Where is your favorite place to donate to?

Places where other people don't.

I have given money to an 501c3 organization that helps former prisoners reintegrate into society. It gets most its money from the government and has a very short list of donors because it's not a fashionable cause.

Personally though I know anybody who "goes straight" after having been involved in crime and prisons has made a major accomplishment, just like a person who had been addicted to alcohol or heroin and gone straight. So few people succeed. The other day I was thinking of someone who had victimized me and many others 30 years ago and who I know did time. I don't know where he is, if he is still alive, or still in jail. If I heard he had turned his life around I wouldn't just forgive him, I would celebrate him and commend him because I know what an accomplishment that is.

On the other hand I haven't given money to the United Way. At times I've known the leadership of our local United Way and thought they were pretty good people and I knew they were funding good things, but I felt they had enough people giving them money.

I think many of the best opportunities to give are not the tax-deductible 501 c 3's. I think there are structural reasons why many of these organizations can't target problems at the root and can become a philanthropic-industrial complex. For instance the Gates Foundation does a lot of good things but really countries in Africa need to be building capacity in governments accountable to their people if things are really going to get better. NGOs taking over their role doesn't help with that, it just makes the culture of corruption more sustainable.

I've often done charitable things directly.

We've boarded troubled people in our home when they had no place to go. I hesitate to associate this with the term 'polyamory' because no sex was involved, yet it is very much an extension of the family beyond the nuclear and traditional extended family.

Here is my list of hacker donations (I also donate to other stuff like local charities and the ACLU/etc.):

EFF: https://supporters.eff.org/donate/year-end-challenge--S

FreeBSD: https://freebsdfoundation.org/donate/

Cash goes to local food banks/pantries and as things come up locally (YMCA collections for school supplies, Christmas presents coordinated by local sheriff's office, etc.). Handmade quilts are given to a local pediatric practice, via a local quilt shop to a DV program, and as things come up (the most recent example is the tornado in Kentucky).

During the pandemic, we've been leaving large tips at local restaurants when we get food to go (no eating in for us!). So not donations in the traditional sense, but certainly in the spirit.

The Bail Project - https://bailproject.org/

Anti-Terror Police Project - https://antipoliceterrorproject.org/

Lots of journalism: Hechinger Report, Grist, ProPublica, NPR, etc. They're not perfect, but they're necessary.

(I also pay for subscriptions to individual journalists such as Matt Stoller, Emily Atkin, etc., but those aren't tax-deductible.)

I primarily support a regional food bank and a local domestic violence shelter. I find the local giving to be rewarding and the organizations are small enough that four to low five figure donations allow you to become very involved in the organizations themselves rather than just shaken down for more money with endless mailers.

A lot of people I respect just do GiveDirectly, which is about as simple as it gets. Money goes into the pockets of people who ask.

I like the Union Gospel Mission, I am not a particularly religious person but feel they do good work, have been around for a long time and have very few negative media reports.

There is also a bit of self interest because as unlikely as it seems there is a possibility that at some point in the future, I may find myself in a situation where I am in need of a warm meal and a kind hand.

Tech projects in classrooms. DonorsChoose is a good place to start if you're curious.

A relatively small amount of money for software and/or hardware can have a great impact in education.

I like to donate to The Good Food Institute, The Nonhuman Rights Project, and Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

givedirectly.com

Cash for those who lack it, to use in whatever way they see fit

Wikipedia

erowid.org