These are some of the nonprofits I support in various ways: donate, volunteer, advise, etc. All are 501(c)(3) organizations, and could benefit from your support as well - but if other causes or perspectives are more important to you, or if you also believe in "acting locally", The Internet Nonprofit Center and GuideStar are good starting places.
- PrivacyActivism, San Francisco, California, and Bellevue, Washington. Civil rights are the basis of a free society, and privacy is one of the most important ones; PrivacyActivism is one of the smaller organizations in this area, and I especially like their activist focus. Plus I volunteered on a couple of their Carabella games, and as a result got a chance to learn Flash and work with the folks at Electronic Frontier Foundation - how cool is that?
- Larchmont Charter School, Los Angeles, California, a parent-initiated, tuition-free and non-sectarian public elementary school my nephew attends. My brother volunteers there as well, and they're high on the list of my Mom's favorite non-profits as well; is this what they mean by "charity begins at home"?
- SomArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, California. Art matters (their Dia de los Muertos show has blown me away each of the last two years); and they make good use of their space in many different ways.
- Lambert House, Seattle, Washington. Their target age range (14-22 year olds) is a critical one; and, after some difficulties in the past, their staff and volunteers have really turned things around.
- Project Open Hand, San Francisco, CA. Ruth Brinker's vision of "nutrition with compassion" continues to build on its original focus on persons with HIV/AIDS. Not only that, their cookbook (which we won in a raffle almost ten years ago) has some of my favorite recipes, and is where I learned Jeremiah Tower's trick of rubbing prime rib with vodka for 15-30 minutes before cooking it.
- Environmental Defense, New York, New York. Their tag line is "solutions that work", and they consistently come up with out-of-the-box approaches that take science, law, and economics into account.
- Northwest Harvest, Seattle, Washington. They operate their own food bank in Seattle, and even more importantly supply food to several hundred food banks and meal programs throughout the state. America's Second Harvest takes a similar approach on a national level (and according to Forbes magazine is one of the most efficient charities in the country), but as relative newcomers to the Pacific Northwest, we've thus far chosen to direct our donations to the local community.
- Hospice of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina. The hospice movement provides care for dying people, their families, and their caregivers. A close relative of mine died in Charleston; the Hospice people and organization helped both him and my entire family immeasurably.
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