"Crashing the Gates": What Next?

I am great fan of this site; however, i don't consider myself talented enough to write a comment-worthy diary.  Still, I would greatly appreciate some follow-up discussion to Markos' and Jerome's wonderful book.  Perhaps I'll get lucky and stir up some discussion.  

In "Crashing the Gates", the authors level valid criticism at an ineffectual Democratic party, single-issue groups, consultants, etc.  After finishing their book, my wife and I find ourselves trying to figure out how best to take their advice to heart on a personal level.  Specifically, what to do we do with our hard earned cash?   Clearly, specific candidates are often recommended on dKos (and by Kos himself) and people have also pushed Democracy Bonds.   But that is the tip of the proverbial iceberg.  We get so many solicitations: individual Senators (e.g., Kerry, Edwards, Boxer), various PACs (MoveOn, Terri's PAC, etc.), DFA, local DFA, state DFA, state Democratic party, DCCC, the Democratic Party as a whole, Code Pink, Clean Money, etc., etc.

Like many of you, we struggle to care for our family and to contribute to the care of our aging parent, but we do try to set aside some money to support worthy causes, and in light of what we've read in CTG, we wonder if it isn't time to think more strategically and broadly about where we apply our limited financial resources.  

I know there are websites that evaluate how well charities spend donated money, but I guess no such thing exists for political donations.  I'm sure that there are probably local issues that drive giving decisions for many people, but on a National level, how does one decide where and how much to give?  

It would be a huge help to have some guidance and discussion about this to see what other people think.  How do we make every penny count?