I donate to several charities a year and it feels so good knowing I’m helping others to live their best life. Below are the charities I’m committed to. Below I spell out how I chose a charity.
NAMI Texas is part of NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.
RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE, online.rainn.org y rainn.org/es) in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country and operates the DoD Safe Helpline for the Department of Defense. RAINN also carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.
We work to end hunger and poverty in partnership with the communities we serve. Our programs support entrepreneurs around the world, creating lasting change from the ground up.
It begins with a seed investment of livestock or agriculture, followed by mentorship to help project participants build a business, and ultimately to gain access to supply chains and markets.
Operation Kindness is a pioneer in Texas for assisting animals in need of veterinary care, companionship, and most of all, a home. We operate a lifesaving animal shelter in Carrollton, TX.
In addition to pet adoptions and lifesaving medical care, our programs provide foster care for vulnerable animals, resources for pet parents, affordable veterinary services for community pets, a pet food pantry, and volunteer opportunities.
Homeless Veterans Services of Dallas Inc.
The goal of our organization is to help alleviate the problem of homelessness among our veterans and their families by assisting with transitional and permanent housing.
Independent – the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations).
Charity Navigator
The first step when choosing what charities to support is to go to Charity Navigator. Once on the site type in the charity name and check to see that they are legally 501 certified. That means the company has been given a legal charity status.
Eliminate any charities that are not legally 501 certified and at least four-star rated. If they are not legally 501 certified, don’t waste your money.
Then look at their expenses to see if the percentage of the money is actually spent on services. If a charity spends more on its overhead, your dollars do not get to the people you want to support. My rule of thumb is the charity must spend at least 75% of the money on actual services and a small percentage on overhead. If a charity has a low percentage, they are keeping more of the money.
I would also look at their website for more information.
It sounds like a big job but it it comes together fast and it’s your hard-earned money that you are giving.
I’ll give you an example. There is a charity my granny always gave money to and I donated one time long ago, I get a plea for money every week and it’s near impossible to have them take you off the list. Once I found out about Charity Navigator I looked at this charity profile and found that only 25% of the money was actually going to the executives.
If you have any questions please reach out to me. I don’t have all the answers but will try to help you navigate.
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Melinda
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Melinda I have been impressed with your maturity and also knowledge base. Now that I’ve learned that you contribute to these wonderful charities I realize that you also have a heart of gold.
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Thank you for the kind words. I’m no different than the others that support charities. I’m blessed that we have the money to share. Have a great day.
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