Today is the last day you can make a charitable donation and receive an income tax deduction for 2012. One of the great things about the internet is that this is now a simple task that takes only minutes. Here are five organizations that will do good things with your money.
- Earthjustice. Earthjustice is a national environmental activist group that uses courts to protect wilderness areas and pristine places. They also promote clean energy standards so we don’t all die of black lung. If you donate today the Sandler Foundation will actually match you donation dollar for dollar, so you get twice the bang for your buck. Yes, you are giving money to a bunch of lawyers, but they are lawyers who save bears.
- The Center for Responsive Politics. The CRP is a research group that does extensive reporting on the influence of money in politics. They are champions of transparency and they take no donations from businesses, lobbyists, or unions. Even if you don’t donate go and sign up for their newsletter. It is one of the best things on the web.
- Occupy Sandy. Yeah, I know, hippies piss you off. However, almost two months after Hurricane Sandy thousands of New Yorkers still have no heat or power, and their houses are full of dangerous mold. The city and FEMA have really dropped the ball, but the Occupy kids have drafted thousands of volunteers to serve meals, repair homes, and organize relief efforts. They have changed the model for disaster relief and that’s a good thing.
- The Committee to Protect Journalists. CPJ investigates violence against journalists and advocates for reporters that have been kidnapped, imprisoned, or killed. Unfortunately, attacks against journalists are increasing in many parts of the world, so this work is more important than ever. The work of CPJ shines light on regimes that want to hide their misdeeds and that is a very important task.
- Safe Kids USA. This organization does research, education, and legislative advocacy about child safety issues. Accidental injury is the leading case of death for American kids between 1 and 14, so SKUSA educates parents about safety issues. They also train volunteers on how to be Child Passenger Safety Technicians so they can help parents properly use seatbelts and car seats to avoid injury in car accidents. Won’t somebody think about the children?
Remember, you only have until midnight tonight to make your donations. Please feel free to add any other groups that you like in the comments.
