Meet Lucy. Isn’t she gorge? She’s a guide dog for my friend Lillian, who is blind. Lucy comes from Fidelco, and it’s a PERFECT place for year-end giving.
Feed the hungry, save the earth, cure disease, give sight to the blind, teach someone to read.
You have the power to do it allhow cool is that? Heres my favorite tool for charitable giving:Â Charity Navigator. This site rates organizations with respect to how much of your donation is actually used to help the cause. PLEASE check out a charity before you fork over your hard-earned cash. You want to make sure the organization isnt drowning in administrative costs.
Here, in no particular order, are just a few of the places Ive given to this year. All have 4-star or better ratings from Charity Navigator
- the Bainbridge Island Land Trust
- Fidelco Guide Dogs for the Blind
- Westsound Wildlife Shelter
- Planned Parenthood
- Feed My Starving Children
- Fields Enda Writers Community
- Partners in Health
- public libraries all over the place
- SOS Childrens Villages
- Kitsap Literacy Council
- Harvard Graduate School of Education
- Susan G. Komen for the Cure
- The Authors Guild Foundation
The cool thing about making charitable contributions is that a) its instant gratification so you dont actually have to shop, b) its tax deductible and c) its so very, very necessary. To honor someone with a gift in their name, you can just print out the acknowledgment page and put it in a card. This is a huge problem solver, especially if you want to do something nice for a large group, like your entire literary agency. Do it! Do it now!
Sowhere do you give each year? Post in comments!
