The other way I give is that I’ve pretty much stopped giving anyone physical gifts unless I *know* they *actually need* something. I used to call and say, “Tell me to which charity you want the money to go,” but people don’t want to tell you your charity or they have to think about it and then get sidetracked and forget. There’s also the problem that sometimes my friends or relatives want to give to charities that I’m not keen on, but it’s *their* gift, so that’s where it goes… I find all this to be easier when there’s a third party involved (though that also means some small transaction fees). I presently use http://www.justgive.org/ (I used it just last night, in fact, to send my mother a birthday e-card with money for her to donate…).

I also look for creative projects at work where I can effect positive change for a cause I champion without the money coming out of my pocket. Right now I’m trying to gather up a bunch (50+) used uniforms from coworkers, for instance, with the hope that we can get them sent to national park wardens in Africa.

Might want to avoid the superficially similar Givewell–if you have a bunch of time to kill and want something really entertaining to read, though, check out the thread about their astroturfing practices at http://metatalk.metafilter.com/15547/GiveWell-or-Give-em-Hell … it just keeps getting meaner and deeper and, in its way, funnier…