Dash out and donate

Dec 05, 2012 9:40 AM by Jessica Watson

Posted in Living / Money and finance / Family spending

charity ideas

Topping off your tax deductions

With just a few weeks left this year, you may be trying to find somewhere to give a final donation to help boost your tax returns and warm your heart.

Rather than turning to the big name charities that have the funds to keep themselves in the forefront, try some of these amazing nonprofits that are just as deserving of your dollars.

Adopt America Network

www.adoptamericanetwork.org

Adopt America Network aids in the adoption of children with special needs or coming from a past of neglect or abuse. They give a generous amount of financial assistance to make the adoption of these exceptional children possible for families who are willing and able to adopt.

Heifer International

www.heifer.org

With a huge goal of ending poverty and hunger in the world while also taking care of the earth, the work of Heifer International is never done. Donations help to provide food and sustainable living to families without the means to do so for themselves

Grace on Wings

www.graceonwings.org

This group of dedicated specialists provides commercial air ambulance flights for those in need of medical care but unable to transport themselves the distance. The cost to provide air flights to patients in medical need is outrageous, but this caring group will transport them with the help of your donations.

Pink Daisy Project

www.pinkdaisyproject.ning.com

The Pink Daisy Project was founded to help give women fighting breast cancer the basic necessities to get through treatment. All donations go solely to providing items such as food, gas and prescriptions to cancer patients.

Surfers Healing

www.surfershealing.org

When surfer Izzy Paskowitz had a son diagnosed with autism he found surfing to have a calming effect on his son and thus created Surfers Healing. The organization travels the country, giving individuals with autism the opportunity to experience the therapuetic effects of surfing in a camp setting.

Team Summer

www.teamsummer.org

Summer, a teenager coping with cancer, created the idea to sell wristbands to help children with cancer know that they were not alone. Her idea took off and through Team Summer you can donate to a "team" of your choice to help families with the medical expenses associated with cancer treatment. Summer passed on in November of this year but her dream of supporting others with cancer continues.

World Care

www.worldcare.org

World Care is an effort to provide relief to those in need by recycling and reusing materials. They emphasize community service and sustainable living and have provided aid to the victims of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the Japan earthquakes of 2011.

Tell us

What did we miss? Share your favorite charities below!

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Charities that make you feel good about giving
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Tags: charities finances taxes

Comments

Comments on "Dash out and donate"

I have so much to give away it's not even funny! Thanks for the great tips, I hope to have my garage cleared out sooner than later!!

Lots of wonderful charities here! I donate to a charity called Luke’s Wings which pays for airfare so wounded warriors and their loved ones can be united. The Team Summer story brought tears to my eyes. I think I am going to donate to this charity to help keep it going in Summer’s memory.

Thank you for this list because I wouldn’t have known about these charities otherwise. I usually give to the big charities but after reading this article I realize that it makes more sense to give to the smaller, lesser-known charities instead. I will definitely be donating to some of these charities before the end of the year.

Looks like you hit this list dead-on. Thanks for this, I plan on donating this year and will be using this as a guide.