Only because you ask the question, I believe in saving lives & curing diseases above helping children. But that is, of course, just my opinion.

I would choose Doctors Without Borders, for one.
Mostly because they work independent from any politics, military, and religious stuff, as I have seen other people agree with as well.
And of course, World Wildlife, too. I love nature and would not want to see it destroyed.


Hmm.. well, there's two for you.

As far as I can tell, my two favorite international charities, Doctors without Borders and Heifer International, who have already been mentioned, do not accept PayPal. And I do think any donations associated with the Island should go to an international organization.

I chose World Vision International.

You can do pretty much the same thing through World Vision as Heifer International, such as donating a goat or a sheep to a needy family, who also gets training in caring for the animal. These people, however, are under no obligation to pass on their animal's offspring to another family. (Which is why they're not on my 'A' list.) But you can also, among other things, donate to build a clean-water well, stock a school with supplies, dig and stock a fishpond, offer microbusiness financing for a woman (with the repayment of the loan going back to finance another businesswoman's project), care for widows and orphans of the AIDS epidemic, send a girl to school in a country where half the girls don't even finish primary education, or help sexually exploited girls.

There are instances where governments and manufacturers have donated items which just need money donated for them to be shipped and distributed.


Below is some information from their gift catalog.

World Vision, while a Christian charity, serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

World Vision works hand-in-hand with families and communities to tackle the causes of poverty, helping nearly 100 million people in nearly 100 countries each year.

World Vision is the largest food distributor for the UN's World Food Programme.

87% of the money donated goes to help families overcome poverty. (8% is used for fund raising and 5% for general and administrative functions.)


(Yeah, we donate here ourselves. My one brother is getting a goat for Christmas. Or rather, we're donating a goat in his name.)

[grumbles about being locked out 'cos I forgot my password]

Many of the appeals mentioned have me scratching my head and thinking "Whozat?"

Most of the charities that I would suggest would probably get the same puzzled look from you lot. [shrug]

By elimination, that leaves me with Red Cross or Salvos as my preferences, being truly international and ones that actually forward on a significant part of the donations.

-NotAgain

Whatever charity it goes to it is very important that one investigates exactly how *much* of the donation actually makes it to it's cause. Many many charities though non-profit give out fat paychecks to their administrations.

My vote would go to Child's Play and/or helping stop the slaughter in Darfur (the VICTIMS, not the government)

i've got to offer additional votes for the EFF, Doctors Without Borders, and the Cancer Society..

and as far as the split, if it were *my* $10k, it would be 33% apiece.

~V

I've learned, over the past hour or more of clicking and arghing, that most charities don't take PayPal. Which baffles me, but there it is. None of the charities I would initially have recommended, and none of the ones I would have recommended after discarding that list and starting a new one, have a PayPal button. And hardly any of the charities you people have recommended do either, though there were many I would enthusiastically have seconded.

Correct me if I'm wrong (please!) but I was unable to find a PayPal link on any of the following sites: Doctors Without Borders, Partners in Health, 826 Valencia, KIPP, Ronald McDonald house, Carnegie Institution for Science, NAMI, World Vision International.

Amnesty International and the Heifer Project don't take PayPal, but do take Amazon payments. Would that cut it, CMJ?

The organizations suggested so far that do accept PayPal include (but may not be limited to): EFF, Child's Play, FAIR.

If you're absolutely solid on the PayPal thing, CMJ, I'd pick the Native American Heritage Association (http://www.naha-inc.org/) over any of the above three. Like those three, it doesn't help people in Third World countries, but it does help people living in Third World conditions.

Red Cross.

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"Ain't nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile." -The Grateful Dead

I like Medicins Sans Frontieres, and all them Kids charities are just adorable, but they all focus on individual bits of happiness, spending money on case by case stuff. But if I would have the cash to spend, I'd rather go with some serious oncological or stem cell research. Both have to be completed if not to be useful for us, then at the very least for our children. In Humanism vs. Humanity I pick Humanity.

I apologize in advance if there are duplicates here - I tried to get caught up, but there's no guarantee of perfection.

I do care that the charity(ies) be run in a fashion that is sustainable, fairly lean, and non-religious. Some good meta-links for that kind of information; the first two also have good charity search tools:

Just Give - focuses on online donations
Charity Navigator
Charity Watch
BBB (for US charities)
GuideStar

With those, I think you can readily find almost anything you need about most charities named.

- Cadye

I think I'd donate to several charities:
Child's Play, Heifer, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Doctors without Borders.
I'd also want to donate to one of my favorite radio stations, KEXP. And then divide up the 10,000 USD into five donations of 2,000USD each.

Personally, all of my donations to non-profits/charities has been to radio stations - The afformentioned KEXP and WUVT. Because I really do love music.

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Lions. Lions the whole way up.

that is why I like St Judes. They focus on curing diseases and saving lives of children. Best of both worlds

Unfortunately they don't take paypal

I'd offer 75% To doctors without borders.
13% To The Humans Development foundation. And the rest (12% To child's' play)

But If I actually had 10000$ to donate. I'd just post in a forum and look for choices.

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There are two secrets to success. The second one is to never reveal all your secrets.

I have two suggestions, with the money split down the middle.

I would give half the money to help the developing world, by donating to a single charity such as Medicines Sans Frontieres or Doctors without Borders. There are a few big charities such as these which do excellent and selfless work providing medical those who really need it but couldn't otherwise get it. Because the vital work they do is on such a large scale, their overheads are HUGE. Any donation is helpful, obviously, but if any charity needs big donations, its charities such as these.

The second half i would donate for the benefit of the Western world. Now there are countless charities out there which address various specific problems, but if there's one area to donate to which will make a positive impact on EVERY MAN, WOMAN & CHILD in the western world its gotta be cancer research, without a doubt.

Everyone knows someone who's been touched by cancer, and depending on the statistics you read one in four of us will get it ourselves. We're tantalisingly close to getting the upper hand in the battle against cancer, but like the overseas aid charities the costs of cancer research are huge. We've reached the stage now where every little bit we can give will get us one step closer relieving untold pain and suffering from every family in the developed world.

There are a lot of worthwhile charities out there, but one that stands out to me is Medicines Sans Frontiers.

But the electronic frontier foundation is also fighting for something which while not benefitting a lot of pain directly will have a stark effect on the future.

So 10% to EFF, 30% to MSF and the rest to a mixed pot medley.

Huh. After reading this whole thread, I still wholeheartedly agree. Although I would like to add Heifer International to the list, as (on a brief perusal) they rock.

Er, and good luck deciding. I was frankly amazed how much emotion this thread provoked in me, and I really hope everyone can be mature about the final decision. (That last sentence was aimed solely at me. I had honestly forgotten how opinionated I get sometimes!)

As many fellow contestants, I'd choose Doctors Without Borders. A great cause without borders.


Now, I would like to add a suggestion to the (already big) list.(Most of the time,) I am not good to juggle with words, so please bear with me.

AIDS.

I suppose everybody heard about this disease. By the time you read this post, there are probably many(I won't count) who become infected.

I found some statistics of the year 2008 around. I don't know if they are accurate, but:

-More than 33.4 millions are living with HIV/AIDS

-About 2.7 millions in the World were newly infected (with HIV).

-The amount of death caused by AIDS is estimated to 2.0 millions


Again, I cannot say if it's the entire truth, but something has to be done. If I were to be able to donate, I would give money for research of AIDS cure and/or prevention.

I do not personnally know of any charity program concerning this problem (and don't have much time, sorry), but I believe that there are many, even on the Internet.

So here's the deal: 10000 american dollars, split in two; 30% of this goes to Doctors Without Borders while 70% goes to any HIV/AIDS-fighting organization(s). Or however you might want, Dan.

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Yes, I have a dream, of electronic sheeps and linen bedsheets. But that's not the point. Or isn't it?

Laughed out loud at this. And quietly applauded Cadye's providing of sources of info.

And Dan ... yes. I'm a little concerned that you may have gone bonkers!

So 'fess up ... what's happening?

Nothing to add to the debate, really ... (slinks away.)

D.

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The lunatics are taking over the asylum! Come with?

50% - The Humane Society. Because animals can't help themselves, and people are usually responsible for any issues dealing with pets.

50% - Habitat for Humanity. I have done projects with them, very helpful/useful charity.

I would say 50/50 to these two organizations


http://www.cff.org/ - Because I have two nieces that have CF and I want to see them live past 30.

http://www.aspca.org/ - Because I love animals and they can't help themselves.