This year's epic election, with the long and hard fought political campaign that led up to it sucked up a lot of the financial resources available for giving for many small donors. As a result of that and the downturn in the economy forcing belt tightening in many family budgets, charities have seen a fall off in donations at the very time when the need for their services is exploding.
For those of us lucky enough to be in a position to give, there is an extraordinary need for our help this year across a wide spectrum of charitable organizations.
I certainly don't want to minimize the importance of political giving which I see as addressing root causes of structural problems rather than the symptoms.
All Charities are not equal. Some are much better at putting your dollars to work than others are. You can check out a Charity you are considering giving to at Charity Navigator
Personally I like to give to organizations that improve the lives of people in regions of the world with far fewer resources than ours has. Also as an avid environmentalist I also like to give to environmental advocacy groups.
Here are my current favorites:
International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region
Gaza Mental Health Foundation
Union of Concerned Scientists