How to give charity this holiday season – NBC Chicago

WHAT TO KNOW ALWAYS CHECK A CHARITY BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY DONATION #GIVINGTuesday Starts Boosting Charitable Giving Scroll down for ways to help communities come together

With the potential for delivery delays and people not recovering from a pandemic or the year’s fires and floods, a charitable donation on someone’s behalf could be an option this holiday season.

The Americans gave a record last year and experts hope it will continue this year as the stock market rises. Donations typically increase towards the end of the year, from #GivingTuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, to the last day of December.

“We are in a truly unique second season of giving this year,” said Alex Guerrier, CEO of GlobalGiving, a nonprofit that connects donors with other nonprofits around the world.

The pandemic continues to hold its grip over the world, with vaccines unevenly available and the economic recovery still fragile in some places.

GlobalGiving focuses on community-led organizations that it vets in more than 170 countries, some of which are very small. Since 2002, it has raised $618 million from more than 1.3 million people.

“It is possible to give on behalf of someone, for example to an area or topic with which he is personally associated,” he said.

Gift cards are available so recipients can choose where to donate the money to themselves. Parents can donate on behalf of their children, as one of the gifts they receive.

He said, “trains and video games, yes, but also charity donation.” “For this to be the start of a thoughtful conversation about giving, that could very much align with other conversations this season.”

If you decide to donate, choose carefully.

Make sure the charity’s mission is in line with your friend or relative’s values ​​and has been vetted by a group like GlobalGiving. You can verify that it is a charitable organization with the IRS on its website. Find out from Charity Navigator or GuideStar what percentage of money he actually receives for programs and how much administrative or other costs are. The Better Business Bureau records complaints.

Consumer Reports offers tips on successfully donating on other people’s names, from considering whether they don’t prefer a traditional gift to asking about potential charities beforehand even if it spoils a surprise. You can even offer money so they can donate themselves.

“I think we typically discourage people from donating to a nonprofit rather than giving someone a toaster,” said Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofit Organizations. “We are very supportive of the roaster.”

“But I would say the holiday is a time when people think about being grateful for what they have and think about helping people who don’t have the same things,” she said. “And these can be local people or international people as well as people who are speaking up and advocating for them, not just helping them directly.”

Charitable giving reached a record $471 billion in 2020, as the pandemic, racial justice protests and economic crisis spread, according to a Giving USA report. This represents a 5% increase compared to 2019.

It is possible to give on behalf of someone, for example to an area or topic that they are personally related to

Alex Guerrier, CEO of GlobalGiving

At the same time, there were fewer Americans making donations, a trend related to a shrinking middle class, rising college debt, and declining membership in organized debt. Some people have yet to recover from the Great Recession of 2008 when the pandemic hit, unevenly across the country.

“The pandemic has created a sense of solidarity, in the sense that we are all in this together, in the sense that we are all vulnerable to the virus,” said Amir Pasek, dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, who wrote. Report published by the Giving USA Foundation. At the same time, we know that some of us are more vulnerable than others.”

More organizations saw a decrease in overall donations in 2020 than in the previous five-year period, according to a study by the Urban Institute’s Center for Nonprofit Organizations and Philanthropy known as Nonprofit Trends and Impacts 2021. But a quarter of organizations saw a marked increase in their donations while Foundation Another fifth of reported donations rose moderately. A quarter had a significant drop.

“There were twisting currents going in opposite directions,” said Elizabeth Burris, director of the Center Foundation and now a fellow at the Urban Institute.

She said nonprofits focused on racial justice or natural disasters did better, but that “the arts took a terrible hit.”

What charities can you consider if you like the idea of ​​donating instead of buying gifts? You might have your favorite charity or a special one for friends or relatives, or some focus on the turmoil of 2021.

GlobalGiving owns these disaster funds: the Pacific Northwest and Canadian British Columbia Flood Relief, the Louisiana Hurricane Relief Fund, the Hurricane Ida Relief Fund, the Afghanistan Emergency Fund, the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, and the California, Australia and United States bushfire relief funds. Corona Virus Relief Fund. There is an additional, unique fund dedicated to Madagascar as it faces what could be the world’s first famine caused by climate change.

Then there are funds that tackle long-term problems: the GlobalGiving Girls’ Fund for a Gender Equality and the GlobalGiving Fund for Climate Action.

Here are some other funds that address year-specific problems.

Afghan refugees

The U.S. armed forces completely withdrew from Afghanistan in August, bringing close to a 20-year war, and prompting Afghan refugees to rush into the United States.

To help refugees in the United States

The Church World Service says on its website that since 2009 it has resettled more than 7,000 Afghans and their families in the United States. The service helps them find housing, work and other social services.

Homes Not Borders provides refugees, special immigrant visas and asylum seekers in the Washington, D.C. area, what they need to be at home in the United States, including household needs and help finding jobs.

Lutheran Immigration and Refugees assists US Afghan allies, including translators, cultural advisors, and drivers.

To help the people who are still in Afghanistan

The International Rescue Committee has worked in Afghanistan for more than three decades.

Islamic Relief USA raises funds to help families struggling with displacement and hunger. It says on its website that more than 3.5 million people have been displaced from their homes because Afghanistan is on the brink of famine.

Hate crimes against Asians

Hate crimes against Asians and Asian Americans rose more than 73% in 2020, according to the FBI. An October poll from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that one in four Asian Americans fear someone in their home will be attacked or threatened.

Here are two types of organizations that respond:

Asian Americans Develop Justice

Center for American Women of Asia Pacific

California Wildfires

More than 3 million acres have been burned in bushfires this year and more than 3,600 homes and other buildings have been damaged or destroyed in the fires. The Dixie Fire was the second largest fire in state history after the August 2020 compound fire.

The Disaster Philanthropy Center is helping communities across the state rebuild after wildfires. It has awarded more than $3.8 million in grants across the state that prioritize recovery in the medium to long term, especially among vulnerable populations.

The Latino Community Foundation helps Latino-led families displaced by wildfires across the state.

There are more organizations here.

Corona virus pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has turned many people’s lives upside down, putting jobs and homes at risk and drawing renewed attention to inequality in American society. Even as some people have been able to continue their jobs from home and avoid the worst, others have been on the front line, testing positive for the virus, often without medical insurance.

RIP Medical Debt ends medical debt through local campaigns, community-led efforts to erase debt in hot spots, or through partnerships with health care systems.

Other efforts have focused on tackling hunger, including the following:

Action Against Hunger

Feeding America

This group makes sure kids aren’t left out because their school lunch bills aren’t paid:

All for lunch

Haiti earthquake

Its president was shot dead in July and a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck in August. Haiti has already been struggling with COVID and violence and will need emergency essentials for years.

According to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, “this includes food, shelter, hygiene supplies, cash assistance, fabrics, rebuilding supplies, water, personal protective equipment, and COVID-19 supplies.”

The organization launched a fund to help communities rebuild and recover from the earthquake. To donate to the CDP Haiti Earthquake Recovery Fund, click here.

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