By Dr. James M. Dahle, WCI Founder
Last week was Thanksgiving. Yesterday was Giving Tuesday. It's now December, and I hope the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Bodhi spirit is beginning to spread across the land. The end of the year is also coming, which matters if you take significant charitable deductions on your tax return. For whatever reason or combination of reasons, annual charitable giving amounts are heavily back-loaded in November and December.
We're no different here in the WCI family; we always have our annual family giving meeting in December where we decide which charities to support this year. This year, we've decided to let the WCI community help out with the process.
The Process to Submit a Charity
Here is how we are going to do it. We are allocating $50,000 of our charitable deductions this year to this “contest.” You can enter the contest by posting one (and only one) comment below the post. You may name one (and only one) charity in the first line of your post. You may then include in your post whatever commentary you'd like to get other readers/commenters to vote for the same charity. You may vote either as a reply to that comment (especially helpful if you're voting for the same charity) or as a separate comment.
If the charity name is not in the first line of the comment, it will not be counted. All other comments will be ignored for voting purposes.
We will give $1,000 each to the 50 charities that get the most votes. If there is a tie, we'll choose our favorite(s) from the tied entries. You will have one week from today to get your votes in, at which point they will no longer count. That means December 8 is the last day to submit your votes. Here are the rules for entries:
- The charity must be registered with the IRS. We're not sending the money to your cousin that was just diagnosed with cancer or somebody's GoFundMe. The plan is to donate through our Vanguard Donor Advised Fund, so if it won't pass their screen as a real charity, it won't pass ours.
- The charity must be rated at least 3 out of 4 stars on Charity Navigator or get at least an A- rating on CharityWatch.org. Look it up before wasting your vote on it, because we will. Yes, we know there are lots of great organizations that are not rated on either site. We have given to them, too. But those charities are not eligible to win this particular contest.
- If there are multiple branches of a charity, we will give to the mother organization and count all votes for the branches as belonging to the mother organization.
- The charity must not be objectionable to a significant percentage of WCIers. That excludes charities such as the NRA Foundation, Planned Parenthood, We Build The Wall, Defund the Police, Donald J. Trump Foundation, Clinton Foundation, etc. You get the picture. Don't waste your vote on a charity that involves a political hot topic or has a politician's name on it. We're the final judges on that score.
- No churches, mosques, or other primarily religious organizations. We already give plenty of money to our own church. If the primary mission of a charity is to spread beliefs, a vote for them is not going to count. For example, you can't vote for the United Pentecostal Foundation, but you could vote for Catholic Relief Services.
- No colleges or universities. We already donate plenty to our alma mater. We're not going to donate to yours. Find a more charitable charity.
OK, that should be enough rules. We reserve the right to change them as we go along in case we made a stupid one. Let's have some fun with this. Don't forget that you want to register your vote AND also include a paragraph below it convincing others to also vote for your favorite charity.
[Update 12/9/2021: The contest is now over and I've turned off the comments on this post. Unfortunately, there were A LOT of people who did not read the rules above, did not bother looking up their favorite charities on the charity rating sites to make sure they were rated, or just assumed that other posters who first listed a charity did that verification for them. There were also several of you who voted multiple times. In the end, over half of the votes didn't count and we didn't actually even come up with 50 charities that met the criteria. We did come up with 47 though. We're sure our kids will be able to make up the difference at our annual meeting. Here are the winners. If your favorite charity did not make the list, it's probably because it did not submit enough info to CharityWatch or CharityNavigator to be rated. It's probably a great charity, but rules are rules. The good news is that I learned about a lot of charities I didn't know about and there are 46 great charities here who will each be getting $1,000! Honorable mention should be made to several charities that got a lot of votes (NF2 BioSolutions, Tri 4 Schools, Isha Foundation, GiveWell, and Best Friends Animal Society, all of which got a lot of votes, even if none of them counted due to their lack of a rating.]
We hope you had as much fun reading about these charities as we did. We encourage you to also donate to the ones you deem worthy. Our family's selected charities this year include:
- Utah Food Bank
- Catholic Community Services
- The Road Home
- Givewell
- 4th Street Clinic
- Utah Refugee Connection
- Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf
- Decibels
- Affirmation
- Underground Railroad
- Trevor Project
- Team Seas
- Ronald McDonald House
- Give Directly
- Doctors Without Borders
I am requesting for project angel hugs out of Plymouth Wisconsin
Back2Back Ministries
I nominate Back2Back Ministries because they do a great job providing holistic care for orphans and vulnerable children in several countries including Mexico, Dominican Republic, Nigeria, and India. They are rated 4 stars on Charity Navigator and they are based in my home town (Cincinnati). The co-executive director who runs the organization is awesome, a great leader, and a passionate advocate for orphans and vulnerable children.
I vote for this!
Guide Dogs for the Blind.
They are just what they sound like. They breed and train guide dogs for the visually impaired, and are one of the oldest guide dog schools in the US. Until we have perfected artificial eyes, a guide dog is the next best thing!
https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/941196195
Guide Dogs for the Blind gets my vote.
Vote for Guide Dogs of the Blind.
I’ll vote for the Guide Dogs.
Evans Scholars Foundation They raise money to send golf caddies, who demonstrate financial need, good academics, and good work ethic to college. The application process is rigorous and nominates truly exceptional, deserving young adults from who have overcome, in some cases, exceptional adversity, to attend Universities all around the country, who normally would not be able to afford it.
I nominate American Jewish Committee
This organization not only works on behalf of the Jewish community but provides incredible education seminars on the topics relevant to multiple hot and not so hot regions around the world. The speakers are amazing, the discussions are amazing, anyone can listen and participate. They do a lot of work with the youth as well. What’s great is that you will always here all kinds of perspectives, they don’t push one political view over the other and in this world it is very hard to find organizations that are even semi objective. Thank you for voting!
I will vote for this educational organization.
I vote for NF2 Biosolutions. We are so grateful for this organization for their constant push and dedication to one day end NF2. On behalf of my son and all with NF2 this cure could not come so enough.
💚💙🦋
Julia Hospice and Palliative Care
https://www.juliahpc.com/
https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?keyword_list=Julia+palliative+and+hospice+care+&bay=search.results
This program is being started by a former cardiac surgeon and now palliative care physician and his wife. They have found this to be their calling and mission in life. It provides a deeply need service particularly in our community with an aging population. They are raising money to build a facility to better care for their patients.
THEIR MISSION
At Julia Hospice & Palliative Care (JHPC), we are committed to enabling the well-being of all in Erie County living with serious illness while also supporting their families, with unmatched skill, compassion, and advocacy, regardless of their ability to pay.
Nature Conservancy
This is one the world’s largest and most effective organizations for protecting land and water resources while providing for food and water sustainability. As our children grow up in a world where these things are increasingly at risk and diminishing rapidly it is so important to help conserve them for the future!
Please vote to conserve nature for the next generation, it gets my vote!
I vote for this.
I vote for this
I vote for. NF2 BioSolutions. They are doing amazing work supporting research for curing NF2 brain and spine tumors
I nominate Charles B Wang Community Health Center in New York City.
Their mission is to “provide high quality and affordable health care to the underserved, with a focus on Asian Americans.” They are a federally funded health center that stayed open throughout the pandemic in NYC, administered thousands of Covid vaccines and provides much needed medical services to the community.
Hairy Cell Leukemia Foundation
https://www.guidestar.org/profile/36-3327001
This will be an underdog submission as this disease is very rare and which my husband has. This foundation gives so much information to newly diagnosed patients and provides the latest information on treatment plans. It gave us so much comfort to know how many others were out there with this condition and the help we received was priceless.
I’ll vote for the underdog.
Thank you, Artemis!
GiveWell
They research charities around the world and facilitate donations to the ones who save and/or improve the most lives per dollar spent.
I also vote for Givewell
Upvote for Give Well.
I vote for this as well
Another vote for GiveWell
Another vote for Give Well. Focused on donor dollar throughput to impact giving
Great charity organization. Please pick for your prize money. It means so much to our family as we race to find a cure.
Is that the name? Great Charity?
I nominate Apparo Academy.
https://www.apparoacademy.org/
This is a school for children with special needs. As a neonatologist, I recognize the need for this service in every community.
https://fistulafoundation.org/
Repairing obstetric fistula in African nations and restoring mothers’ health and dignity.
I vote for this organization as well.
+1 vote for the fistula foundation
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
It is heartbreaking seeing so many suicides in my community in Northwest Montana especially among adolescents, and it is devastating to hear of the losses of medical students, residents, and attendings to suicide nationally.
Fisher House Foundation
I nominate the Fisher House Foundation, which provides free housing and support for families of sick and injured military members. It is consistent ranked as one of CharityWatch’s top charities, and provides much needed support to our military members who often have to receive care far from friends and family.
https://fisherhouse.org
I was going to suggest Fischer House as well. Seconded!
Jim, I vote for 4th Street Clinic (Salt Lake). 4 stars!
4th Street Clinic gets my vote!
I nominate Grove Christian Outreach located in Williamsburg, Virginia. (EIN: 27-0077733) (1-757-887-1100)
This is an organization I have volunteered with to help in their children’s school and summer lunch programs. Below gives a description of some of the things they do to help others. There is no overhead “fluff” in this organization which is one of the reasons I volunteer with their children’s programs. Thank you!
Mission: Our mission is to maintain an Outreach Center in the Grove area of James City County in order to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of the poor and disadvantaged in the community
Direct beneficiaries per year: Last year we served over 400 family equaling over 1,300 people. We distributed over 500,000 pounds of food, including 1,651 meals to children during our summer lunch program.
Programs: Bread & More Wednesdays: A variety of products are offered to the entire Grove community including bread, rolls, desserts, drinks, fresh produce, meats, sandwiches, salads and food from Olive Garden, Starbucks, Red Lobster, Pizza Hut, Panera bread and Pepperidge Farm. Clothes and household items are also available for people to receive. Residents are invited to visit each week. We are currently serving over a hundred families each week. Food Pantry: Food is available to our clients based on individual need and emergency situations every 30 days. Those who visit the food pantry get to choose the items they will receive. USDA Commodities: This is a federal government program that provides a variety of good nutritious foods for our families. They can receive commodities once a month and eligibility is based on income and number of household members. Lunch: We provide a wide variety of foods twice a week to supplement needs. Sandwiches, salads, chicken, produce, bread and pastries are provided on a take-out basis from 11:30 -12:30 on Mondays and Fridays. Clothes Closet: We provide a good variety of new and gently used clothing and shoes for women, men and children. We provide our clients with new undergarments they can access once a month. We also have a school supply closet, school uniforms closet, a hygiene closet, and other resources to help meet ones daily needs.
Neighborhood Bike Works
https://neighborhoodbikeworks.org/
Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW) is a nonprofit that provides educational, recreational, and career-building opportunities for urban youth in underserved neighborhoods in greater Philadelphia through bicycling. By learning bicycle mechanics and exploring the city by bike, young people at NBW build life skills and healthy habits, and gain leadership experience. It also promotes cycling as a healthy, affordable, environment-friendly form of transportation. NBW uses bikes as the hook to engage youth in positive out-of-school-time activities. In addition to our youth programs, NBW provides a DIY community bicycle workshop space for adults as well as community outreach programs to promote cycling.
Thanks!
I’ll vote for NBW!
I also vote for this
Cystic Fibrosis Research Institute (cfri.org)
I’m a physician who has a child with cystic fibrosis. This organization has done a lot for my family over the years. They not only sponsor research, but also offer incredibly helpful online support groups, and help families with the cost of mental health counseling related to cf and the struggles of having a young child with it.
Thank you for your consideration.
I nominate the Trust for Public Land: https://www.tpl.org/
They partner with local public land trusts in every US state to acquire and preserve open space for parks and for conservation. They recently were instrumental in acquiring property for Fisher’s Peak State Park, which will be the second largest state park in Colorado. They also work within cities to acquire and develop community parks where residents can enjoy the outdoors and green space. Take a look at their website and if their mission resonates with you as it does for me, send a donation their way!
I will also cast my vote for the Trust for Public Land.
I vote humanitarianxp.org
Excellent organization that takes youth out of their social media and cell phone world and teaches that serving others brings real results. My son went on this last year and made great friends and helped him appreciate what he has here in the US
I nominate the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Education Foundation – the charitable arm of Space Camp. There’s never been a better time to inspire kids and adults alike to reach for the stars and aspire to be their best.
I personally support the organization with both my time and donations and know first hand how the organization has changed my life for the better
THE U.S. SPACE & ROCKET CENTER EDUCATION FOUNDATION SUPPORTS THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS OF THE U.S. SPACE & ROCKET CENTER AND SPACE CAMP THROUGH GRANTS, FUNDRAISING, SCHOLARSHIPS, EVENTS AND CORPORATE PROGRAMS.
Ruling year info
2015
Principal Officer
MR. WILLIAM B. CHANDLER
Main address
1 Tranquility Base
Huntsville, AL 35805
EIN
63-1265839
NTEE code info
Human Service Organizations (P20)
Alpha-1 Foundation https://www.alpha1.org/
https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/650585415
Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1) is a genetic condition – it is passed from parents to their children through their genes. Alpha-1 may result in serious lung disease in adults and/or liver disease at any age.
Please consider voting for this charity as they work to find a cure. My son is impacted by this disease and had a bout with liver problems as a new born.
I vote for the Alpha-1 Foundation!