This is a special edition of my thrice-weekly column. Many global markets have been closed for the past two days. With the December 31st deadline for making tax-deductible charitable contributions looming, today I’m listing some charities that I consider worthy and truly deserving.
Be advised that many large charitable organizations have high overhead, bloated staffs, and spend up to 30% of their proceeds on advertising, in the quest for even more money. Do not support those! Instead, send your donations to organizations with low overhead costs, and no over-paid staff and management. That is a responsible and God-honoring way to be charitable.
Some Worthy Charities
Anchor of Hope. This group was my late wife’s personal favorite. They support a mission school in rural Zambia (the former Northern Rhodesia.) They are entirely volunteer staffed, so that 100% of what you donate actually ends up in the hands of the needy recipients. Most notably, they have distributed new shoes to more than one million children in Zambia.
The Gary Sinise Foundation. This low-overhead charity help American military veterans and first responders.
Peniel Fellowship. A congregation of Jewish and Gentile believers in Yeshua, located in Tiberias–a city in northern Israel, on the Sea of Galilee. They deliver the word of God (Old and New Testaments) in both Hebrew and English. They charitably operate a private day care and elementary school.
Compassion International. Individual child sponsorships, worldwide. Over the years, our own family has sponsored two children through Compassion International.
Any Soldier. Their Overview Page explains how the program works.
Gun Owners of America. This organization is doing the hard-nosed “no compromise” lobbying that the NRA should be doing.
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO). A dedicated gun rights educational organization. Membership is open to people of all faiths.
The Tibet Fund. Helps with the education of hundreds of thousands of Tibetan refugees living in India, Nepal, and Bhutan.
In Closing
If you have been giving annually to any of the major charities, I recommend that you take a close look at how they operate. Do regular checks on their worthiness, through a charity watchdog site like Charity Navigator. Note: I also formerly recommended Charity Watch, but seeing that they just gave the Clinton Foundation an “A” rating, makes me dubious. (In contrast, Charity Navigator gives the Clinton Foundation a “Low” rating.)
Thanks for listing these charities. I can personally vouch for Gun Owners of America. The work they do for gun owners is excellent.
Can I also add the Salvation Army https://www.salvationarmy.org/
Samaritan’s Purse is run by Franklin Graham (son of the late Billy Graham) and in 2017 87.6% of donations went to Ministry with only 4.8% for general and administrative costs. They post their financial accountability statements on their website.
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry/financial-accountability/
Matthew 25 Ministries had 99.4% “of cash and in-kind donations went towards programs in 2017” with only 0.2% and 0.4% for management and fundraising costs.
http://www.m25m.org/about-us/financials/
Outlier, Great comment to post about Samaritan’s Purse with Franklin Graham. … They do good deeds; as the Bible tells us, = it’s a Holy Obligation to help those that suffer. … The Reverend Franklin Graham speaks the Truth to the people in power about, what is occurring in the Muslim dominated countries. … We also know from the Bible; telling the Truth can lead to being Crucified.
First is the White Martyrdom, where people tell lies about you. … Then comes, the Red Martyrdom of death. … We need to pray for all the people doing good works in this world.
I agree that GoA is doing what NRA should be doing especially considering NRA has considerable larger revenue stream. Perhaps if the NRA Vice-president didn’t have a salary of $1,000,000 a year?
Thanks for posting this information. I have joined every gun rights group I could find, as well as judicial watch which does a magnificent job. I found a group that puts wells in Africa in concrete bases, hand pump, under the care of a local church. My family has now put a few wells in. Eternal investment
I second the motion about the Salvation Army. As a child in Miami in the sixties we were very poor and one winter we had a very bad cold spell, the homes in Miami are not focused on cold weather. The Salvation Army loaned my mother a kerosene heater and only asked she return it after the cold weather passed. Other organizations she inquired for assistance did not offer any. I might also mention vdare.com and Numbersusa. Both organizations are doing a heroic
and lonely job in trying to make citizens aware of the negative aspects of open borders and massive unending immigration. They have been fighting for years with a meager budget made up of small donations from working-class citizens while opposed by the media, academia, organized religious leaders, the left and most of the right, billionaire globalists and ethnic advocates and powerful corporations, foundations and those that just hate America and its traditional citizenry. very little you care about in America will be made better by the current agenda of endless immigration. Even Heaven has a border and an angel at the gate.
“Very little you care about in America will be made better by the current agenda of endless immigration. Even Heaven has a border and an angel at the gate.”
Best quote I’ve heard on this subject!
These two organizations offer perspective on the effectiveness and cost efficency of many charities. Please spend a few minutes researching, it is truely enlightening.
https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=topten
https://www.charitywatch.org/top-rated-charities
Lions Club International is one of the most efficient charities.
I give to Anchor of Hope Charities after I had been made aware of them by Jim Rawles. AHC director (Judy) always sends me pictures of her last trip to Africa along with a hand written note explaining what my donation accomplished. I’ve always appreciated her personal communications. They do a great work there in Zambia.
Anchor of Hope sounds like a very good and efficient charity except for one big thing- when I went to their Facebook page, they are clearly partnered with Tom’s Shoes, a vocal and $ supporter against the Second Amendment. Therefore I cannot support them, as a friend of my enemy is not my friend.
“Toms Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie last Monday announced on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” that his company would chip in $5 million to various anti-gun groups in hopes of bringing more restrictions and regulation on firearm sales. The shoe maker participates in a number of charitable operations ranging from giving shoes to people in impoverished areas to clean water to, now, gun control.”
https://www.guns.com/news/2018/11/29/gun-maker-launches-magazine-giveaway-to-get-toms-sneakers-off-the-streets
Thank you for the info about Tom’s Shoes. I personally never do business with anyone who has a No Firearms sign on their door or anyone who I know is against the second amendment. So I’m mulling all of this over in my head and I have to ask myself if donating to AHC is in any way helping Tom’s Shoes. I don’t think it does. I’ll have to think this one over for a while before deciding my action or lack of action, whichever the case may be. I know that I don’t want innocent children on the other side of the world to do without though and a little of my giving goes a long way over there. Thanks again for the heads up.
Along with many friends, I support The Heifer Project. They offer, instead of a handout, a hand up.
Carry on.
Along with many friends, I support The Heifer Project. They offer, instead of a handout, a hand up.
Carry on.