The wife and I don't have kids and never will, therefore we are looking to leave our "hundreds" of dollars to charity when we die.

We've narrowed it down to two, St. Jude Midwest and the ASPCA. I've been hearing from a few people that the ASPCA isn't all it appears to be. So, does anyone on the forum know if it's a worthy charity. Thanks.

If you want to give to a animal "rescue"-type organization, I would recommend giving to some of the local rescue organizations in your area. I believe more of your money goes to direct animal help than by giving at the national level. IIRC, the ASPCA has been involved in getting sued over the last several years due to some dubious actions on their part. My wife refuses to give them any money.

We give annually to the local Humane Society (we've gotten two pets from them over the years) and two other local organizations.

Thank you, 229DAK. There is a local no-kill shelter that would be perfect.

Go to local pet rescues, they are literally on the front lines. They take stray and injured animals in, sometimes spend thousands to healing an animal that’s been neglected and injured, and may charge a few hundred to adopt out. That’s what I am doing with all of our cash and assets when we are gone. Doing rescue really teaches you well assholes people can be. Throwing pups out the window of a speeding car for example.

I give to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. They are almost local to me and we volunteer there a couple of times a year. They also assist many local shelters and push No-Kill legislation.

Bruce

ASPCA, not one I’d donate to

https://www.activistfacts.com/...ty-to-animals-aspca/

http://celestelaurent.com/5-no...r-holiday-donations/

https://thenokillnationblog.wo...uth-about-the-aspca/

Many of the local ones, like the one my wife works with, are 100% volunteer. Every penny goes to the care and adoption of the dogs.

I would look local, even a small amount can help a lot for these small groups.

Very easy. Look ‘em up. See what they spend on salaries and admin costs. See what actually goes to helping animals. There are no main stream charities to whom I will donate money. Most are theives.

Thank you all for the replies. I'll be checking out the local shelter

Guidestar (https://www.charitynavigator.org/) has a lot of rating information and the IRS Form 990s for charities. You need to register to download the 990s, but you can get some good information just looking at website.

I do believe there is a lot of value in local giving. You have a better idea of what is going on then. If you have a local Community Foundation, they tend to be really well plugged into the local non-profit community and can often help you find an optimal local non-profit based on your criteria.

ASPCA is not what people think it is. A local no kill animal shelter would be grateful for your support.

Agreed with all of the above. Their commercials are well over a minute in length. That can't be cheap.

We have a rescue group we use. They are local and use every dollar what seems like wisely. We have two dogs from them and the people always seem to be great folks that don't look at all like they are making a profit.

That would be my route if I were to leave funds for furbabies.

+1 on donating to a local shelter. There's one in Davenport we support, my wife gives them $$ and occasionally food, I give them the boxes my New Balance runnings shoes came in. They make great "beds" for the smaller animals.

I'm a cynic ,I suppose, I try to only give locally. I don't want my money to go to help supporting telemarketers. If I give to large organizations...they never stop calling me. JMO..

If you're concerned about giving cash, ask your local shelter about their specific need of food, toys, blankets, etc. Buy it from CHEWY or PETSMART and deliver it directly to the shelter.

I love kids and animals.

St. Jude.

A local shelter.

Do both.

Great advice in this thread.

I'm calling our lawyer on Monday and changing our will from the ASPCA to our local shelter. Thanks for the help everyone.

Here's the ASPCA rating from Charity Navigator:

https://www.charitynavigator.o...h.summary&orgid=3286

Be mindful when donating to a no kill as well. I’ve no bones with them, but in our area, for example, the no kill could go to the city shelter, choose the most adoptable pets (pups and kittens, or small breeds) and leave the dregs. I don’t blame them, but those adoptable pups would be what might help the city (kill) shelters stay above water.
The no kill shelter can then further cement themselves as a no kill (by loading the deck, so to speak), while the kill shelter’s stats on euthanasias go up. And of course we all want the animals to be adopted, so the kill shelter will let those adoptables go, because it may be a better chance for the animal in question.
I just really feel for the people who have to do the work of deciding who has to die that day. Please do your research and consider helping a shelter where it could really make a difference
vs a popular no kill (my sis recently worked at a very well known one, and she learned some hard truths about shelters and how they operate).
Another thought, perhaps consider getting in touch with a vet or low cost spay/neuter clinic that might be willing to do a neuter release on feral cats or something similar based on donations.

Pretty much all of the big animal "rights" orgs are vehemently anti-hunting and, thus, will never see a dime of my money.