Read This Before You Donate

Make your contributions count! 

Be sure you are donating to legitimate and effective organizations. Below are some great sites that help you determine where to give effectively consistent with your values. They all come highly recommended.

Oath Vote: Empowers donors to give to candidates more strategically. (Recommended by Jessica Craven).  Oath Vote analyzes thousands of elections from President to school boards to find which candidates are likeliest to benefit from your support. They provide their recommendations for free and don’t sell or share your contact information.

Focus for Democracy: Applies rigorous, metrics-based research to recommend programs that will have the highest impact for each dollar spent. Strategic analysis and evaluation allow you to feel confident about where your contributions will be most effective. They host events you can attend where they recommend organizations.

Force Multiplier: They provide research-based recommendations on candidates and groups defending democracy, resisting authoritarianism and ensuring people can and do vote.


ACLU Illinois and ACLU National
: The ACLU is challenging a growing wave of attacks on people’s rights and freedoms. Their lawyers, advocates, and organizers need your help. Donate to support voting rights, LGBTQ equality, reproductive freedom, free speech and more in every state.

Indivisible National
: Indivisible doesn't send out a lot of fundraising emails, but they did recently. In the first 6 weeks of the year, they:

• Helped organize two nationwide mobilizations against ICE and Border Patrol brutality

• Helped drive 200,000+ calls and emails to Congress demanding action to rein in ICE and CPB

• Launched a new website

• Started preparing to make the next No Kings Day the largest protest in US history

Indivisible would rather be driving action, rather than fundraising. This link shows you all the ways you can donate: directly to a local group, in a loved one's honor or memory, etc.