Helping others is one of the most important and widespread human values. Kindness, compassion, and generosity can ease the hardships faced all over the world. In times of crises, people feel an especially strong desire to help each other. Moreover, various research shows that altruism increases people’s happiness, even across cultures.
Volunteering and helping strangers you meet isn’t for everyone. However, donations are easier and more accessible thanks to technology.
In 2021, more than one in three people worldwide reported donating to charity. This is a record number, the highest one in over a decade of surveys by the Charities Aid Foundation. But what makes people do that? We asked the Selzy employees (and not only) to share their reasoning.
Business Development Manager at Selzy
I regularly donate about 10% of my monthly income. I believe that donations should be an inalienable part of our lives. You should donate when you feel like you can do a little bit more for the world, and you are ready to give, not just get, regardless of any specific dates like Giving Tuesday. And I also believe that the more you give, the more you actually get. Call it “Karma” or whatever, but to me personally, it works.
Head of Social Media at Selzy
I make monthly donations to a charity benefiting children. And in the past, I supported various causes from local nonprofits to crisis support.
I want to take part in resolving problems I find significant. That’s why it’s important to support the causes you believe in and that’s why I donated to several different nonprofits.
Chief Technical Officer at unione.io
I understand that there are people in circumstances that just don’t allow them to act to their full potential, or even worse — they have to fight every day just to survive. I think everyone should have a chance for a better life. And I want to share with them some of the possibilities I had in my life. Maybe someone could also use my donations to make their life better.
According to the Independent Sector, nonprofits in the US have a high mission to provide aid and support to those in need and help resolve the issues that the business and the government are unable to fix or ignore.
With Thanksgiving and Giving Tuesday approaching, you may also want to make a donation. If you want to support a good cause but aren’t sure what to do, here is a list of charities and nonprofits to consider.
COVID-19 isn’t the world’s only health problem. In many countries, access to essential medicines is limited, and some of the disease research is still ongoing. Donating to health-supporting charities and nonprofits can quite literally save lives.
Malaria Consortium is one of the top cost-effective and impactful charities recommended by GiveWell. This international organization helps to prevent, control, and treat malaria, neglected tropical diseases (for example, leprosy and dengue), pneumonia, malnutrition, and diarrhoeal diseases. The Malaria Consortium works in Asia and Africa. In 2022, this charity provided 25 million children with malaria chemoprevention.
Chief Technical Officer at unione.io
I donate to several organizations operating where I live including Médicos sin fronteras — a Spanish division of the Doctors Without Borders charity and ADACEA (an association that helps people with brain diseases), etc.
Doctors Without Borders has delivered emergency medical aid to people since 1971. Last year, it conducted more than 16 million consultations treating people in over 70 countries including Haiti, Ukraine, Nigeria, Syria, Cameroon, Niger, and more.
Breast Cancer Research Foundation is a charity that funds research to end breast cancer — the most common cancer in women worldwide. Rated 4 stars on Charity Navigator, this charity has more than 250 researchers working on the matter.
When disasters or wars strike, families and children are first to suffer. And many Selzy employees (and not only) are eager to support charities helping them.
Business Development Manager at Selzy
The Humancreed project touched me a lot, and I’m really willing to join it (I’m sure that at the beginning of November, I’ll definitely do so), and it’s such a great initiative that I want us to spread the word about it.
Humancreed is an innovative project that lets donors directly support Ukrainian children to provide them with opportunities for growth and development. All that is possible via a mobile app that makes the support targeted and traceable.
Chief Technical Officer at unione.io
Every month, I donate to my wife’s charity association DAR. They helped several thousand Ukrainians who moved to Spain last year and this year.
I don’t have a lot of time to check whether I can trust a particular nonprofit or not, but I trust my wife and I see what she’s doing so I know my money helps to do the right thing. Also, my business partners trust me and add their money too, and I can assure them the money is spent with care and for good deeds.
DAR Association is a volunteer organization based in Spain. The association helps families with children with special needs, runs medical fundraisers, and organizes events since 2016. During the pandemic, the organization helped more than 600 families that faced economic challenges with food, medicine, hygiene products, and other necessities.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is one of the most renowned US charities, recognized in the Forbes top US charities list. This organization’s mission is to research and treat childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Since its opening in 1962, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80%.
UNICEF works in over 190 countries to protect the rights of children. The organization helps children and adolescents to stay healthy, get education, have access to clean water and sanitation, and protects them from violence and exploitation. In 2022, UNICEF’s work helped more than 28 million children get learning materials — and it’s just one of the many goals the organization has accomplished.
In some places, essential women’s rights and even lives are endangered. And worldwide women still face economic, educational, health, and wellness challenges.
At the same time, when women are thriving, the benefits extend far beyond women alone. Research has shown that when women’s rights are highly respected, the country is more likely to have accelerated development and even better health averages. And it’s just one of the effects. You can read more about various correlations between women’s well-being and countries’ prosperity on the UN Women’s Economic Empowerment page.
This Giving Tuesday, you can help make women’s lives better and ensure a bright future for everyone by donating to women-support organizations. Here are three charities from CharityWatch’s top list.
Women for Women International has helped women survivors of war and conflicts since 1993. This charity enrolls the most vulnerable and poor women across 8 countries in a year-long program. The program teaches women practical skills they can use to work, informs them about their rights and health, teaches them how to save money, and empowers them. The charity’s approach is evidence-based. As just one example, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the program led to significant gains in gross earnings one year after it ended.
Global Fund for Women is a nonprofit organization that helps fund local women’s rights movements and initiatives worldwide. The charity’s approach is intersectional feminist meaning that Global Fund for Women aims to shift the power toward women, girls, and all marginalized people. Over 32 years, the Fund donated more than $184 million to organizations in 176 countries. In 2022, money funded freedom and anti-violence, sexual and reproductive justice, economic and climate justice, adolescent girls, crisis response, media and technology, and other causes.
National Women’s Law Center works to solve major issues US women face in courts, public policies, and society. During more than 40 years of its work, the Center strengthened the equal pay laws, worked to make childcare more affordable, birth control — more available, and more. The organization also offers legal help.
If you are motivated to donate to women-benefiting causes, you can also support your local charities and shelters to directly impact your community.
LGBTQIA+ people are among the most vulnerable, subject to discrimination, mistreatment, and even hate crimes. Reputable charities and organizations help people from the community protect their rights, be safer and happier. Here are three organizations featured among the CharityWatch top charities list.
Trevor Project is a nonprofit organization aimed at preventing suicide in LGBTQ and questioning young people. It conducts research, and under the latest evaluation, each year 1.8 million LGBTQ youth in the US seriously consider suicide. To save lives, Trevor Project provides counseling, safe spaces for communication, and resources for education and advocates for policy changes in the US. Donating to the Trevor Project is a way to help the LGBTQ community beyond Pride marketing or shopping.
GLAAD is an LGBTQ media advocacy nonprofit in the US. The organization ensures accurate and fair LGBTQ representation in the media and aims to boost societal acceptance. GLAAD conducts many annual research to assess acceptance, visibility, social media safety, HIV stigma, and more. For example, one of the GLAAD’s studies found that in 2022 a hundred out of 350 films had an LGBTQ character.
Astraea Lesbian Foundation For Justice is a global nonprofit advancing LGBTQI human rights. The organization funds LGBTQI activists, artists, and organizations, advocates for the community’s rights, and amplifies LGBTQI voices for 45 years. In 2022, Astraea sponsored 230 grantees with more than $5.9 million in grants.
Donations help to fight economic inequality and poverty all over the world. Here are some of the charities you can consider donating to.
GiveDirectly is a charity recognized by CharityWatch and previously recommended by GiveWell. This project lets donors directly reach the poorest households all over the world thanks to money transfers. Since 2009, the organization has delivered more than $700 million to people in Bangladesh, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, and more. And one of the greatest things about it is that direct money transfers are research-proven to help people.
New Incentives is a charity recognized by the CharityWatch. The program compensates caregivers for vaccinating their children, doubling the percentage of fully immunized infants. New Incentives work in rural Nigeria — the country with one of the highest children under five mortality rate.
Head of Social Media at Selzy
Any support is based on empathy. As long as you understand that anyone can find oneself in a difficult situation, including you and your close ones, you will want to help. After all, it is a basic humanistic idea and human values. It is human nature to understand that you can be in someone else’s place.
Emergency support charities provide help to people caught in natural or man-made disasters, warzones, and wherever it is needed most.
Direct Relief is an international charity recommended by several resources for its efficiency and innovation. The nonprofit works worldwide to help people during disease outbreaks, earthquakes and other disasters, extreme weather, humanitarian crises, and more.
International Rescue Committee helps people in more than 40 countries affected by conflict or disaster. The organization responds within 72 hours and stays after people are safe, it also helps refugees resettle in the US. In 2022, it reached 32.9 million people and gave more than $109 million in cash or vouchers.
All Hands and Hearts provides volunteer-powered disaster relief in the US and worldwide. The organization mainly focuses on rebuilding and renovation works but also spends funds on purchasing vehicles and evacuation activities. Last year, this nonprofit engaged 1,368 volunteers serving 9 countries and building 10 schools.
Business Development Manager at Selzy
I’ve supported several local organizations helping homeless pets, especially cats. I do it because I believe this is how I can make the world a little bit better place. I still donate to nonprofit organizations and charities that benefit animals from time to time. I do not have a charity of choice, though.
If you want to donate to charities that help animals, here are some recommendations:
Friends of Animals (FoA) — an international charity that fights against the cruelty and exploitation of animals. The charity is based in the state of New York and has been helping free-living and domestic animals since 1957.
FoA manages a Texas sanctuary for primates and other animals providing lifetime care and supports the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Project in Gambia and the Ferlo North Wildlife Reserve in Senegal.
Sinergia Animal works to improve the quality of living of farmed animals and make animal-free products more available. The organization operates in South-East Asia and Latin America. For 5 years in a row, this international organization has been marked as a Standout Charity by the Animal Charity Evaluators.
PetSmart Charities is one of the leading organizations providing animal welfare. For 29 years, this charity has been providing food for pets across North America. The organization also helped more than 10 million pets get adopted.
All charity donations go to the greater good but it’s especially true for the charities that benefit the environment. Their work makes life better for us and the next generations and ensures the future of our planet.
Clean Air Task Force is a charity recommended by Vox and rated 4 stars out of four by Charity Navigator. The organization pushes for decarbonization of the global energy system to fight climate change and stop pollution in the atmosphere. As part of the advocacy and policy-changing efforts, the Clean Air Task Force helped secure $125 billion to fund climate technology in the US.
Evergreen Collaborative is an organization that works to resolve the climate crisis in the US. This nonprofit includes prominent scientists and policymakers working to ensure a clean energy economy.
Waterkeeper Alliance is a global organization that protects everyone’s right to clean water. This charity works in 47 countries and has over a million volunteers and supporters. It fights against pollution and protects water for people. In 2023, a member of the Waterkeeper Alliance, Diane Wilson from Texas won the Goldman Environmental Prize for North America.
There are many more charities you can support. In this last section, we gathered other notable initiatives you can donate to.
Product Designer at Selzy
reArmenia’s team is one of the best that I know. They are really trying their best to create a platform for all Armenians to collaborate and make a difference in our future. They are not just building a platform but also working hard to change the mindsets of the next generation.
reArmenia is a platform for the collaboration of Armenians all over the world. It hosts fundraisers for various needs such as help to people from the Artsakh region, first aid training, foosball tables for schools, art and culture projects. The platform had 29 successful collaborations and fundraisers since its launch in 2020.
Amnesty International is a global organization aimed at protecting human rights. Every year for over 60 years, the organization researches and publishes annual reports on the state of human rights analyzing conflicts, politics, and global reaction. Amnesty International’s areas of work include the abolition of the death penalty, unjust detentions, protection of sexual and reproductive rights, freedom of expression, and more.
Selzy as a company is committed to helping those who help others. If you work for a nonprofit organization, Selzy provides a special 50% discount off all of our paid plans to nonprofit organizations. Leave your email address in the form, and our team will message you with all the details.
And if you are not sure where to start, check out our email marketing guide for nonprofits and the collection of the best nonprofit email examples.
We hope that you found a cause you want to support this Giving Tuesday. And when you do so, remember that your contribution can make a difference, and enjoy it!
Business Development Manager at Selzy
Many years ago, I heard an interesting thought from a wise woman, still in my mind. The idea was: “There is no altruism; altruism is a constructive form of egoism.” First, it sounded weird, but the more I thought about it, the more I agreed — actually, it is proven that when we do something good for someone, especially without being asked, our organism produces “happy hormones”. So we don’t just think we’re better people after it, we do literally feel like better people 🙂
Chief Technical Officer at unione.io
My wife always says “Don’t donate feeling guilty, donation should give you pleasure and satisfaction”. Donating with pleasure makes you want to repeat it later, donating while feeling guilty makes you avoid it.
