Mothers Against Drunk Driving

M.A.D.D. That stands for ... Mothers Against Drunk Driving!

Mothers Against Drunk Driving is "the nation's largest nonprofit working to protect families from drunk driving, drugged driving and underage drinking" (1).

Primarily operating in the United States and Canada, Mothers Against Drunk Driving played a large role in reducing the limit for blood alcohol levels from BAC .10 to BAC .08.

Since Mothers Against Drunk Driving was founded in 1980, the amount of people "killed in drunk driving crashes" (2) has gone down to less than half of what it once was.

Weekly Charity is not officially working with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, but highly encourages helping them out.

Now for some statistics:

Charity Navigator gives Mothers Against Drunk Driving: 2 out of 4 stars
Mothers Against Drunk Driving meets 20/20 of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability.

Here's a link to their website:
http://www.madd.org

Thanks for reading about Mothers Against Drunk Driving!

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.madd.org, on the page, "About Us", retrieved from the url, "http://www.madd.org/about-us/", on Thursday, July 14, 2016.

(2) The website, www.madd.org, on the page, "History of Drunk Driving" (under the folder, "About Drunk Driving"), retrieved from the url, "http://www.madd.org/drunk-driving/about/history.html", on Thursday, July 14, 2016.

Muscular Dystrophy Association

Today's featured charity: The Muscular Dystrophy Association!

The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) fights muscular dystrophy and other diseases of the muscular and nervous systems.

They provide services to those with neuromuscular diseases and support research concerning said diseases, funding "about 200 research projects each year in a dozen countries" (1).

Founded in 1950, MDA fights many neuromuscular diseases, with over 90 listed on their website. They may not be far off when they say they've "contributed to almost every development in muscle biology in the last 50 years" (2).

Weekly Charity is not officially working with MDA, but does encourage helping them out.

Now for some statistics!

Charity Navigator gives Muscular Dystrophy Association: 2 out of 4 stars
Muscular Dystrophy Association meets 20/20 of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability.

Here's the Muscular Dystrophy Association's website:
https://www.mda.org

Thanks for reading about the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA)!

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.mda.org, on the page, "FAQs" (under "About MDA"), retrieved from the url, "https://www.mda.org/about-mda/faq", on Wednesday, July 13, 2016.

(2) The website, www.mda.org, on the page, "What Has MDA Achieved?" (under "Hope Through Research"), retrieved from the url, "https://www.mda.org/research/what-has-mda-achieved", on Wednesday, July 13, 2016.

March of Dimes

This week's featured charity is the March of Dimes!

The March of Dimes works to prevent birth defects and premature birth, the latter of which "is the #1 killer of babies" (1).

Initially known as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis when founded in 1938, the organization which would later be known as the March of Dimes started off fighting polio. Its current focus is now to improve general health for babies and pregnant women.

The March of Dimes funds research in this area, awarding grants to look into ways to "improve medical diagnosis and develop treatments for a wide range of birth defects and developmental disorders" (2).

Weekly Charity is not officially working with the March of Dimes, but does encourage helping them out.

Now for some stats!

Charity Navigator gives March of Dimes: 2 out of 4 stars
March of Dimes Foundation meets 20/20 of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability.

Here's the March of Dimes website:
http://www.marchofdimes.org/index.aspx

Thank you for taking the time to read about March of Dimes!

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.marchofdimes.org, on the site's home page, retrieved from the url, "http://www.marchofdimes.org/index.aspx", on Saturday, July 9, 2016.

(2) The website, www.marchofdimes.org, on the page, "Research breakthroughs timeline" (under, "About us"), retrieved from the url, "http://www.marchofdimes.org/mis…/research-breakthroughs.aspx", on Saturday, July 9, 2016.

Volunteer Match (Impact Online)

This week's featured charity is also a tool for other charities! It's called ... Volunteer Match!

Volunteer Match, also known as Impact Online (that's impactonline.org, not impactontline.co, which is something different), is a nonprofit organization which aims to help people find other good nonprofit organizations to volunteer at.

Founded in 1998, Volunteer Match is "a service that brings good people and good causes together" (1).

Since it's founding, Volunteer Match has connected over 11 million volunteers (as of July 7, 2016)!

Weekly Charity is not directly affiliated with Volunteer Match, but does encourage helping them out ... or using their site to help other nonprofits out! Isn't that why they're out there?

No stats this time! (Volunteer Match seems to be more of a charity-finding tool than a traditional charity, so many of the sites used to rank other charities don't seem to have them for it.)

Here's the Volunteer Match website:
https://www.volunteermatch.org
You may also know it as:
http://www.impactonline.org

Thanks for reading about Volunteer Match!

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.volunteermatch.org, on the page, "Vision" (located in the "About Us" folder), retrieved from the url, "https://www.volunteermatch.org/about/vision/", on Thursday, July 7, 2016.

City Year

Have you heard of ... City Year?

City Year, founded in 1988, aims to provide support to schools and students in need of it, often in high-poverty communities.

City Year tries to reach students between third and ninth grade to help them overcome challenges they face at school, and hopefully prevent them from dropping out later.

Studies have shown that students at risk of dropping out of high school can be indicated by three "early warning indicators (poor attendance, disruptive behavior, and course failure in math and English)" (1). Students displaying even one of these by sixth grade have a 75% chance of not graduating, but that drops down to 25% if they reach tenth grade “on track and on time” (1). City Year helps to ensure that that percentage drops down.

Weekly Charity’s not officially working with City Year, but does encourage helping them out.

Okay, now it’s statistic time:

Charity Navigator gives City Year: 4 out of 4 stars

Thanks for reading about City Year! Here’s their website:
https://www.cityyear.org

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.cityyear.org, on the “Our Approach” page (under the “What We Do” folder), retrieved from the url, “https://www.cityyear.org/what-we-do/our-approach” on Sunday, June 26, 2016 (and again on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 for this citation).

Special Olympics

Here's the scoop on ... the Special Olympics!

The Special Olympics is a non-profit athletic organization for people with intellectual disabilities.

The Special Olympics uses sports to help "people with intellectual disabilities discover new strengths and abilities, skills and success" (1).

For those of you wondering, yes, they do have a big, Olympic-like event: the Special Olympics World Games, held every two years (on odd-numbered years, it seems, as opposed to the main Olympics, which seem to now be held on even-numbered years).

Weekly Charity is not officially working with the Special Olympics, but does encourage helping them out in whatever way you can.

Now, stats (or, in this case, one stat):

Charity Navigator gives Special Olympics: 3 out of 4 stars

Thank you for your time! Here's the Special Olympics website:
http://www.specialolympics.org

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.specialolympics.org, on the page "What We Do", retrieved from the url, "http://www.specialolympics.org/S…/What_We_Do/What_We_Do.aspx", on Friday, June 24, 2016.

Modest Needs

Here's some information about ... Modest Needs!

Modest Needs is an organization that helps families who "live just above the poverty level" (1).

Their goal is to prevent those who could easily slip into poverty (and possibly even homelessness) from doing so.

Modest Needs gives them grants "with absolutely no strings attached" (1), which never have to be repaid. However, they do ask recipients to thank "the individual donors who made it possible for us to help them in their times of need" (1).

Weekly Charity is not officially partnered with Modest Needs, but does encourage helping them out – or, if you're at risk of becoming impoverished, maybe applying for assistance. It depends on your financial level.

Now for some stats:

Charity Navigator gives Modest Needs: 3 out of 4 stars
Modest Needs Foundation meets 20/20 of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability.

Thanks for your time! Here's the link to ...
https://www.modestneeds.org!

SOURCES

The website, www.modestneeds.org, on the "Who We Are and What Do: The Modest Needs Mission" page (under the folder, "About Us"), retrieved from the url "https://www.modestneeds.org/about-us/" on Thursday, June 23, 2016.

Habitat for Humanity

How does hearing about Habitat for Humanity sound?

Habitat for Humanity is an organization that "[builds, renovates] and [repairs] houses all over the world using volunteer labor and donations" (1).

How it works is that "families in need of decent, affordable shelter apply to their local Habitat organization" (1), and, depending on their level of need, willingness to participate, and ability to repay a loan (through a payment plan), they might become Habitat homeowners!

As of November 20, 2014, Habitat for Humanity has built, repaired or rehabilitated 1,000,000 houses (2) since their founding in 1976! That's a lot of good work!

Weekly Charity is not officially working with Habitat for Humanity, but does encourage helping them out.

Here's some statistics:

Charity Navigator gives Habitat for Humanity International: 3 out of 4 stars
Charity Watch gives Habitat for Humanity International (National Office): A B+ rating
Habitat for Humanity International meets 20/20 of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability.

Thank you for your time! Here's the link to Habitat for Humanity International's website:
http://www.habitat.org

(Many local divisions of Habitat for Humanity have their own sites as well!)

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.habitat.org, on the page "Habitat for Humanity frequently asked questions" (under the "About Us" folder), retrieved from the url, "http://www.habitat.org/how/faq" on Wednesday, June 22, 2016.

(2) The website, www.benningtonareahabitat.com, on the page "About Us", retrieved from the url, "http://www.benningtonareahabitat.com/index.php/abouthabitat" on Wednesday, June 22, 2016.

American Cancer Society

This week: Weekly Charity would like to direct your attention to … the American Cancer Society!

Founded in 1913 as the American Society for the Control of Cancer, the American Cancer Society is one of the largest, oldest volunteer health organizations.

As of March 3, 2015, 47 (1) people supported by the American Cancer Society went on to win the Nobel Prize. For instance, the discoveries of Mario R. Capecchi, Ph.D. and Oliver Smithies, Ph.D. (recipients in 2007) “have led to a technology known as gene targeting” (2).

Since the end of World War II, “society-funded researchers have contributed to nearly every major cancer research breakthrough” (1), such as helping to “establish the link between cancer and smoking” (1), “dramatically [increasing] the cure rate for childhood leukemia” (1) and much more!

As usual, Weekly Charity’s not officially partnered with the American Cancer Society, but does encourage helping them out.

Now, here’s some stats:

Charity Navigator gives the American Cancer Society: 2 out of 4 stars
American Cancer Society meets 20/20 of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s Standards for Charity Accountability.

Thank you for your time! Here’s a link to the American Cancer Society’s website:
http://www.cancer.org

SOURCES

(1) The website, “www.cancer.org”, on the page “Our History”, last revised on March 3, 2015, retrieved from the url “http://www.cancer.org/aboutus/whoweare/our-history” on June 20, 2016.

(2) An archive of the website, “www.cancer.org”, on the page “Nobel Prize Winners”, as it appeared on Friday, February 13, 2009. This archive was accessed from the site “web.archive.org”, from the url “https://web.archive.org/…/c…/RES_7_6_Nobel_Prize_Winners.asp” on Monday, June 20, 2016.

Grameen Foundation

Have you heard of the Grameen Foundation?

Founded in 1997, the Grameen Foundation works to help the world’s poor “reach their full potential, connecting their determination and skills with the resources they need” (1).

The Grameen Foundation takes a technology-oriented approach to this, mainly in the following ways:

1) They work with the poor to develop tools to help them create businesses, save and manage money, and make plans for the future.
2) They use mobile technology to “improve health outcomes” (1) for those in poverty.
3) They help farmers get important agricultural information so as to help “improve their livelihoods” (2).
4) They provide tools for other anti-poverty organizations to use, such as their Progress out of Poverty Index.

While not an official partner of the Grameen Foundation, Weekly Charity highly encourages helping them out.

Now for some stats:

Charity Navigator gives Grameen Foundation USA: 3 out of 4 stars
Charity Watch gives them (Grameen Foundation USA): An A rating
Grameen Foundation meets 20/20 of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s Standards for Charity Accountability.

Thanks for your time! Here’s the link to the Grameen Foundation’s website:
http://www.grameenfoundation.org

SOURCES

(1) The website, “www.grameenfoundation.org”, on the “What We Do” page, retrieved from the url “http://www.grameenfoundation.org/what-we-do” on Sunday, June 19, 2016

(2) The website, “www.grameenfoundation.org”, on the “Agriculture” page (under the folder, “What We Do”), retrieved from the url “http://www.grameenfoundation.org/what-we-do/agriculture” on Sunday, June 19, 2016

Earthjustice

Here’s an interesting idea: a law firm fighting for the environment. Well, that's basically Earthjustice!

Earthjustice (known as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund when founded in 1971, but it's entirely independent of the Sierra Club) is basically a non-profit law firm representing environmental causes in court. It doesn’t charge clients for services – all funding comes from donations, whether they’re from individuals or foundations.

Earthjustice cases generally fall into three categories – “The Wild” (1), “Healthy Communities” (1), and “Clean Energy and a Stable Climate” (1). As the categories’ names suggest, cases regarding the wilderness fall into the first category, cases regarding communities’ health fall into the second, and cases regarding use of clean energy or maintaining a stable climate fall into the third.

Earthjustice has played a part in several milestone cases for United States environmental law. These include (but are not limited to) the U.S. Supreme Court cases “Sierra Club v. Morton” and “Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency”.

Is Weekly Charity a partner of Earthjustice? No, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t encourage helping them out in their fight for an eco-friendly, environmentally healthy world.

Now, statistics …

Charity Navigator gives Earthjustice: 4 out of 4 stars
Charity Watch gives them: A solid "A" rating
Earthjustice meets 20/20 of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s Standards for Charity Accountability.

Thank you for your time! Here’s the link to Earthjustice’s website:
http://earthjustice.org

SOURCES

(1) The website, earthjustice.org, on the “Our Work” page, retrieved from the url “http://earthjustice.org/our_work” on Sunday, June 19, 2016

Village Enterprise

Have you ever heard of … Village Enterprise?

Village Enterprise, founded in 1987, is an organization with the mission to “end extreme poverty in rural Africa through entrepreneurship and innovation” (1). 

Village Enterprise helps extremely impoverished people (they target those living on the equivalent of $1.90 - or less - a day) in areas of rural Africa to start businesses and break the cycle of poverty.

Village Enterprise has a graduation program where they identify those really poor people, then have their business mentors train them. The organization provides entrepreneurs with $150 to start their businesses up. Mentored by Village Enterprise's business mentors, groups then start up their new businesses, forming savings groups to “serve as a safety net as well as [Village Enterprise’s] exit strategy” (2).

Weekly Charity is not working with Village Enterprise, but definitely encourages helping them out, whether by volunteering, fundraising, donating … whatever works!

Now, here’s a little statistic:

Charity Navigator gives Village Enterprise: 3 out of 4 stars

Thanks for your time! Here’s Village Enterprise’s website: http://villageenterprise.org

SOURCES

(1) The Village Enterprise website, on the “History & Mission” page (in the folder, “About Us”, retrieved from the url “http://villageenterprise.org/about-us/history-mission/“ on Saturday, June 18, 2016.

(2) The Village Enterprise website, on the “What We Do” page (in the folder of the same name), retrieved from the url “http://villageenterprise.org/what-we-do/“ on Saturday, June 18, 2016.

Kiva Microfunds

Today, Weekly Charity intends to clearly lay out what we know about a commonly-used, yet also commonly misunderstood, organization ... Kiva Microfunds.

Kiva Microfunds sends money to other microfinancing organizations. Then, Kiva users can pay those microfinance organizations back on their loans, and later be repaid by said organizations. Through Kiva, people loan to people loaning to other, often poorer people in other countries.

Now, this is not inherently a bad thing. However, a common misconception Kiva users often seem to have is that they’re loaning directly to people, whereas in reality the loans have often been made already by other microfinance organizations, and users are paying those organizations back.

Kiva themselves doesn’t seem to emphasize the role of these other organizations very much (1). This makes sense from a marketing standpoint, though – people generally like the idea of helping other people more than the idea of helping companies or banks.

Weekly Charity is not directly associated with Kiva Microfunds. Given the misunderstandings surrounding it, however, we encourage that you make your own decision on whether or not you want to pay back microfinance organizations through Kiva.

Maybe this statistic will help you make one:

Charity Navigator gives Kiva: 4 out of 4 stars

Thank you for your time! Here’s a link to the Kiva Microfunds website:
https://www.kiva.org

SOURCES

(1) As shown on Kiva’s website, specifically, on the “How Kiva works” page, retrieved from “https://www.kiva.org/about/how” on Friday, June 17, 2016.