure. Or, people who just really need a helping hand to get on the right path. I'd love to be able to do that.

Of course, I'd love to be able to help as many homeless people and animals as possible.

 

[goofyernmost]

My go to's are:

The Salvation Army
Unicef
St. Jude's Childrens Hosp
American Red Cross


If I ever won a Lottery there is an organization locally I would love nothing more than to give millions or billions to.

The red cross comes to mind because my father, a WWII veteran was denied something, I don't remember what, from the Red Cross and therefore never would donate to them. I remembered it when I went in the service and ended up in Vietnam. I never had any direct contact with the Red Cross, but the Salvation Army gave me a personal hygiene kit including toothpaste, brush, shampoo, deodorant and a few crackers etc. They just stood there and handed the stuff out. I'm pretty sure that the Red Cross was right on the front lines dealing with war casualties, which was quite commendable, but I thankfully, never had that need.

 

[Lizgistix]

Goodness, let's see, I've donated to a number of charities and non-profits over the last few years and that wouldn't change with a billion dollars.
World Wildlife Fund, Guide Dogs of SE Florida, Red Cross, various food banks, various animal shelters, RAINN, Southern Poverty Law Center, NCTE, Camp Carefree (a dear friend volunteers there), and I've donated to a hospital after having an outstanding experience there.

I'd love to have a dog retirement home where senior dogs can live out their final years, especially senior dogs in shelters that people cannot care for or don't want to care for. Comfy beds, soft toys, easy to chew foods and treats. Plenty of love and attention so when they do pass, it will be in a safe and loving environment and not in a cage. I imagine it would be an emotional labor of love since I'm sure I'll get attached to every dog who comes in.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I hand out actual money to real life homeless people and know real community leaders who work with actual poor people and give the volunteers gift cards to places where they can buy stuff.

It's easy, if you see a homeless person pick up a sandwich at a nearby store and drop 5, 10 or 20 in the bag, give them the bag and tell them to look carefully in the bag. I completely reject the idea that homeless people do not deserve money in their own hands to care for themselves.

I agree with you, but we don't need to be a multi-millionaire or billionaire to be able to do that. If I had that kind of money, I'd be trying to get those people off the street & into a home. I'd also make sure they always had food not just an occasional meal provided by the generosity of a stranger.

 

[low-key]

Yes I gave money to a homeless guy in Vegas, who needed money for Pot research

 

[Magical2017]

We give to some national organizations but the bulk goes to local and state organizations, especially food banks.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Cancer research @ Memorial Sloan Kettering; St Judes Hospital, Disabled American Veterans, Wounded Warriors, Avow Hospice. These are a part of our Supported charities. With all that money, many more would be added.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My father drove tanks in WWII and had PTSD issues for the rest of his life. So Disabled American Veterens (DAV) is a favorite charity.

The MSPCA as they do great work locally is another favorite charity. And numerous other regional animal charities who struggle with the mess that’s left from people not caring for their animals properly. If I had billions I would figure out a national Spay/Neuter education program to help with the disgraceful pet overpopulation problem we have. We don’t even hear much about Spay/Neuter anymore. We wouldn’t need all these rescues if we didn’t have so many unwanted animals.

Horse sanctuaries like SkyDog Ranch. And the World Wildlife Fund to educate others globally about animal welfare.

Make A Wish, for sure. And local food and Christmas charities.

I do see in news articles that the American Red Cross is almost always on scene of fires giving out blankets and such so they would receive contributions from me, too. (@goofyernmost I’d be curious to know what happened with them and your Dad.)

I’m sure there are others.