Downtown Luxury Slum

I know I’m late to the holiday gift guide party, but if you haven’t yet gotten gifts for everyone on your list, I’ve got you covered. Keep reading for gift ideas for every budget for everyone on your list.

For Families With Children

Help make learning possible for students of all ages. Donate to improve education by providing educational services and opportunities that make schools more effective and accessible to students of all backgrounds. Education has the power to change people’s quality of life.

PUENTE Learning Center began as a tutoring program for elementary school children without the resources to excel in school. Over the last 33 years, PUENTE has served over 110,000 individuals, enabling children to develop a lifelong love of learning, helping parents succeed in their role as their children’s first and most important teachers, supporting youth as they move toward high school graduation and beyond, and assisting adults in need of English-language fluency and modern workforce skills.

For the Homeowner

Help provide housing and care for the homeless. Donate to reduce homelessness by strengthening communities and sheltering the homeless. Housing is a basic human need.

Partners for Affordable Housing provides shelter for homeless families and individuals, and helps them to secure long-term housing.

For the Foodie

Help provide food for those in need. Donate to end hunger by feeding the hungry and reducing food insecurity.

Feeding America is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, they helped provide 6.6 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people they serve, brings attention to the social and systemic barriers that contribute to food insecurity in America, and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. 

For the Traveler

Help make the world a better place for impoverished communities. Donate to address global poverty by reducing the burden of poverty and equipping impoverished individuals with sustainable livelihoods. Around the world, so many people face poverty day in and day out. Basic needs such as access to health care for children are inaccessible and can lead to preventable deaths.

The mission of Haitian Health Foundation is to improve the health and well-being of women, children, families, and communities in Haiti through healthcare, education and community development.

For the Plant Mom

Help protect the environment and stop climate change. Donate to protect the environment by stopping climate change, preserving and protecting the environment, and promoting environmental research, conservation, and appreciation.

Deforestation increases mudslides and devastates the soil, food security, and water sources in Guatemala. Alliance for International Reforestation recognizes the best way to help the people in this area is to improve the land where they live. While reforestation is a key way to assist, they have also developed a multi-dimensional approach beyond the obvious planting of trees. One of their goals is for projects to be self-sustaining, ensuring continuous growth within each community, long after they move to new areas. They work closely with local farmers and train them in the practice of Regenerative Farming. They have been implementing this method for over 25 years, successfully training farmers, increasing nutrition, improving the soil, and planting millions of native trees.

For the Animal Lover

Help provide care to animals in need. Donate to support animal welfare by reducing suffering and providing needed services to domestic, farm, and wild animals.

The Anti-Cruelty Society is Chicago’s oldest and most comprehensive animal welfare organization. Founded in 1899, the Society is a private, open-admission, unlimited stay humane society, committed to caring for and protecting animals in need. Their programs and services include over 5,000 annual adoptions, low cost spay/neuter services (over 10,000 annually), neglect and abuse investigations (over 1,800 annually), and a series of extensive education and outreach efforts that impact over 25,000 each year. Their safety net services and programs include a charity veterinary clinic, pet food pop ups, free wellness and vaccination clinics, a free behavior hotline; and short-term accommodations for emergencies program, providing temporary housing for pets whose owners in a crisis situations.

For the Penny Pincher

Check out Give Well to find the most high-impact, cost-effective charities. They analyze all the evidence to find the charities that save or improve lives the most per dollar. Include a note reminding them that all donations are tax-deductible.

For the Person That Has Everything

If your loved one is passionate about a specific cause, use Charity Navigator to help you find a high quality charity that addresses that cause.

Happy holidays to all