The 50 Best Charities to Give to Right Now
Here's how to make sure the max amount of your donation goes toward making an impact.
It’s the season of giving — and doing your part is more important than ever. There are so many ways to give back: you could volunteer, start a fundraiser, or do a random act of kindness. You may also consider donating money to a charity or nonprofit. But before you make a decision on where to give, set aside some time to find a charity you trust. That way, you can rest assured that your donation will go as far as possible.
To help you do that, we've compiled a list of great charities to donate to in 2020. To vet these organizations, we combed through Charity Watch and Charity Navigator, two trusted watchdog groups that assign charities a grade or number rating for financial health and transparency. We also included our Good Housekeeping Humanitarian Seal holder, No Kid Hungry. With organizations that focus on so many different causes, you're bound to find a charity you're excited to support.
Environmental Defense Fund
With Charity Navigator's highest four-star rating, the Environmental Defense Fund works to institute clean energy solutions, reduce emissions, and find sustainable ways to grow food and supply water. Along with influencing legislation and conducting research, the organization builds partnerships with corporations to help them become more environmentally friendly. It currently works in 26 countries and has helped protect four million acres of land.
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Rainforest Trust
For more than 30 years, Rainforest Trust has worked toward its goal of saving threatened tropical ecosystems and the wildlife that calls them home. In 2019, the organization protected 3.4 million acres of land via land purchases and designations. If you give to Rainforest Trust, you'll be able to choose exactly where your money goes. For example, you could help secure a black rhino habitat in Kenya, save the blue-throated macaw from extinction in Bolivia, or protect the cotton-top tamarins in Colombia. It’s totally your call.
Environmental Working Group
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) provides consumer advocacy and research regarding the safety of food, cosmetics, water, children’s products, and more. (It’s famous for its “Dirty Dozen” list of pesticides in produce.) The goal is to help consumers understand what is in their food and other products so they can make safe, informed choices. The EWG also pushes government agencies to work in the best interest of public health.
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Center for International Environmental Law
The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) defends your right to live on a healthy planet. To do that, it strengthens international environmental law and finds ways to hold corporations accountable for their impact on the environment and public health. CIEL’s ultimate mission is to reduce public exposure to toxic chemicals, transition away from fossil fuels, protect ecosystems around the world, and ensure a just and sustainable society.
Acadia Center
Acadia Center's goal is to develop a clean energy economy that will help mitigate the ongoing climate crisis. Among the organization's initiatives, there’s a focus on modernizing power grids and other utilities, promoting cost-saving and energy-efficient technologies, and encouraging the use of low- or no-carbon electricity to heat and cool buildings and power vehicles. Acadia Center also provides guidance to government organizations, businesses, and community groups that need help implementing clean energy initiatives.
WildAid
WildAid’s mission is simple: to reduce the consumption of wildlife products and to increase local support for conservation efforts. To do this, it works to persuade the public to avoid illegal and unsustainable wildlife products and to make better lifestyle choices in order to reduce climate change. Its work helps all types of creatures, from sea turtles and manta rays to tigers and elephants. WildAid has a perfect score on Charity Navigator and counts Prince William and Lupita Nyong'o among its ambassadors.
PAWS Chicago
PAWS stands for “Pets Are Worth Saving,” and this Chicago-based organization lives by that mission. The no-kill shelter for cats and dogs is the largest free spay and neuter clinic in the Midwest; in 2019, it facilitated 5,271 animal adoptions through its adoption centers and spayed and neutered 15,174 pets. PAWS has received a perfect four-star rating on Charity Navigator for 18 years in a row, something that fewer than one percent of all organizations in the country can say.
Animal Welfare Institute
No matter which types of animals you love most — whether it's cats and dogs, farm animals, marine life, wildlife, or laboratory animals — the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is out there serving them. The AWI engages with policymakers, scientists, and the public to abolish factory farms, implement alternatives to experimentation on live animals, protect endangered and threatened species, and more. The organization also makes it easy to write to legislators on issues ranging from shark finning to racehorse conditions.
Marine Mammal Center
The Marine Mammal Center advances ocean conservation by providing care for orphaned and in-need animals with the goal of releasing them back into the wild. In fact, the Center responds to more stranded marine mammals than any other organization in the world. Through its Adopt-a-Seal program, you’ll know exactly how your donation is making a difference in a sea mammal’s life.
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
This organization is all about gorilla conservation. The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund plays a direct role in the protection of gorillas in the wild in Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo. They also conduct scientific research, train future conservation and scientific leaders, and help communities living near gorillas through livelihood, food security and education initiatives. A simple way to donate is to sign up for its Adopt a Gorilla (in the wild) program.
Homes For Our Troops
This nonprofit builds and donates custom adapted homes to severely injured post-9/11 veterans, many of whom have experienced limb amputations, partial or full paralysis, traumatic brain injury, burns, or blindness. The organization also provides a pro-bono financial planner for three years to help with financial planning and budgeting, as well as homeownership education and peer mentorship with other veterans and spouses in the Homes For Our Troops (HFOT) program. Since 2004, HFOT has built more than 300 homes.
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Wounded Warriors Family Support
This organization provides support to families of service members who have been wounded, injured, or killed in combat. Its programs offer caregiver respite, job training, and family retreats, among other things. It also operates the Dunham House, a residence that provides long-term care for veterans with spinal cord or traumatic brain injuries.
K9s For Warriors
For veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, a trained service dog can be a godsend — and that's why K9s For Warriors is so important. The organization rescues and trains dogs from kill shelters to be paired with disabled veterans. It even provides ongoing training, legal and emotional support for the service dog-veteran team. In 2019, the nonprofit paired 92 veterans with service dogs; since 2011, the program has rescued more than 1,200 dogs.
Bob Woodruff Foundation
The Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) funds programs that serve veterans and their families. It honors journalist Bob Woodruff, who was hit by a roadside bomb in 2006 while covering the war in Iraq, and miraculously survived. The foundation seeks to meet the emerging and long-term needs of today’s veterans, including suicide prevention, mental health, caregiver support, and food insecurity. Since 2006, it has invested more than $70 million in programs that empower impacted veterans, service members, and their family members.
The Mission Continues
The Mission Continues develops volunteer opportunities for veterans with the goal of connecting former service-members with under-resourced communities. By participating, 85% of veterans said they felt more connected to other veterans and 78% said they felt a greater sense of community. In 2019, the nonprofit organized 1,479 service projects that empowered veterans to build leadership skills and transform communities. In 2020, it has focused on mobilizing veterans to fight food insecurity caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
No Kid Hungry
A Good Housekeeping Humanitarian Seal holder, No Kid Hungry is a national campaign run by the non-profit Share Our Strength. The organization focuses on ending childhood hunger, which typically affects more than 11 million children in the U.S. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, that number could reach 18 million (that's one in four youngsters). No Kid Hungry improves access to child nutrition programs, including school breakfasts, summer meals, and after school meals, and works with elected officials to improve the food programs that kids and families rely on.
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