Can you imagine a world where charitable giving was the norm for all gifts for holidays, birthdays and anniversaries? If you’re like me you want to make sure that the money goes mostly to the actual cause, right? Read on for a list of pre-vetted charities to help make giving even easier for you.
So let’s back up a little bit. Given that the average human has 50,000 thoughts per day, I’m asking for just a few of those thoughts while you read this article for the next two minutes.
You can seriously change the world with the information I’m about to share.
But first, let’s paint the scene.
It’s that time of year again when we rush around to get our loved ones’ items on their wish lists, buying sweets and salty crunchies, making sure that everything is literally tied up in a bow, and wait! Doesn’t the neighbor’s new dog need a gift?!
Everywhere you look and everywhere you go it’s shouting at you, “spend, spend, spend!” and your bank account gets hit, hit, hit. The holidays are truly the annual crescendo of consumerism.
Essentially we are spending all our money to support consumerism and then we stop, every so often, and think about giving to charity to support those in need.
But how often do you act on it?
Take a minute and group your holiday thoughts/actions up into family, friends, work, consumerism and charity.. what would a pie diagram look like to represent each of these in your life these days?
Go ahead and sketch it out – I can wait while you have an epiphany.
Don’t get me wrong, thank goodness that MANY of us give monthly to our favorite charities, quarterly charitable giving and then we give even more around different times of the year that inspire us. We can donate money, time, items, skills and a big shout-out to all of us who do this!
There is so much to be grateful for and I challenge you to expand just slightly out of your comfort zone and give a little more this year.
Can you imagine a world where charitable giving was the norm for all gifts and everyone you know told you their preferred charity?
Imagine charitable giving for everyone in your family and all of your friends. Then if everyone in your neighborhood did the same thing, everyone in your state, your country; giving to those less fortunate and those that need help.
That’s a lot of giving and imagine the impact!
Why don’t we start small? Pick your favorite charity and give. If you can do more, sign up for monthly or quarterly donations.
If you already give, try a little bit more. Perhaps donate a little in honor of each of your family members in addition to your normal traditions.
Last year when selecting charities close to my heart and my community, I researched and discovered which charities give the most to the actual cause to ensure my donations made an impact.
I learned that local charities typically give the highest percentage to the actual cause which makes sense. Living in Atlanta, GA, USA, I’ve listed my charities below which include a few local ones.
Feel free to look into the charities of your choice! Local and international! Here is the link to Charity Navigator which has done the research for you and has an easy-to-use search bar for looking up different charities.
| Charitable Foundation | Percentage of donations that go to services or programs |
| Atlanta Community Food Bank | 94.60% |
| Trees Atlanta | 86.40% |
| PAWS Atlanta | 83.30% |
| Humane Society International | 82.80% |
| PETA | 82.60% |
| Humane Farming Association | 82.00% |
| Audubon Society | 81.10% |
| Guiding Eyes for the Blind | 77.00% |
| Covenant House | 76.60% |
| Heifer International | 75.60% |
| Atlanta Humane Society | 75.50% |
| Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine | 75.30% |
| ASPCA | 75.00% |
| World Wildlife Foundation | 73.00% |
| SPCA International | 72.60% |
| International Fund for Animal Welfare | 71.90% |
| Best Friends Animal Society | 71.00% |
| Farm Sanctuary | 70.60% |
| Humane Society of United States | 65.60% |
| Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue | 57.90% |
| Ironwood Pig Sanctuary | TBD |
| Southwest Indian Foundation | TBD |
If you don’t see your chosen charity listed above, use this site to vet your charity and determine how much of your donations actually go to the cause.
Please do what you can – give just a little bit more. Change someone’s life.
If you’d like to learn more please don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I’d like to help in any way I can.
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