h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's payday and i'm feeling generous

Which charities do you usually give to?

Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury. My brother spent some time in there when he had a stroke.

In the past I've been a collectorfor the Birmingham Children's Hospital and the Guide Dogs for the Blind (the latter as one of my duties, voluntary, at the Birmignham Jazz Festival).

NACC (of which I'm a member and sufferer) and I chuck loose change at the RNLI and Air Ambulances. Sometimes. At the moment though there's too much month left in my salary.

Peoples Trust for Endangered Species

Amnesty International

and RNLI and Guide Dogs and I'll probably think of some more!

oh, forgot, I get my car insurance with 'pachyderm'.co.uk too (£1 form each policy goes to Born Free Foundation's elephant related projects)

I was thinking of Amnesty earlier on

Ronald McDonald House. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking, but those houses they run are such a gift to those who need it. When I was poor (well, shouldn't say *was*) and my little girl was in the NICU a couple hours from my home, having the ability to have my just-having-given-birth body close to the hospital, and fed and housed to boot, was tremendous. Excellent, excellent organization.

To appeal to my leftie side, I'd have to say supporting people like madre.org or zmag.org. Human rights and education type projects. Also, the US' Green Party, though it's not precisely a charity.

Devon Air Ambulance and local primary school for musical instuments. Every Christmas we play carols to raise money for one charity and the school and split the cash. Charity has been Great Ormond St hospital, Diabetes research, amongst others. I always put my spare tuppences and shillings in Air Ambulance though.

Shelter and Friends of the Earth.

What is it with the RNLI? I've never understood that! I'm sure they do good work and all, but their popularity as a charity seems really disproportionate! It seems to me like an emergency service, and I can't imagine people giving so generously to the fire service (in the sense that they expect the fire service to be publicly funded).

I used to run one of those Christmas Charity card shops, and people were always asking which were the RNLI cards . . .

enlighten me?

Royal National Lifeboat Institution. A volunteer sea rescue service.

More info: http://www.rnli.org.uk

oh, I know who they are! I just don't get quite why they are SO popular (sorry, wasn't very clear!)

I don't mean to sound callous, and I bet i'd be very glad of all those donations if I ever fell off a boat, but I do think it is odd . . .

are they uncontroversial? but then so are any charities for ill children . . .

baffled!

WWW, WWT, RSPB, London Wildlife Trust.
I used to support Shelter and Help the Aged, until I saw how much waste there was.
I am not a Peoples' Charity Supporter, as they seem to lose more of their Charity Donations through waste and/or bad Mnagement.
I have also been a supporter of FOI and Greenpeace, and Mensa.
10 years ago, my annual membership donation fee was in excess of £500:00, but a change of job has curtailed this.
I will not give to any declared political or religious organisation.

The RNLI used to be the most supported charity in the UK, until donations to a certain donkey charity overtook it.

You're right, though. RNLI shouldn't have to rely on charitable donations, it should be funded by Government.

When it comes to giving to charity, I stand by the maxim that "charity begins at home". I think that the big charities get quite enough cash already, thankyouverymuch. I find it slightly worrying the amount of money that the RSPCA and GOSH raise, whilst other worthy causes go without because they don't have the advertising budget.

If you're serious about giving to charity on an ongoing basis, investigate the ways that you can do so on a tax-exempt basis. This means that the tax that you've already paid on your earnings is refunded to the charity. In simple terms, for every £4 that you donate, the charity receives £5.

Pick a small, local charity, that has a personal connection to you. It'll help you feel more in contact with your community, and they'll also be more aprreciative.

How about giving to a charity Douglas Adams supported - the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.

The NSPCC always needs more support..

UNICEF, IHC (NZ human service for people with intellectual disabilities) and Foundation for the Blind.

The difficulty I always have with the "big" charities is that you don't know where your money's going.