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Because of many years of experience in advocacy, organizing, & volunteering I often get asked how donations can best be utilized. This thread is MY personal opinion on how your resources can have the most impact in helping the individuals & communities you are seeking to help:
First of all, thank you for caring! 
Regardless of the size of your donation of time, resources, or money, you are making a difference. I promise you. The fact that people even care gives people & communities in need so much hope.
Regardless of the size of your donation of time, resources, or money, you are making a difference. I promise you. The fact that people even care gives people & communities in need so much hope.
When it comes to helping people- I always recommend donating directly to individuals when possible. Many charities & organizations are corrupt & the people they claim to be helping never see a dime of donations or help.
This is NOT the case for all groups of course- I’ve been outspoken & openly grateful for the couple of orgs that have that helped me this year, including with security, paying for therapy for my complex PTSD, paying for my legal team- all things I can’t afford or access on my own
The media & our culture as a whole like to infantilize marginalized people & portray us as irresponsible or not knowing what’s best for ourselves or what we really need- when many of us have a PHD in personal experience when it comes to budgeting, stretching resources, etc.
I could do a whole thread on this topic alone, how poor & other marginalized communities are demonized & blamed for our suffering, & also treated like irresponsible or incompetent children who don’t know what we need & need a (privileged, out of touch) savior to decide for us.
When it comes to animals in need, obviously that’s a bit different because you would need to donate to the caretaker of the animal. I still believe in donating directly if say it’s a family down on their luck who needs help buying dog food, spaying or neutering their pet, etc.
But when it comes to animals who were abused or neglected, my #1 recommendation for where to donate is currently http://Cuddly.com - they do so much for the most dire cases of animals in need, such as animals shot & left for dead, as well as other horrific injuries & abuses
With Cuddly, 100% of your donation is also going directly to the animal you donated to. There is an option to tip to help offset the costs of this, which I recommend if you can but you can also donate solely to the animal in need. Most animals also have wishlist items you can buy
If you can’t donate financially & are able to do so, donate your time. & also use your platform! Almost everyone, barring safety issues, can use their platform online- even if they only have one follower. That might be one person who learns about an issue they weren’t aware of.
& that one person might go on to share that with countless others who will share it with countless others. & so on. It also helps enormously just to have crowdfunding posts retweeted or shared. So many people who aren’t able to donate themselves indirectly raise so much this way.
& again- if you care about the issues that humans or any other creature are facing, that alone helps more than you can even imagine. Sometimes a few compassionate words from a stranger keeps me going on my own most painful days.
I hope this thread has empowered you to know that you CAN make a difference.
