My Current Favorite Charities

The Charity Navigator is an excellent resource for learning about non-profit organizations in the US.

International efforts:

Opportunity International
Opportunity International provides microfinance loans, savings, insurance and training to over two million people working their way out of poverty in the developing world. -- from the Opportunity International website

The Carter Center
Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope. -- from The Carter Center website

Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization working in nearly 70 countries to assist people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe. -- from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) website

The Fistula Foundation
The Mission of the Fistula Foundation: to raise awareness of and funding for fistula treatment, prevention and educational programs worldwide. (Women in the poorest places on earth suffer from fistula due to unrelieved obstructed labor. Fistula causes incontinence, forcing formerly vibrant women to lead lives of shame and dispair.) -- from The Fistula Foundation website

The Ishmael Beah Foundation
The Ishmael Beah Foundation (IBF) is a private, independent institution dedicated to helping children and youth affected by war reintegrate into society and improve their lives. -- from The Ishmael Beah Foundation website

Ishmael Beah is also the author of the deeply moving memoir, "a long way gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier", Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007.

National efforts (USA):

Polaris Project
Our vision is for a world without slavery. -- from the Polaris Project website

American Indian College Fund
The American Indian College Fund transforms Indian higher education by funding and creating awareness of the unique, community-based accredited Tribal Colleges and Universities, offering students access to knowledge, skills, and cultural values which enhance their communities and the country as a whole. -- from the American Indian College Fund website

The Nature Conservancy
Protecting nature. Preserving life. -- from The Nature Conservancy website