Cavechat.org

When deciding what group(s) to give your hard earned conservation dollars to, it is advisable to learn as much as possible about those organizations prior to making monetary donations.
Listed below are three links that should be examined fully before making donations:

http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/st ... d=36500021

http://www.nationalcenter.org/dos7128.htm

http://www.undueinfluence.com/nature_conservancy.htm

My personal unsolicited and blatant suggestion is to donate to Southeastern Cave Conservation Inc. (SCCI), and/or The National Speleological Society (NSS). The SCCI will use the money very wisely to purchase or lease caves or acreage that contains caves and will make such acquisitions available to cavers while promoting conservation. The NSS is in great need of money to promote safe caving practices, promote conservation, research projects, expeditions and a whole lot more.

I have found that many large national "charity groups" ,the one's you likely have heard of that are household names are a little top heavy. They have paid staff where senior staff incomes are six figures . TN is correct to check out any group first. We know SCCI will put the money directly to the cause.It comes down to how much of your dollar you want to go directly to the cause and how much goes to pay someone who makes much more than you do.

I agree that SCCi and the NSS are good targets for your donations. Both groups magnify your giving many times with their tremendous volunteer support.

If you are considering gifts to other major organizations you can check them out at Charity Navigator

http://www.charitynavigator.org/

and learn more.

The value offered by the NSS is the ability to associate yourself with a great group of volunteers working toward things that one person might never accomplish alone...and it's all about caves and karst.

You can donate to a specific NSS restricted fund to narrow down how your donation will be used. Exploration? Scientific grants? Cave education grants? Support NSS preserves? NCRC scholarships?

Some NSS Donor-supported Restricted Fund Descriptions
New NSS Headquarters - help pay off the mortgage
WNS Rapid Response Fund - provides grants to help find ways to mitigate this bat disease.
Endowment Fund - long term investment for the needs of the Society.
Save-the-Caves-Fund - supports cave conservation and conservation grants
Cave Education Fund - cave/karst education programs for primary/secondary students.
Cave Acquisition Fund - to buy or lease caves, and provide grants to cave conservancies.
Nature Preserve Fund - funds the expense of managing NSS cave preserves
International Exploration Fund - supports expeditions for cave exploration outside the US.
Sara Corrie Memorial Fund - invested to provide income for cave exploration in the US.
Ralph W. Stone Research Fund - provides income for research grants and awards.
Cave Rescue Training Fund - provides scholarships for NCRC cave rescue training.
Guide to Responsible Caving Fund - supports publication of the free booklet.
Junior Speleological Society - supports youth activities at NSS Convention.
Unrestricted - money for use in the current FY.

Money not designated to a specific fund goes into the "unrestricted" fund, which is simply money in the bank for use that fiscal year for operating expenses.

Cheryl

Another way to help increase funding to the SCCI is to click on the Amazon link on the SCCI home page. The link is on the left sidebar.
http://www.scci.org
This way, they get a percentage of every purchase you make on Amazon. I don't know about you all, but I do a lot of business on Amazon.

Trogman

Thanks. I always spend lots of time on amazon.