For many people the holiday season is a time to reflect on our blessings, to enjoy family, and to observe time-honored religious traditions. For others, it’s just the opposite – a time to break personal debt records, to compete with the Joneses for the latest shiny or blinky thing, or to play mall gladiator with thousands of your neighbors. Fortunately, as we’ve been highlighting in our holiday blog series, giving gifts that give back is a great way to remember what the Holiday season is all about – while making a big difference for those in need.
As the last few shopping days before Christmas come to a close and 2009 comes to an end, we know many people are thinking about donations to charities as gifts or to complete personal charitable contribution goals. With more than 1.5 million nonprofits in the U.S., we know it can be hard to determine which organizations make it on your giving list. Organizations like Network for Good, Causes on Facebook and Global Giving have robust search engines to help you find charities (in good standing) aligned with your values and areas of interest. And many of those sites offer gift cards that you can pass on and let your loved ones decide where the dollars should go. But, if after that you’re still looking for a recommendation on where to invest your charitable dollars, we have a few suggestions for you.
As a family foundation, we get a whole lot of deal flow (a phrase I’ve learned from my friends in the investment community) – in other words we see scores of incredible (and some times not so incredible) grant proposals and social innovations every week. We meet with the best and brightest social entrepreneurs and make the tough decisions on where to invest or who to partner with based on our mission, goals and resources. These are not easy decisions because, just like you, we have limited resources and we endeavor to ensure that our dollars and time go to organizations and innovators that will yield a valuable and significant social return on investment, that leads to uplifting communities, enhancing live and eventually changing the world.
So, if you like what we do and are looking for recommendations, below is a sampling of many of the organizations we have given to or entered into strategic partnerships with in the past year. We think they’re all pretty special, and encourage you to check them out. If they align with your personal investment goals, they could be a good choice for your social investment dollars. Good luck, thanks for spreading the good, and happy holidays!
Health and Disease
- Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure: Founded by the late Dan Case together with his brother, Steve Case, and their families, Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure partners with leading entrepreneurs, scientists and researchers to find a cure for brain cancer.DONATE NOW
- Global Health Corps: Global Health Corps (GHC) aims to strengthen the movement for global health equity and improve the quality of healthcare services for the poor by connecting outstanding young leaders with organizations working on the front lines in the fight for global health. DONATE NOW
International Development
- Ghana Young Women Social Entrepreneurs: The program connects, supports and trains 20 young Ghanaian women as social entrepreneurs in order to come up with sustainable, high impact and scalable social innovations via a 12 month incubation & training period.DONATE NOW
- Malaria No More: Malaria No More's mission is to end deaths due to malaria. Malaria No More works to raise the profile of the disease among the public, policymakers, and businesses, while engaging the private sector to provide life-saving mosquito nets and other critical interventions to families in Africa. DONATE NOW
- Millennium Promise: Millennium Promise works with impoverished communities, national and local governments, and partner organizations to implement high-impact programs aimed at transforming lives on the African continent, and engaging donor nations, corporations, and the general public in the effort. DONATE NOW
- Playpumps International: The mission of PlayPumps International (PPI) is to help improve the lives of children and their families by providing easy access to clean drinking water, enhancing public health, as well as offering play equipment to millions across Africa. DONATE NOW
- Project Mercy: Project Mercy, Inc., is a U.S.-based not-for-profit relief and development agency that promotes education, health care, and other holistic community development projects to create economically independent communities with high ethical and social values. DONATE NOW
- Water for People: Water For People assists people in developing countries to improve quality of life by supporting the development of locally sustainable drinking water resources, sanitation facilities and hygiene education programs. DONATE NOW
Civic Engagement and Children and Youth
- America’s Promise Alliance for Youth: America’s Promise Alliance for Youth’s top priority is ensuring that all young people graduate from high school ready for college, work and life. Their work involves raising awareness, encouraging action and engaging in advocacy to provide children the key supports needed. DONATE NOW
- Boys & Girls Clubs of America: For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has helped kids "Be Great," providing hope and opportunity for those who need it most. Today, more than 4,300 Clubs serve some 4.5 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. DONATE NOW
- City Year: City Year unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them skills and opportunities to change the world. In addition to being champions of City Year's groundbreaking Whole School, Whole Child education initiative, which shows that volunteering can seriously impact major national issues like the drop out crisis and performance gaps, the Case Foundation also sponsors City Year Washington, DC’s Heroes Team, which engages high school and middle school students in learning about community problems and then volunteering on related projects. DONATE NOW
- DC College Access Program: The District of Columbia College Access Program (DC-CAP), a non-profit organization funded by Washington-area companies and foundations, encourages and enables DC public high school students to enter and graduate from college. DONATE NOW
- Mobilize.org: Mobilize.org is an all-partisan network dedicated to educating, empowering, and energizing young people to increase our civic engagement and political participation. DONATE NOW
- The National Geographic Society: The National Geographic Society is one of the world's largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Founded in 1888 to "increase and diffuse geographic knowledge," the Society's mission is to inspire people to care about the planet. DONATE NOW
- Points of Light / Hands On Network: Points of Light Institute inspires, equips and mobilizes people to take action that changes the world. The Institute has a global focus to redefine volunteerism and civic engagement for the 21st century, putting people at the center of community problem solving. Points of Light operates three dynamic business units: HandsOn Network, MissionFish and the Civic Incubator. DONATE NOW
- Public Allies: Since 1992 Public Allies has been providing critical leadership skills and training to diverse youth from underserved communities, and then matches them with paid apprenticeships and career opportunities in their communities. DONATE NOW
- Salvation Army: The Salvation Army is an international movement that ministers to men, women, and children, no matter their circumstances. DONATE NOW
- Share Our Strength: Share Our Strength works to end hunger and poverty in the United States and abroad by mobilizing industries and individuals, and creating community wealth to promote lasting change. DONATE NOW
- Taproot Foundation: Taproot Foundation strengthens nonprofits by engaging business professionals in service. Service Grants are awarded to nonprofits in the areas of marketing, IT, and human resources and professionals in these for-profit sectors donate about 100 hours of time over the course of a 5-6 month project. DONATE NOW
- Venture Philanthropy Partners: Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP) is a philanthropic investment organization that helps great leaders build strong, high-performing nonprofit institutions focused on children and families in greater Washington, DC. Learn more about the nonprofits VPP supports and DONATE NOW.
Interfaith Dialogue and Peace
- Aspen Institute’s Middle East Programs: Focused on a comprehensive approach towards the Middle East, the Middle East Programs include the US-Palestinian Partnership, and the US-Lebanon Dialogue. Incubated by the Middle East Strategy Group, these and more programs and initiatives include prominent American and Middle Eastern business and political leaders dedicated to working for a peaceful resolution of all Middle East conflicts.SUPPORT THE ASPEN INSTITUTE
- Buxton Initiative: The Buxton Initiative builds understanding among people of different faiths and worldviews through candid dialogue and authentic relationships. DONATE NOW
Online Platforms for Giving and Engagement
- GlobalGiving.org: GlobalGiving.org aggregates many donations from all types and sizes of donors, creating a new source of reliable funds for projects leaders working to improve social, economic, and environmental conditions in their local communities and the world at large. DONATE NOW
- Idealist.org: Idealist.org is a website that facilitates connections between individuals and institutions that are interested in improving their communities. DONATE NOW
- Network for Good: Network for Good, an independent nonprofit organization, makes it easy to support any charity online by offering simple, affordable and effective online fundraising services, including donation processing, email outreach and online surveys. DONATE NOW
Veterans
- Give An Hour: Give an Hour’s mission is to develop national networks of volunteers capable of responding to both acute and chronic conditions that arise within our society. DONATE NOW
- Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America is the nation's first and largest group dedicated to the troops and veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the civilian supporters of those Troops and Veterans. DONATE NOW
*special thanks to my extraordinary colleague, Jeanne Snowden, for helping me compile descriptions and donation websites for this post!
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Jean Case at the 2013 Yale Philanthropy Conference
