Yes I did a cut and paste operation bringing in these links from an article in the New York Times by Nicholas Kristof: The Gifts of Hope. Mr. Kristof is an advocate journalist. His whole professional career is devoted to reporting on issues like these, especially issues involving females. If there is a man that can smoke out small worthy charities, I am betting on him.
Here is another of his editorials. It details some charities that has gone astray: When Donations Go Astray
If you are looking for alternative giving this year, consider these.
Panzi Hospital (panzifoundation.org) treats victims of sexual violence in eastern Congo, rape capital of the world.
Camfed (camfed.org), short for the Campaign for Female Education, sends girls to school in Africa and provides a broad support system for them.
The Nurse-Family Partnership program (nursefamilypartnership.org) is a stellar organization in the United States that works with first-time mothers to try to break the cycle of poverty.
Edna Hospital (ednahospital.org) is a dazzling maternity hospital in Somaliland, an area with one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.
Fonkoze (fonkoze.org) is a terrific poverty-fighting organization if Haiti is on your mind, nearly a year after the earthquake.
First Book (firstbook.org) addresses a basic problem facing poor kids in America: They don’t have books.
Arzu (ArzuStudioHope.org) employs women in Afghanistan to make carpets for export.
Other charities that he has recommended in the past are:
There’s a great fistula organization, the Fistula Foundation
A charity to provide clean water to save lives in poor countries, called charity: water — and it has been stunningly successful.
I particularly like the last one..Charity Water. We have had several fundraisers here at Saks for that one. We have built several wells around the world. I think it costs about $5800 to build one. Good cause!.