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shed Some Light On Some Lesser Known or Smaller Charites (1 Viewer)

ClownCausedChaos2

ClownCausedChaos2

Footballguy
By now, everyone knows about the Ice Bucket Challenge and what its done for ALS. Other charities, like the American Heart Association, St. Jude's, the March of Dimes, etc. are all nationally recognized organizations that receive a lot of money.

This thread is to bring awareness to smaller amd local charities that do good work, as well. Recognize them, put there names out here, and wouldn't it be cool if we in the FFA as we're reading through this thread, picked a random charity, and donated to it?

I'll mention the Jedediah Thomas Smith Foundation for pediatric cancer. A local charity in my hometown. My sister sits on the board and they do great work:

http://thejtsfoundation.org

 
On the subject of both the Ice Bucket Challenge and other charities this was what Seth Godin sent out this morning (and nice job on trying to highlight lesser-known causes) -

Slacktivism

This is far from a new phenomenon. Hundreds of years ago there were holier-than-thou people standing in the village square, wringing their hands, ringing their bells and talking about how urgent a problem was. They did little more than wring their hands, even then.

In our connected world, though, there are two sides to social media's power in spreading the word about a charitable cause.

According to recent data about the ice bucket challenge making the rounds, more than 90% of the people mentioning it (posting themselves being doused or passing on the word) didn't make a donation to support actual research on an actual disease. Sounds sad, no?

But I think these slacktivists have accomplished two important things at scale, things that slacktivists have worked to do through the ages:

  1. They've spread the word. The fact is that most charities have no chance at all to reach the typical citizen, and if their fundraising strategy is small donations from many people, this message barrier is a real issue. Peer-to-peer messaging, even if largely ego-driven, is far better than nothing. In a sideways media world, the only way to reach big numbers is for a large number of people to click a few times, probably in response to a request from a friend.
  2. Even more important, I think, is that they normalize charitable behavior. It's easy to find glowing stories and infinite media impressions about people who win sporting events, become famous or make a lot of money. The more often our peers talk about a different kind of heroism, one that's based on caring about people we don't know, the more likely we are to see this as the sort of thing that people like us do as a matter of course.
Spreading the word and normalizing the behavior. Bravo.

The paradox? As this media strategy becomes more effective and more common (as it becomes a strategy, not just something that occurs from the ground up as it did in this case), two things are likely to happen, both of which we need to guard against:

  1. Good causes in need of support are going to focus on adding the sizzle and ego and zing that gets an idea to spread, instead of focusing on the work. One thing we know about online virality is that what worked yesterday rarely works tomorrow. A new arms race begins, and in this case, it's not one that benefits many. We end up developing, "an unprecedented website with a video walkthrough and internationally recognized infographics..." (actual email pitch I got while writing this post).
  2. We might, instead of normalizing the actual effective giving of grants and donations, normalize slacktivism. It could easily turn out that we start to emotionally associate a click or a like or a mention as an actual form of causing change, not merely a way of amplifying a message that might lead to that action happening.
The best model I've seen for a cause that's figured out how to walk this line between awareness and action is charity: water. My friend Bernadette and I are thrilled to be supporting their latest campaign. It would be great if you'd contribute or even better, start a similar one.

I think the goal needs to be that activism and action are not merely the right thing to do, but the expected, normal thing to do.
 
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Stay tuned. Will be bumping this thread in a couple months.

Edit to note that the FFA has already been incredibly generous with their donations to the Texas Children's Hospital Cancer Center in honor of Chance. Once our Foundation is up and running after our launch event in November, I'll post information here for those who are interested, but do not in any way want to diminish what you all have already done, for which we will be forever grateful.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'll throw a link to The Arc of Northern Virginia

It's an organization that provides support to parents of children with severe developmental disabilities. I know they helped my friends (who unfortunately lost their son this year after 10 years battling very serious developmental disabilities). My friends are relatively affluent, but still needed to rely very heavily on the support that the Arc helped identify for them in finding care givers and other resources. I can't imagine how much help they provide to families that are struggling financially.

 
fourd said:
On the subject of both the Ice Bucket Challenge and other charities this was what Seth Godin sent out this morning (and nice job on trying to highlight lesser-known causes) -

Slacktivism

This is far from a new phenomenon. Hundreds of years ago there were holier-than-thou people standing in the village square, wringing their hands, ringing their bells and talking about how urgent a problem was. They did little more than wring their hands, even then.

In our connected world, though, there are two sides to social media's power in spreading the word about a charitable cause.

According to recent data about the ice bucket challenge making the rounds, more than 90% of the people mentioning it (posting themselves being doused or passing on the word) didn't make a donation to support actual research on an actual disease. Sounds sad, no?

But I think these slacktivists have accomplished two important things at scale, things that slacktivists have worked to do through the ages:

  • They've spread the word. The fact is that most charities have no chance at all to reach the typical citizen, and if their fundraising strategy is small donations from many people, this message barrier is a real issue. Peer-to-peer messaging, even if largely ego-driven, is far better than nothing. In a sideways media world, the only way to reach big numbers is for a large number of people to click a few times, probably in response to a request from a friend.
  • Even more important, I think, is that they normalize charitable behavior. It's easy to find glowing stories and infinite media impressions about people who win sporting events, become famous or make a lot of money. The more often our peers talk about a different kind of heroism, one that's based on caring about people we don't know, the more likely we are to see this as the sort of thing that people like us do as a matter of course.
Spreading the word and normalizing the behavior. Bravo.The paradox? As this media strategy becomes more effective and more common (as it becomes a strategy, not just something that occurs from the ground up as it did in this case), two things are likely to happen, both of which we need to guard against:

  • Good causes in need of support are going to focus on adding the sizzle and ego and zing that gets an idea to spread, instead of focusing on the work. One thing we know about online virality is that what worked yesterday rarely works tomorrow. A new arms race begins, and in this case, it's not one that benefits many. We end up developing, "an unprecedented website with a video walkthrough and internationally recognized infographics..." (actual email pitch I got while writing this post).
  • We might, instead of normalizing the actual effective giving of grants and donations, normalize slacktivism. It could easily turn out that we start to emotionally associate a click or a like or a mention as an actual form of causing change, not merely a way of amplifying a message that might lead to that action happening.
The best model I've seen for a cause that's figured out how to walk this line between awareness and action is charity: water. My friend Bernadette and I are thrilled to be supporting their latest campaign. It would be great if you'd contribute or even better, start a similar one.I think the goal needs to be that activism and action are not merely the right thing to do, but the expected, normal thing to do.
Click to expand...
What I find most interesting (assuming the numners are correct) is that over 90% didn't donate and it still raised $13M+.

 
I'm on the board of a little charity called United Way for Greater Austin. Any of you that have an interest in working with underprivileged middle schoolers in the Austin area should PM me.

 
I always thought this was interesting.

V Foundation Data for year ended 9/30/2010

http://www.jimmyv.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/The-V-Foundation-2010-IRS-Form-990.pdf

Contributions (Donations)

10,176,156

Grants Paid For Research

10,750,763

Employee expenses (Payroll, benefits, ect)

1,012,029

Data for year ended 12/31/10

http://www.livestrong.org/pdfs/4-0/LAF-2010-Form-990

Livestrong


Contributions (Donations)

29,724,618


Grants Paid For Research

9,058,100


Employee expenses (Payroll, benefits, ect)

7,388,608

 
Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
I'll throw a link to The Arc of Northern Virginia

It's an organization that provides support to parents of children with severe developmental disabilities. I know they helped my friends (who unfortunately lost their son this year after 10 years battling very serious developmental disabilities). My friends are relatively affluent, but still needed to rely very heavily on the support that the Arc helped identify for them in finding care givers and other resources. I can't imagine how much help they provide to families that are struggling financially.
Click to expand...
Several years ago, a friend saw a flyer for some Arc minigolf tournament. Neither of us knew what Arc was. We thought we were entering just some random minigolf tournament. We thought it might even be serious business.

We show up and quickly notice that it's us and then probably about a dozen kids with down syndrome and usually an adult or two with each kid. Certainly not what we were expecting. We go through the tournament and we finished as the 1st place team and got a trophy. My friend had the best overall score and got a green jacket.

Then they had some side games for prizes. One was a game where you hit a golf ball into a basket from maybe 10 feet away and they put a stick on the ground so you have to elevate the ball. My friend ended up in the final two with one of the kids. They each made their first two and then the kid missed his third shot. My friend lined up for this third shot and looked at me as if to say, "What do I do? Do I make it or miss on purpose?" He made the shot and won the game. And, of course, all the kids clapped for him and were very happy for him.

I hadn't thought of that day in a long time. I never bothered back then to really look into what Arc was all about, but I'll be checking out their website now.

 
I am a supporter of this organization - Friends of Night People.

They provide services in a very impoverished neighborhood in Buffalo, NY for the homeless and working poor. They serve a free, no-questions-asked dinner 365 days a year. Literally anyone who walks in the door gets a warm dinner, no questions asked. They also provide a food pantry with free food (but I believe you need income verification for that). They provide various medical services during the week - general medical, optometry, podiatry, Planned Parenthood, Alcoholics Anonymous - run entirely by professionals donating their time. There's also free clothing (no questions asked), VA assistance, and housing assistance. They don't house anyone on-site, but they do work with agencies to secure temporary housing for anyone who needs it.

They have literally 1 paid employee (I believe). The rest of the work is done by a handful of unpaid college interns - usually social work students - and volunteers. They do amazing work on a shoestring budget.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
bentley said:
I'm on the board of a little charity called United Way for Greater Austin. Any of you that have an interest in working with underprivileged middle schoolers in the Austin area should PM me.
Click to expand...
I think this is an area that is often overlooked when talking about charities and causes. Many organizations can use volunteers. Even a couple of hours here and there can make a huge difference for many of these places. You can make a very big impact by donating your time.

 
Steve Tasker said:
I am a supporter of this organization - Friends of Night People.

They provide services in a very impoverished neighborhood in Buffalo, NY for the homeless and working poor. They serve a free, no-questions-asked dinner 365 days a year. Literally anyone who walks in the door gets a warm dinner, no questions asked. They also provide a food pantry with free food (but I believe you need income verification for that). They provide various medical services during the week - general medical, optometry, podiatry, Planned Parenthood, Alcoholics Anonymous - run entirely by professionals donating their time. There's also free clothing (no questions asked), VA assistance, and housing assistance. They don't house anyone on-site, but they do work with agencies to secure temporary housing for anyone who needs it.

They have literally 1 paid employee (I believe). The rest of the work is done by a handful of unpaid college interns - usually social work students - and volunteers. They do amazing work on a shoestring budget.
Click to expand...
This one struck me. In the spirit of this thread, I have made a donation.

 
ClownCausedChaos2 said:
By now, everyone knows about the Ice Bucket Challenge and what its done for ALS. Other charities, like the American Heart Association, St. Jude's, the March of Dimes, etc. are all nationally recognized organizations that receive a lot of money.

This thread is to bring awareness to smaller amd local charities that do good work, as well. Recognize them, put there names out here, and wouldn't it be cool if we in the FFA as we're reading through this thread, picked a random charity, and donated to it?

I'll mention the Jedediah Thomas Smith Foundation for pediatric cancer. A local charity in my hometown. My sister sits on the board and they do great work:

http://thejtsfoundation.org
Click to expand...
Sept. 29th is Jedediah Thomas Smith's 17th birthday. To honor his memory, the foundation is asking folks to send a birthday card with a $17 donation to help fight pediatric cancer. The foundations address is:

The Jedediah Thomas Smith Foundation

233 N. Charles Street

Red Lion, PA 17356

 
I'll recommend Camp Joy

I participated in this camp as a counselor for MANY years. I can make the argument that it does more for the counselors than it does the attendees. It's a camp for physically and mentally disabled persons. It serves to get these folks a change of scenery and also provides their caregivers with a much needed break. There's a single counselor for each attendee. In most cases the one on one part is much needed because of the disabilities. You basically take up the role of caregiver for the attendee for the week. You do everything together. As a counselor you come a couple days early, get a folder with all the information of the camper, their disability and what's required to take care of them.

It's not your standard charity in that you aren't curing anything rather you are getting your hands dirty with your time and effort to make a direct impact on many people over the course of a week. The donations are used to support some "camper scholarships" and the expenses to run the camp for the week. There is little overhead as all the counselors are volunteers as are the speakers and entertainment.

 
For those of you in NYC, and well beyond, my friend Kim Wolf runs a charity that helps (via her Ruff Riders project) those struggling with the costs of keeping and taking care of their pets. They've helped many low income folks with vet bills, food, shelter, transportation, etc. She's a great advocate for helping those in need, a great writer/speaker, and she's damn cute. Recently did a spot on CNN and HuffPo covering her work.

http://beyondbreed.com/about/

http://www.hlntv.com/video/2015/07/12/stories-behind-dogs-new-york

https://www.facebook.com/HuffingtonPost/videos/10153221925006130/

 
Our kids school has a lot of kids who are on reduced or free lunch programs. The kids who have to pay something everyday have lunch accounts that the parents have to load up.

Even the kids on the reduced lunch cost programs have to have their parents load up the accounts, and sometimes it's tough. Our lunch lady takes donations so she can fill the accounts of the kids she knows that need them the most.

This is where we donate. So for those with kids, or even if you don't, you may ask your local schools about opportunities there. 100% of the money you donate goes to helping kids in your immediate community.

 
There is a great nonprofit in NH that my wife and I support: www.fitnh.org. They also have a small subsidiary, www.nhceh.org, that we also support. Have heard nothing but good things about them.

 
bump

looking to fill out my annual Combined Federal Campaign form, to donate for the year.

They give us a list of a few thousand charities; international, national and local, to choose from; but the question as always is which is the best to donate?

What charities would you recommend?

 
FUBAR said:
bump

looking to fill out my annual Combined Federal Campaign form, to donate for the year.

They give us a list of a few thousand charities; international, national and local, to choose from; but the question as always is which is the best to donate?

What charities would you recommend?
Click to expand...
If, per the thread title, you are looking for a smaller and lesser known charity, I would humbly ask you to consider donating to the Chance for Hope Foundation.

http://chanceforhopefoundation.org

My wife and I founded this charity in 2014 in honor of our son, who passed away from brain cancer in October 2013. The mission of the Chance for Hope Foundation is to provide support services for children with cancer and their families, funding for pediatric cancer research and treatment, and educational resources to the general public regarding pediatric cancer.

Last month we celebrated our first year of the organization, and set forth below are the highlights of what we have been able to accomplish in a relatively short time.

• Opened three individual Chance for Hope Residences in the Texas Medical Center, which provide over 1,000 nights of free lodging each year for families traveling to Houston for pediatric cancer treatments. Given that the Texas Medical Center hosts MD Anderson (the nation's number one cancer hospital) and Texas Children's Hospital (the largest pediatric cancer center in the United States), families from all over the country and world travel to Houston for pediatric cancer treatment (and, in particular, cancer treatment for children with the most complex and challenging of diagnoses). We have hosted families from various cities throughout Texas, as well as Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, England and Puerto Rico. Our Chance for Hope Residences provide temporary housing for these families absolutely free of charge.

• Launched our meal delivery program in June 2015, providing free meals on a bi-monthly basis to children and families in the 36 inpatient rooms on the cancer floor of Texas Children’s Hospital. Meals are delivered on Sundays when the TCH food court and many area restaurants are closed.

• Recently concluded our second annual back to school gift card drive. To date, we have distributed over $10,000 in Target gift cards to 350 children at Texas Children’s Hospital for the purchase of back to school supplies.

• Awarded a research grant in the amount of $50,000 to the Precision Oncology research initiative, a cutting edge research effort being undertaken by the Neuro-Oncology Program at Texas Children’s Cancer Center. The ultimate goal of the Precision Oncology research initiative is to bring genomic sequencing technologies from the laboratory into the pediatric oncology clinic, providing real-time genetic information that will guide the personalized treatment of each individual child with cancer.

Because we have an entirely volunteer organization, rest assured that not a single dollar of your donation will go to pay staff salaries (there are none). Thank you for your consideration, and please let me know if you have any questions.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
FatUncleJerryBuss said:
I always thought this was interesting.

V Foundation Data for year ended 9/30/2010

http://www.jimmyv.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/The-V-Foundation-2010-IRS-Form-990.pdf

Contributions (Donations)

10,176,156

Grants Paid For Research

10,750,763

Employee expenses (Payroll, benefits, ect)

1,012,029

Data for year ended 12/31/10

http://www.livestrong.org/pdfs/4-0/LAF-2010-Form-990

Livestrong

Contributions (Donations)

29,724,618

Grants Paid For Research

9,058,100

Employee expenses (Payroll, benefits, ect)

7,388,608
Click to expand...
Interesting indeed!

By the way, not sure whether or not you can see signatures, but I have a link to your infographic in mine. Thanks again!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
bigbottom said:
FUBAR said:
bump

looking to fill out my annual Combined Federal Campaign form, to donate for the year.

They give us a list of a few thousand charities; international, national and local, to choose from; but the question as always is which is the best to donate?

What charities would you recommend?
Click to expand...
If, per the thread title, you are looking for a smaller and lesser known charity, I would humbly ask you to consider donating to the Chance for Hope Foundation.

http://chanceforhopefoundation.org

My wife and I founded this charity in 2014 in honor of our son, who passed away from brain cancer in October 2013. The mission of the Chance for Hope Foundation is to provide support services for children with cancer and their families, funding for pediatric cancer research and treatment, and educational resources to the general public regarding pediatric cancer.

Last month we celebrated our first year of the organization, and set forth below are the highlights of what we have been able to accomplish in a relatively short time.

• Opened three individual Chance for Hope Residences in the Texas Medical Center, which provide over 1,000 nights of free lodging each year for families traveling to Houston for pediatric cancer treatments. Given that the Texas Medical Center hosts MD Anderson (the nation's number one cancer hospital) and Texas Children's Hospital (the largest pediatric cancer center in the United States), families from all over the country and world travel to Houston for pediatric cancer treatment (and, in particular, cancer treatment for children with the most complex and challenging of diagnoses). We have hosted families from various cities throughout Texas, as well as Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, England and Puerto Rico. Our Chance for Hope Residences provide temporary housing for these families absolutely free of charge.

• Launched our meal delivery program in June 2015, providing free meals on a bi-monthly basis to children and families in the 36 inpatient rooms on the cancer floor of Texas Children’s Hospital. Meals are delivered on Sundays when the TCH food court and many area restaurants are closed.

• Recently concluded our second annual back to school gift card drive. To date, we have distributed over $10,000 in Target gift cards to 350 children at Texas Children’s Hospital for the purchase of back to school supplies.

• Awarded a research grant in the amount of $50,000 to the Precision Oncology research initiative, a cutting edge research effort being undertaken by the Neuro-Oncology Program at Texas Children’s Cancer Center. The ultimate goal of the Precision Oncology research initiative is to bring genomic sequencing technologies from the laboratory into the pediatric oncology clinic, providing real-time genetic information that will guide the personalized treatment of each individual child with cancer.

Because we have an entirely volunteer organization, rest assured that not a single dollar of your donation will go to pay staff salaries (there are none). Thank you for your consideration, and please let me know if you have any questions.
Click to expand...
good stuff, I'll check if that's an option and if not, look to donate anyway.

To the bolded - I bumped this one because I didn't want to make a new topic and this seemed the most pertinent. Not neccessarily looking for small or large, just best use of the resources.

 
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3487

Children's Hunger Fund is my go to charity. They do international and domestic support directed at children but through that mission often support families. They go beyond food to provide other basics as well as things like Christmas gifts (which each domestic location hosts wraping parties with volunteers) and back to school supplies etc. They also do disaster relief for emergency situations. I have been involved with them for many years and they have grown leaps and bounds. President is a good guy that takes a rather modest salary compared to most.

http://childrenshungerfund.org/

 
FUBAR said:
bump

looking to fill out my annual Combined Federal Campaign form, to donate for the year.

They give us a list of a few thousand charities; international, national and local, to choose from; but the question as always is which is the best to donate?

What charities would you recommend?
Click to expand...
My coworker who got "voluntold" to be our Division's CFC person this year said that we shouldn't donate through CFC. Imagine that. He said that not as many of your $$$ make it through to the charity due to CFC overhead. He suggested we instead just donate directly.

I don't know if he is correct or not, but that kind of thing might be of interest to you before you decide what vehicle to use.

As for the OP's question, my favorite locally is Oldies But Goodies. They primarily rescue Cocker Spaniels and find them homes. I love dogs in general, and that breed very much in particular.

 
proteus126 said:
FUBAR said:
bump

looking to fill out my annual Combined Federal Campaign form, to donate for the year.

They give us a list of a few thousand charities; international, national and local, to choose from; but the question as always is which is the best to donate?

What charities would you recommend?
Click to expand...
My coworker who got "voluntold" to be our Division's CFC person this year said that we shouldn't donate through CFC. Imagine that. He said that not as many of your $$$ make it through to the charity due to CFC overhead. He suggested we instead just donate directly.

I don't know if he is correct or not, but that kind of thing might be of interest to you before you decide what vehicle to use.

As for the OP's question, my favorite locally is Oldies But Goodies. They primarily rescue Cocker Spaniels and find them homes. I love dogs in general, and that breed very much in particular.
Click to expand...
there's some cost there for sure but it doesn't seem to be much.

http://www.charitychoices.com/cfcgive.asp

Should you give through the CFC?

We are not part of the Combined Federal Campaign and we receive no part of what you give through the "CFC." But we still think it is a great way to give to charities. If you are a federal or military employee, we encourage you to give through the CFC. Here’s why:

  • You have the right to choose to support a tremendous range of charities. You didn’t always have this right. A generation ago, you could only give to a handful of long-established charities. Now you get to decide not only which charities you want to support, but which types of charitable work you want to support. You can support basic services like food programs and homeless shelters. Or you can support charities that work to change policies that you think cause hunger or homelessness. You can support research on diseases you care about. You can support education to help more people avoid these diseases. You can focus on protecting animals or the environment. You can focus on charities that help your community, your country or your world. You get to choose.
  • By giving through the CFC, you can think through and plan your giving. You’re not just responding to one appeal and then another appeal. You can think about what makes sense for you and your family. How much money do you want to give over a full year? Which types of charities do you want to support? When you give through the CFC, you can choose to support several charities through one payroll deduction gift.
  • Every charity eligible to receive CFC donations must meet 10 accountability standards, such as an annual audit. The CFC also tells you exactly how much each charity spends on administration and fund raising.
  • The CFC’s overhead is low, thus nearly all your money goes to the charities. Many people have an image of the CFC as a huge operation, but it is not. Nationally, fewer than 10 people administer the CFC. Most of the work is done by individual federal employees who agree to act as CFC key workers during their work day. The cost to run the DC-area CFC is about 7%. In contrast, direct mail or telephone solicitation can cost 50-100 percent.
  • Having your gift deducted from your paycheck is a great, nearly painless way to provide a real boost to the charities you choose to support. Having just $10 deducted from your pay every two weeks adds up to a donation of $260 over the year. Plus, because more than a million people give through the CFC each year, your gift adds up. The average CFC charity gets a big boost from the money they receive through the CFC each year.
  • 6. Donations to CFC charities are tax deductible. CFC charities are all “public charities.” Plus, by giving through the CFC, you get a handy record of your giving every year.
Click to expand...
of course, even 7% overhead means the charity won't get everything you give.

 
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