Do you donate to charities? Does anybody have any good charity suggestions?
I rarely donate money as I'm paranoid about the management of resources in most charities. I'm more generous with my time and actions. I don't have much family so instead of stuffing my face and arguing on thanksgiving, I help out at a local shelter that has a meal for homeless veterans...

I donate to friends' charity posts on social media and spare change at registers here and there. I could stand to volunteer more but I have started giving food donations to homeless people in downtown Indianapolis when I can.

That's great! I know many people who donate to charities and help to make the world a better place. I prefer to donate to reliable organizations like Hope Now orphans charity. This community help orphanages to meet basic needs and it doesn't cost much, only $25 monthly sponsorship help to meet kid's basic needs for survival. They do a great job! They greatly appreciate any help.

The American Red Cross is my favorite charity right now, with everything that is going on in the country (hurricanes and fires) and around the world as well. I usually give them a reasonable donation every year. I don't think you can go too much wrong with the Red Cross, unless there are some controversial politics there which I am not aware of.

I will sometimes donate money to the local food bank, too.

Being the nature admirer that I am, I also donate to the local land trust a couple times a year as well. Their aim is to help stop open space and forests/hills from being covered with homes, or gated and shuttered "no trespassing," which, in an area like where I live, is needed when real estate development is gobbling up open space and farmland at an alarming rate. They fund conservation easements, solicit donations of private land to be set aside for protection, and buy land outright through donations if the funds are available.

Some charities tend to spend just as much money soliciting donations, as they do actually spending the donations on what they are meant to be for. I gave money to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society once, and it was a mistake- they started calling me and badgering me constantly for donations, and I realized that my money was probably going to keep an army of telemarketers employed as opposed to actually helping to fund better treatments/cures for cancer.

I did when I worked in retail. United Way. Did not have to deal with telemarketers every couple of months or however often they call and bother people. I think it was something like two dollars a week.

Humble Bundles

I've checked them on the charity sites/scanners occasionally. Seem to be generally pretty standup organisations.

As far as street collectors go, Wellington Free Ambulance. It is the only city in New Zealand that provides a free ambulance service, and they basically rely entirely on charity to keep running :/

I find true charity organizations very valuable but I have a deep rooted scepticism towards many of them after all the reveals of how they treat the donations, what they spend money on etc. I've come to the conclusion that I'd much rather do something myself than give money to organizations where I don't know what they money actually goes to.

I don't really have the time, or energy, to engage myself in any organization so I prefer to do the small things. I try to buy locally produced food and I do waste sorting (very common in Sweden compared to other countries). I also do not buy plastic bags when I go food shopping, I use my backpack and two bags made of textile.

The organizations whose causes I tend to appreciate the most however are some pro-life movements like Live Action (although I really dislike the overtly religious ones, and we don't have any good ones in Sweden). I also like the organizations that work for animals of different kinds. Since I was a child I was fascinated with blackfish so seeing the rise of the organizations that work towards emptying the tanks in zoos is a positive sign. I'm fascinated with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as well.