Best Charities to Donate to?

AussieDaddy on 30/06/2021 - 14:44

Hi everyone,

I know it's the last day of this financial year, and it was a hectic year, so I thought to donate to a charity or two before the end of the day. I usually make about a couple of hundreds of dollars in donations per year (don't make that much per year), but thought to give to charities where most of the funds go to the needy/cause rather in admin costs etc. Which good charities do OzBargainers donate to?

Also, how much of what we donate can we deduct during the tax return? For example, if I donate $200 to a DGR organisation, will I be able to deduct the $200, or only a portion of it? Tia

Financial Charity

Comments

  • Hugh Arse on 30/06/2021 - 14:52
    +5

    The Human Fund

    • AussieDaddy on 30/06/2021 - 15:13

      Oh! A reference to Seinfeld. :)

    • NatoTomato on 30/06/2021 - 15:18

      haha good one

  • NatoTomato on 30/06/2021 - 15:00
    +1

    https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org.au/

    It's an organisation founded by Peter Singer, who is an Australian philosopher and has become quite popular in the whole "Effective Altruism" movement, which aims to give in the most effective and high value ways possible (lowest amount of dollars to save 1 life).

    Another one is https://effectivealtruism.org.au/

    These are both tax deductible in Australia.

    As to how it's deducted, I'm pretty sure that depends on your income but I'm not an accountant.

    • AussieDaddy on 30/06/2021 - 15:14
      +1

      Cheers. Will look into that charity.

  • nephilim on 30/06/2021 - 15:00
    +2

    Check your local volunteering website for local groups, can make a impact to your local community/suburb.
    Be shocked to know how many groups operate on a few thousand dollars from council grants, yet do so much.

    • AussieDaddy on 30/06/2021 - 15:15

      Thanks. Yeah, have been Googling about local charities, and thought to ask here too, since we have an active community here on the forum, and we can get different opinions.

  • GG57 on 30/06/2021 - 15:04
    +2

    Wouldn't you donate to a charity that is aligned with your own ethics and principles?
    Otherwise just go with AAAACharity-for-U

    • AussieDaddy on 30/06/2021 - 15:17

      Definitely! Already planned to donate to a specific charity that aligns with my own principles, and wanted another one or two to donate to as well. Thanks.

  • Hithere on 30/06/2021 - 15:14

    The Salvos do a great job and are worth considering.

  • FocusRider on 30/06/2021 - 15:15
    +5

    Beyond blue

  • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2021 - 15:27
    +5

    The Smith Family

  • Smiley82 on 30/06/2021 - 15:39
    +3

    If you donate $200, the $200 reduces your taxable income. The amount this benefits you will depend on your tax rate.

    So if you earn $50k, you'll pay tax on $49,800. Income tax rates vary from 0-45c per $.

    So on the top tax rate, you'd save $90 in tax. (plus medicare levy savings)

    • AussieDaddy on 30/06/2021 - 15:43

      Thank you. Never paid attention to that part of tax deductions in the past.

  • bobbified on 30/06/2021 - 15:48
    +1

    I've got to admit that years ago when I first heard about how much (or "little", actually!) of the donations actually made it to the the supposed beneficiaries of the charities, I got completely put off by it all.

    • AussieDaddy on 30/06/2021 - 16:08

      Yeah, read it somewhere that a lot of goes to admin and ads etc, plus some that misuse the funds. Would be nice if one can donate directly to those who need it, but you can't deductions in that way, unfortunately.

      • tborsje on 30/06/2021 - 21:11
        +1

        The closest to giving direct is, funnily named, GiveDirectly.

        https://www.givedirectly.org/

        Their philosophy is that the impact of many other charities is actually less beneficial to the welfare of beneficiaries, than simply giving cash directly to them. Turns out that people living in poverty tend to know what's better for them than some program designed on the other side of the world.

        It's well evaluated and one of their priorities is in proving that their method is better than much of the competition.

        For tax purposes you can donate through Effective Altruism Australia or a similar service.

  • Archi on 30/06/2021 - 16:17
    +1

    pick one..
    here is a couple of lists that ozbargain prepared for you earlier

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/629756

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/589154

    • AussieDaddy on 30/06/2021 - 16:33

      O! Didn't know that existed. Thanks. That list will make it easier to choose from.

      • Archi on 30/06/2021 - 16:38
        +2

        @scotty and the ozbargain team have been donating to charities for many years, read the comments as lots of people in this community have contributed alot

  • Moneyinthebank on 30/06/2021 - 18:02
    +3

    Lifeline

  • Traveller107 on 30/06/2021 - 19:15
    +1

    We've been donating to animal charities for a decade now. Awlq and rspca amongst others. Both do really good work. Cheers

  • toniyellow on 30/06/2021 - 19:46
    +1

    https://www.changepath.com.au/ and https://effectivealtruism.org.au are good ways to evaluate charities depending on your interests

    Admin costs are a very blunt measure to measure a charity by https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/7401776/redir Some are bad - excessive salaries. Some are not always - evaluating and reporting on the effectiveness of their work - this still is an 'admin' cost, but unless the government or another third party steps up and does this, it is not unreasonable to check if the money spent on their cause actually does any good or if they should change strategy.

    Choose something you are passionate about is probably the quickest way, and then follow the work they do to see if it aligns with what you expect, Or, choose something very popular like cancer research then there will be third parties doing the work of evaluating the outcomes. 

    • AussieDaddy on 30/06/2021 - 19:58

      Appreciate the detailed info. Thanks

  • Blokeinhisundies on 30/06/2021 - 21:29
    +2

    I just donate my plasma instead of cash. At least you know someone is going to get it all.

    You can do it every two weeks if you want but I normally go in every three or four weeks depending on work.

    • SlartiBartFozz on 18/12/2021 - 17:03

      Actually about 10-12% of plasma is wasted in Australia due to expiry, according to government stats: https://www.health.vic.gov.au/patient-care/blood-component-w…
      Red Cross claims lower figures.
      Locally we only donate about 44% of the blood products being used in Australia, the rest comes mainly from kindly US donors, who get paid US$50 for each donation. 🤔

    • charis on 18/12/2021 - 19:35

      Blokeinhisundies, I'm up to 199 blood & plasma donatations. Had to stop when back from overseas, after surgery & when pregnant 😉 Don't think you'd have a pregnancy problem. 😂

  • sharkyoz on 01/07/2021 - 08:06
    +3

    you could buy groceries in bulk and donate them to a local-run foodbank

  • Luckyalways on 01/07/2021 - 08:07
    +2

    How about Fred Hollows Foundation and Animal Welfare League in your local state.

  • Luckyalways on 01/07/2021 - 08:10
    +1

    I would also like to suggest The Stroke Foundation in your state. They do really great work and strokes can be such a debilitating disability for any age. They often get forgotten when people think of donations so just want to suggest.

  • menocheapsk8 on 01/07/2021 - 08:39
    +1

    Check out givewell.org for a list of the most effective global charities

    • kerfuffle on 01/07/2021 - 08:43
      +1

      That's an American site though? Donating to American charities isn't tax deductible.

  • OzHunterNSW on 01/07/2021 - 12:34

    Yourself…. you… your family…

    What are you thinking? These people take 99% for their own wages, then give the 1% to the course just to make it look good.

    Haven't you realised this yet?

  • AussieDaddy on 01/07/2021 - 13:53
    +3

    Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I've donated to Kids with Cancer Foundation & Lifeline last night.

  • munecito on 16/12/2021 - 08:36
    -1

    Here

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