DONATIONS & VOLUNTEER RESOURCES
While The Zero is grateful to all the Volunteers who make its services possible, we do not accept cash donations.
Check with any/all of the organizations below to find out if the charity you've planned to donate to is registered, what percentage of its income it devotes to programs (as opposed to "administrative costs," which include fund-raising!), whether it agreed to open its books to inquiries, etc.
Donating to a charity is like investing in a stock: if you don't do your research first, you won't get maximum bang for your buck.
DONATIONS & CHARITIES
ARTICLES/INFORMATION/RESEARCH
(click here for Volunteers)
Ex-Long Island non-profit executive charged with embezzling public funds for cosmetic surgery, down payment on $1.3M home
" The former executive director of a Long Island-based nonprofit has been indicted on charges she embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars of the charity's funds to pay for cosmetic surgery, spa treatments, vacations, and the down payment on her $1.3 million Merrick home.
Wafa Abboud, 48, was fired in May from her post at Human First, Inc. which provides social services for children and young adults with autism."
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, July 18, 2016.
Sham cancer charities that bilked Americans out of $75M shut down, but money recovered will likely be minimal
"The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday announced a major victory in its efforts to crack down on sham cancer charities that pulled at Americans' heartstrings with pictures of sick women and children asking for help.
As part of a settlement with the FTC and states, the purported nonprofits agreed to be permanently dissolved and have their assets liquidated. The deal involves the Cancer Fund of America (CFA), Cancer Support Services (CSS) and their leader, James Reynolds Sr. He will also have to surrender an unspecified amount of his personal assets. Reynolds is also banned for life from managing charitable assets or being part of a charity's board or being a trustee."
www.washingtonpost.com, March 30, 2016.
Charity Navigator
www.charitynavigator.org/
American Institute of Philanthropy
www.charitywatch.org
Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance
www.give.org
Guidestar
www.guidestar.org
Searchable database of more than 700,000 U.S. nonprofit organizations, opportunities for donations and volunteers.
Making Charity Count, Donations Go Further When You Give To Groups That Spend Responsibly
CNN, August 25, 1999
VOLUNTEERS
ARTICLES/INFORMATION/RESEARCH
(click here for Donations/Charities)
Association of Voluntary Service Organisations
www.facebook.com/AVSO.org
AVSO is an international non-governmental organisation, forming a European platform of national and international non-profit organisations active in the field of longer term Voluntary Service.
Guidestar
www.guidestar.org
Searchable database of more than 700,000 U.S. nonprofit organizations, opportunities for donations and volunteers.
IDEALIST
www.idealist.org
Volunteer opportunities with 20,000 organizations in 140 countries. A project of Action Without Borders.
International Volunteer Programs Association
www.volunteerinternational.org
An up-to-date search site for international volunteer and internship opportunities.
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program
Toll-free: 1-800-424-8867
TTY Toll-free: 1-800-833-3722
Senior Corps
The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) helps people age 55 and older find meaningful volunteer service opportunities in their communities.
Volunteer Match
www.volunteermatch.org
Online database of volunteer opportunities searchable by Zip Code.
Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind helps Jewish group fight child abuse
Child safety advocates argued Project Innocent Heart is too small and too new to tackle the multigenerational, deep-rooted fear within Jewish communities involving reporting crimes to police. "There are reputable established organizations out there," said Ben Hirsch, a co-founder of Survivors for Justice. Sex abuse expert Michele Galietta, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, argued Project Innocent Heart has already faltured — using "intimate stimulation" instead of "sex" when describing molestation on its website.
Daily News, October 18, 2013
Unlikely Heroes of Nonprofits
Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2001
Unsung Heroes
Time Europe, January 16, 2001 [PDF]
