Last year I wrote a post highlighting 13 organizations I’d donated to in 2012. I still wholeheartedly recommend all of those, but this year, I’d like to highlight 5 more! The following are all causes that I have donated to at some point, and a few are places that are near and dear to me for other, more personal reasons. All are worth donating to. This year, please consider giving to one of these great orgs.
Without further ado…
- The Dream Program. This amazing Vermont-based organization (where I once served as development director) pairs university students with kids in low-income housing developments. In the past few years, they’ve spread beyond their Vermont and New Hampshire origins to take on the Boston area. They also host a fantastic camp in both winter and summer, and if you give today, that’s the incredible experience you’ll be contributing to.
- Career Collaborative. I worked here too, fundraising so that low-income folks in the Boston area could gain the skills necessary to get jobs. One of the things I loved most about working here was helping out the folks who were newer arrivals to Boston and the US, many of whom had extensive careers back home but faced new challenges in the local job market. They make really good use of their funds, and have an extraordinary success rate.
- Big Blue! Families First, where my mother works, is a great organization that provides low-income individuals in southern New Hampshire with low-cost health and dental care, parenting classes, and more. Big Blue is their mobile healthcare van that does outreach to the local homeless population. Check out the video, and give a few to the cause.
- Mailpile. This one’s close to my heart, but for a different reason. Sure, I’m friends with the developers, but the main reason Mailpile is so special to me is that it solves a problem that matters a whole lot – the usability of secure, encrypted email. Mailpile is one of several new products aiming to do this, but its design is really what sells me!
- Your local domestic violence organization. And if you have a suggestion for one in SF for me to give to, let me know.