I was approached by a young lady who told me about heifer.org. Donating fair animals to budding farmers. Anyone know about it?
ETA: Of course, there are websites. Do you have ways to decide when a charitable organization is well run/effective?
charitynavigator.org is a good resource for learning about specific charities and how they handle their monies. I've known about Heifer International's work for years; they have a long track record.
I was a member of the church, or one of the churches, that began the Heifer International project in the 1960s/70s.
It was an early in-kind, grassroots organization that, at least at the time, worked well, was sparely but decently organized, and did what it meant to do.
Our classes used to sell donuts after the service to support it, and we'd keep track of how many calves we'd paid for at the end of the year.
I haven't followed it since, but it was reliable and productive then.
M.
Second the recommendation of https://www.charitynavigator.org/ (https://www.charitynavigator.org/). The percent of donations spent on fundraising is particularly important to me, as I refuse to donate where 20% of my gift is going to fundraising expenses.