Charity

DarthFasa

I realized recently that I am fairly well off. I'm headed to college with a scholarship and don't really have many expenses yet. I decided to donate to Child's Play since I trust Gabe and Tycho, and I like what they are trying to do.
I also want to help people in third world countries who worry about things such as food.

My problem however is I don't know who do donate to. I found Hacker's For Charity which looks nifty since they go after the short term with food, and the long term with teaching skills. Does anyone know if they are trustworthy? If they are not, any good suggestions for an organization that won't eat my donation in "administrative fees" and other BS?

Edit 1: Organizations that accept paypal are preferred, since I do not have a credit card.

Kate Monster

A great way to ensure that your donations don't go to "overhead" is to donate to local charities in your area. A lot of times, they will invite you in to their organization to see the work that your funds are going to. Most can provide you with statements showing a breakdown of their costs. It sounds like you will be busy with school, but remember that at this point in your life you will have significantly fewer demands on your time (particularly during vacations) than you will have for the majority of your adult life. You can not only donate money, but donate your time by volunteering with the charity of your choice and see first hand where your donation is going and who it is helping. If you have a particular cause you want to take up that is not local, then you can contact the organizations to request further information than they may provide in pamphlets or on their website.

Viga

I normally can't donate money but donating time is helpful. I liked helping out at the shelter with my family. You feel like you accomplished something afterward.

BrutishSaucer

I normally can't donate money but donating time is helpful. I liked helping out at the shelter with my family. You feel like you accomplished something afterward.

I know a lot of people feel guilty if they don't have the funds to donate money, but I think time donation is usually the better option anyway when given the choice. The benefit to your community is more direct and instantaneous, and the benefits to you are much greater than if you just wrote out a check. (except for the Christian Children's Fund; my friend says that if you donate over a certain amount, Sally Struthers herself will fly to your home and spend the night with you)

Victor Frost

Time is a very valuable commodity; you can never make it back. Seeing as time is all I've got, I try to fix computers pro-bono. There are a few churches and libraries around here that offer free computer terminals for kids to use for homework and stuff. It's a really good public service so, every once in a while, I call them up and offer to look at their computers and give them a check up and fix what ever problems I can (without it becoming too expensive for me). They usually say "no" until I tell them it's free and explain how long I've been fixing computers. I've done this two or three times.