I wonder how do you usually find out about your local, overlooked but impactful organizations?
Exactly. It's an extension of the "pay yourself first" principle (which I also do).
> I wonder how do you usually find out about your local, overlooked but impactful organizations?
These days, I'm active in my local community in various ways, so I'm pretty aware of the various organizations in it by default. That also helps me to choose: I have a good idea of which ones are good and which ones are dubious.
When I started, though, I chose organizations that had helped myself or people that I know in the past. That gave me the confidence to get going, and things evolved from there.
I'm talking things like free clinics, food banks, etc.
There's certainly a nonzero chance that some of my donations are wasted (in my view), but I've chosen not to worry a huge deal about that. If I spent too much energy on that sort of thing, I wouldn't donate at all.
So I started a kind of tithing, giving 10% of my gross revenue back to my local community as a form of repayment and thanks.
From years of doing this, I have evolved rules about it in order to avoid various problems.
1) The organization must be one that is usually overlooked for giving. So no big guys.
2) The organization must be local.
3) The organization has to have an obvious and tangible public benefit.
4) The organization must not ask me for money or engage in splashy fundraising.
5) The organization must keep my identity a secret. If they can't promise that, no donation. If they break their promise, no further donations.
That's about it!