Ask HN: Which causes do you donate to?

Generally: Topical, local. If you're in a hurry and concerned about how well orgs will be spending your money in particular, then I would stay local, look at known causes running fundraisers (food banks, etc.), and aim for quantity over quality.

The Dutch Salvation Army. They run food banks, have cafés for the homeless to warm themselves and enjoy some free coffee, their volunteers keep the lonely company, and so on. I’ve seen what they do and I love it.

I’m not a Christian myself, but subscribe to the same values. And somehow I’m more inclined to donate to an organization that requires members to believe in God. For some reason that makes me believe fraud or misuse of funds is less likely.

I like donating to open source/software causes that I actually use. E.g. the foundations for various languages or frameworks, especially if they're somewhat niche/fledgling and not super mass adopted.

I also view subscribing to a small mom & pop style SaaS over a free competitor as essentially a donation, where I choose to be monetized via cash by the small company instead of whatever FAANG monetizes me with.

I use archive.org a ton and support them for what they are doing.

I support the Randolph Bourne Institute for their antiwar views.

Before I donate to a new organization, I always check their IRS forms("copies of returns") if they are in the USA at https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/

This form gives a general idea of how funds are distributed.

Time For The Planet - https://lnkd.in/et9T7UDY

Crowdfunded climate project incubator. Open source, B-corp non profit equivalent. Been going 3 years.

GiveWell! Evidence-based impact.

Archive.org

Two food banks in the NYC area. I’d like to volunteer when my schedule clears a bit as well.

The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation)!

They're the most effective protectors of digital freedom that I know of.

I give to local and overseas church work. Why? To give back where I have received so much and help others in need. Where I give is private but I do keep the details in a journal. It's encouraging to look back and remember. I'm pretty sure I would forget without the journal.

* my child’s school

* a foundation funding research for a rare disease that affects someone I know

* the local animal shelter, food bank and women’s shelter

* a few others that I can’t remember right now

So far I have only given to https://mynoise.net/. It is an amazing service that has hundreds of soundtracks that help you through your various moods and situations.

From the next year, I plan to use the Github sponsor and such similar options to donate smaller amounts to opensource projects. I wish I had more money, but this is where I would want it to go no matter how smaller.