Which St. Louis charities should you support?

luftmensch · PostNov 14, 2006#12006-11-14T16:24+00:00

Holidays are approaching, and my mailbox is filling up with solicitations from local charities to house the homeless, feed the hungry, assist former prisoners, etc., etc.

I don't have a lot of money to give away, so I'm eager to see that my donations go to organizations that are well-run and doing genuinely important work. I don't want to give to charities that are already flush or to ones where the chief operating officer earns obscene amounts of money.

I'd love to hear about people's experience.

Here's a somewhat random list of local organizations currently crying poor:

St. Louis Foodbank (food assitance)

The Scholarshop (helping local kids to afford higher ed)

CALL 4-Life (services primarily for African Americans with developmental disabilities)

COCA (arts organization in U-City)

Arts & Education Council

Planned Parenthood of St. Louis

More?

debaliviere · PostNov 14, 2006#22006-11-14T16:26+00:00

I support the Animal House Fund: http://www.animalhousefund.org/

kujay · PostNov 14, 2006#32006-11-14T16:39+00:00

DeBaliviere wrote:I support the Animal House Fund: http://www.animalhousefund.org/

I'll second that.

There are so many charities out there, it's hard to judge the worth of one cause over another.

But my $$$ goes to dear alma mater, this fund and the APA of MO.

debaliviere · PostNov 14, 2006#42006-11-14T16:47+00:00

kujay wrote:But my $$$ goes to dear alma mater, this fund and the APA of MO.

Of course, I donate to Saint Louis U. as well.

If anyone is looking for a worthy cause, contribute to the SLU arena fund and help bring the Billikens back to campus.

PostNov 14, 2006#52006-11-14T17:35+00:00

One more good cause would be to support the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, which just acquired the Mullanphy Emigrant House and needs cash to fix it up:

http://newoldnorth.blogspot.com/

the central scrutinizer · PostNov 14, 2006#62006-11-14T17:38+00:00

Locally, I give to:

The Humane Society

Planned Parenthood

Backstoppers

I am a member of just about everything:

SLAM

MOBOT

Zoo

SLSC

Mo History

Laumeier Park

beer city · PostNov 14, 2006#72006-11-14T17:58+00:00

If you love this city join Landmarks, its cheap and they fight the good fight.

http://stlouis.missouri.org/landmarks/

Other than that MS society, Salvation Army, KETC Channel 9, and I run the Koman every year

bastiat · PostNov 14, 2006#82006-11-14T18:22+00:00

As noted in the most recent posting, the Mullanphy Emigrant Home building at 1609 N. 14th Street (just a few blocks north of Downtown St. Louis) is in need of urgent stabilization and repair work. To prevent further deterioration or collapse, the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group needs to receive financial contributions to cover the costs of shoring and rebuilding the south wall. This work will need to start almost immediately after ONSLRG takes ownership of the building, which could come as early as next week. Too many of our city's landmark buildings have been lost before preservationists or concerned citizens could get involved. This effort represents a chance for all who care about the built environment to act before another historically and architecturally significant building is lost.

Tax-deductible contributions - of any amount - can be sent to:

Old North St. Louis Restoration Group

2800 N. 14th Street

St. Louis, MO 63107

For more information, contact the ONSLRG office by phone at 314-241-5031 or via email at: info@onsl.org

-posted by Sean Thomas (sean@onslrg.org)

matt · PostNov 14, 2006#92006-11-14T20:05+00:00

Seems like there are two large and distinct buckets from which to chose:

1. immediate relief from distress

2. longer term, sustainable solutions

Or, in other words, the old giving someone a fish or teaching them how to fish.

Expat · PostNov 14, 2006#102006-11-14T20:34+00:00

Great idea for a thread. Most of our charitable giving is directed to our church.

Thanks for the idea of donating to save threatened, historic St. Louis buildings. I will look into it. And St. Louis arts organizations.

southcitygent · PostNov 14, 2006#112006-11-14T21:48+00:00

By the way this week is National Homeless Awareness week, perhaps some of the members of this forum could celebrate by helping to serve lunch to the clients of Centenary Methodist Church, 314-421-3136. Be part of the solution. (besides they really could use the help during the weekday lunch period)

the central scrutinizer · PostNov 14, 2006#122006-11-14T21:58+00:00

southcitygent wrote:By the way this week is National Homeless Awareness week, perhaps some of the members of this forum could celebrate by helping to serve lunch to the clients of Centenary Methodist Church, 314-421-3136. Be part of the solution. (besides they really could use the help during the weekday lunch period)

I'm already very much aware of the homeless. I want them to go away.

gary kreie · PostNov 15, 2006#132006-11-15T03:04+00:00

Annie's Hope. Formerly named St. Louis Bereavement Center for Kids.

stldtfan · PostNov 15, 2006#142006-11-15T03:13+00:00

Salvation Army. Channel 9, Red Cross

innov8ion · PostNov 15, 2006#152006-11-15T05:02+00:00

Central... I was told today I should go for a photo shoot at Laumeier Park sometime. What do you like about it? Never heard of it until today....

migueltejada · PostNov 15, 2006#162006-11-15T07:34+00:00

Guys, if I can say something, please don't donate to 'sexy' or popular charities like the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Heart Association, Cancer, Komen, etc. Not that they aren't good causes, but they have so much overhead that a lot of the money you give to them doesn't reach the intended target.

Aside from that, these groups are so INSANELY popular that they overshadow smaller and less popular charities, such as those that support mental illnesses, developmental disabilities, elderly services, which never get as much pub or press time, because, well, they don't look good on camera to be blunt.

So please, if you're going to donate to any charity this holiday season, please pick one that doesn't have enough funds to actually advertise for more on TV.

Expat · PostNov 15, 2006#172006-11-15T13:16+00:00

^Please don't assume that if a charity is 'sexy' or popular that it doesn't need the money or has high overhead. That is an unfair, blanket statement. Have you researched the 5 charities you mentioned? And just because a charity has an ad on TV, that doesn't mean it is wasting your donations. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money. They wouldn't run those ads if they were not effective, therefore, giving them an opportunity to serve more of their intended target. And just because a charity is small, doesn't mean they are good stewards.

Don't get me wrong, I REALLY like the idea of supporting small charities, but don't assume that bigger charities are not reaching their intended targets or are squandering their donations. And please don't make unfair blanket statements about charities and then list some by name.

the central scrutinizer · PostNov 15, 2006#182006-11-15T14:51+00:00

innov8ion wrote:Central... I was told today I should go for a photo shoot at Laumeier Park sometime. What do you like about it? Never heard of it until today....

It's a nice place. Basically a park with trails and open space and sculpture all around.

PostNov 15, 2006#192006-11-15T14:52+00:00

Expat wrote:And just because a charity has an ad on TV, that doesn't mean it is wasting your donations. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money.

And don't assume that they always pay for that ad time. It may be donated.

matt · PostNov 15, 2006#202006-11-15T14:53+00:00

Just a thought about Christmas giving only...I watched the Grinch last night thinking it would put me in a more charitable giving mood (the Christmas charity families we're supporting at work are asking for an amazing list of items!!). But the message is that you don't need the material possessions and trimmings to know joy. They may make you warm and full but they don't bring joy.

the central scrutinizer · PostNov 15, 2006#212006-11-15T14:53+00:00

Matt wrote:But the message is that you don't need the material possessions and trimmings to know joy. They may make you warm and full but they don't bring joy.

Sure they do.

debaliviere · PostNov 15, 2006#222006-11-15T14:59+00:00

While it's not a charity and it's not (technically) urban, you can always buy a TerraPass, which invests in renewable energy to offset your vehicle's emissions. I'm getting one for my dad to neutralize the effects of his European sports car.

www.terrapass.com

the central scrutinizer · PostNov 15, 2006#232006-11-15T15:35+00:00

I would also highly recommend The Nature Conservancy and The Archaeological Conservancy.

stldtfan · PostNov 15, 2006#242006-11-15T16:00+00:00

Bigger charities have higher overhead cause they serve a bigger section of society. I am NOT defending bad charities, but would like to defend Salvation Army. I would not classify that as a "sexy" charity.

Here is something that to me defines a good charity. It is one that gets a lot of volunteers. People generally donate their time to charities that they feel does good for fellow humans. SA (in my opinion) fits that bill.

I will also look at the historical restoration charity. that may be something I would like to support.

bastiat · PostNov 15, 2006#252006-11-15T17:08+00:00

Expat wrote:^Please don't assume that if a charity is 'sexy' or popular that it doesn't need the money or has high overhead. That is an unfair, blanket statement. Have you researched the 5 charities you mentioned? And just because a charity has an ad on TV, that doesn't mean it is wasting your donations. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money. They wouldn't run those ads if they were not effective, therefore, giving them an opportunity to serve more of their intended target. And just because a charity is small, doesn't mean they are good stewards.

Don't get me wrong, I REALLY like the idea of supporting small charities, but don't assume that bigger charities are not reaching their intended targets or are squandering their donations. And please don't make unfair blanket statements about charities and then list some by name.

Well, I can vouch for his statement on Red Cross. Their mishandling of the 9/11 donations is notorious