10 important causes and the best charity to donate to for each (2024)

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Help eliminate hunger in the United States.

Many people volunteer at soup kitchens and food banks during the holidays. But food insecurity is a year-round issue. According to Feeding America, over 40 million people in the US are food insecure, meaning they don't know where their next meal will come from. You can help by donating money, nonperishable foods, organizing a food drive, or volunteering at one of Feeding America's 200 food banks that serve local communities.

Feeding America has a 4-star rating on Charity Navigator.

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Donate to protect and promote fair elections.

Fair Fight is an organization advocating to protect elections and educate voters about their rights and how elections work. Voter suppression against minorities has proven to influence the results of elections, and Fair Fight it working to create programs that protect voters and advocate for their rights.

Considering the upcoming presidential election, it is important to support organizations that are working to ensure our voting system is fair and accessible to everyone. Fair Fight is not rated yet on Charity Navigator

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Support injured military veterans and their families.

In 2003, a group of marine spouses at Camp Pendleton, California started the Semper Fi Fund to raise money for struggling military families whose injured loved ones were recovering at the hospital.

In the last 15 years, the Semper Fi Fund has developed programs such as the Service Member and Family Support Program, a Transition Program for wounded veterans to start new and productive lives, the Integrative Wellness Program, and the LCpl Parsons Welcome Home Fund for Vietnam Veterans.

The Semper Fi Fund has had a 4-Star Rating on Charity Navigator for eight consecutive years, and an A+ Rating for seven consecutive years on Charity Watch. The Semper Fi Fund accepts online donations and volunteers.

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Help find a cure for Alzheimer's.

The Cure Alzheimer's Fund was founded in 2004 by three families who were frustrated by the slow pace of Alzheimer's research. They used their experience in venture capital and corporate start-ups to design a foundation where the Board of Directors covers all overhead expenses and 100% of funds raised go directly to research. The Cure Alzheimer's Fund has raised over $77 million and has funded research that has led to several important new discoveries.

The Cure Alzheimer's Fund was named one of Charity Navigator's "10 Best Medical Research Organizations" in the US and has a 4-star rating.

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Support suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth.

The Trevor Project was founded in 1998 with the mission to end suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth by providing crisis intervention. Since then, their mission has expanded to include life-affirming resources for youth who need non-crisis support; community education about LGBTQ suicide prevention, risk detection, and response; and supporting government funding opportunities for mental health services for LGBTQ youth.

The Trevor Project depends on donations to help expand their advocacy efforts, train crisis counselors, and provide 24/7 crisis support. The Trevor Project has a 4-star rating on Charity Navigator and an A rating on Charity Watch.

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Fund a classroom project.

In 2000, Charles Best, a high school history teacher designed a website where teachers could post classroom project requests. Donors could then choose the ones they wanted to support and see exactly where their money was going. That website became Donors Choose. Donors find a project that inspires them, donate what they can, and when the project is fully funded, Donors Choose purchases the requested supplies and ships them to the classroom. To date, the foundation has vetted and fulfilled requests for over 600,000 classroom projects.

Donors can donate directly to their project of choice, or they can donate to offset the cost of operational expenses.

Donors Choose has a 4-star rating on Charity Navigator and an A+ rating on Charity Watch.

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Donate to protect the environment.

The Sierra Club was founded in 1892 with a mission to "explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives."

The Sierra Club accepts online donations and has chapters in every state focusing on sustainable energy, maintaining the earth's resources and wildlife, and promoting the outdoors with local outings, tours, and treks.

The Sierra Club Foundation has a 4-star rating on Charity Navigator.

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Raise money for pediatric cancer research.

Every day 700 children worldwide are diagnosed with cancer. Alexandra "Alex" Scott was one of those children. She was diagnosed with neuroblastoma before her first birthday. At age four she opened up a lemonade stand and raised $2000 for childhood cancer research. When Alex passed away in 2004 at age eight, her efforts had raised $1 million.

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) has currently raised over $150 million for childhood cancer research and has funded more than 800 research projects at 135 institutions.

You can donate online, or learn how to plan your own Alex's Lemonade Stand fundraiser.

ALSF was named one of Charity Navigator's "10 Best Medical Research Organizations" in the US and has a 4-star rating.

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Support the training of assistance dogs.

Paws With A Cause was founded in 1979 by Michael and Candye Sapp after Mike agreed to train a dog to alert a deaf couple of important sounds, such as their baby crying. Paws With A Cause has grown into a national organization which trains service dogs for people with physical disabilities, seizure response dogs for people who have epilepsy, hearing dogs for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and service dogs for children with Autism.

Paws With A Cause depends on donations as they receive more than 2,000 assistance dog application requests annually and their clients do not pay for assistance dogs. It costs over $30,000 to breed or rescue, raise, train, place, and provide ongoing support for an assistance dog. It is not covered by insurance, and there is no government funding available to sponsor assistance dogs.

Paws With A Cause has a 4-star rating on Charity Navigator.

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Advocate for equal treatment in the criminal justice system.

The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) was founded in 1989 by attorney Bryan Stevenson. It provides legal representation to inmates who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or mistreated while incarcerated.

EJI's mission is to end "mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society."

EJI accepts online donations.

Not only does the Equal Justice Initiative have a 4-star rating on Charity Navigator, but it also earned perfect scores for Financial Health and Accountability & Transparency, which is achieved by less than 1% of charities rated by Charity Navigator.

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