Which charity should I donate to, preferably one that uses donations wisely?

[CrumbsInBed]

I was looking at signing up for the SoberOctober challenge in aid of MacMillan nurses, nurses, but I’ve heard the donations don’t go directly to the nurses. Please correct me if I’m wrong with that.

I was thinking instead of still going sober for the month, but donating what I would have spent on alcohol for the month towards a charity, where the donations are directly benefitting the people who the charity is aimed at, iyswim?
Any advice is appreciated, thank you 💐

I think you’ve got to decide what difference you want to make and then channel your donations to the charity which is most effective at doing it. That might be the local group with no paid staff where someone takes the tea towels home to wash every Friday, or it might be a national charity which employs people with specialist expertise and has a nice office. What matters is whether they are getting on with the business in hand safely and effectively.

The idea of donating things rather than money is also often misguided.Yes, cat-food to a cat shelter, but it is often less effective than the cat shelter buying cat food in bulk. Although some use Amazon wish lists quite effectively, I think?

This is particularly true after emergencies - there is often a rush of physical donations, but people really need specific, professional help to be rehoused, deal with trauma or be protected if they are displaced, not bags of people’s random old clothes.

There is no easy answer.

I won't donate to Macmillan anymore since they ignored all the patients with cancer who told them that 'Brave the Shave' is deeply offensive and ran it again this year.