As the year ends, I'm giving to my favorite charities.

Many of us in tech, esp. founders, see our work as contributing to the broader good, or working towards future positive impact. I know I feel that way about the company I own, which is just turning 6. (Bootstrapped, 8 FTE! Yay.)

But it's also important to support nonprofits that directly, single-mindedly confront problems that face humanity, now. I'm giving ~10% of my pre-tax income to the these ones; I share them in hopes that others will be inspired to give. I'm also curious about what orgs other HN-ers like.

And happy new year!

FFmpeg Outreachly intern program: ffmpeg.org | I love FFmpeg. This program (formerly Outreach Program for Women) funded several interns who did good work.

Electronic Frontier Foundation: www.eff.org | No intro req'd here.

Partners in Health: pih.org | Perhaps the most effective global health org.

Civil Rights Corps: www.civilrightscorps.org | Swashbuckling lawyers fight money bail, debtors prisons & police militarization.

Wikimedia Foundation: wikimediafoundation.org | Also no intro req'd.

The Literacy Lab: theliteracylab.org | Evidence-based pgm building literacy in low-income kids early, when it has max impact.

Byte Back: byteback.org | IT training for low-income DC folks. Gets people trained, certified & in good jobs. 70% of students are unemployed when they start; >20% are homeless.

Equal Justice Initiative: eji.org | Fights death penalty, mass incarceration & more. Also spotlights the history of US racial terror, building a national lynching memorial and memorials at former slave trade sites.

DEEP Center: deepkids.com | Creative writing classes in Savannah, GA public schools, which otherwise aren’t available.

Internet Archive: archive.org | Essential.

African Education Program: africaneducationprogram.org | Laser-focused on youth in Kafue, Zambia w/community center, PC lab & scholarships. Their kids far outperform the norm.