So. Charities. I've been pondering and pondering. I came across a lot of good ones. Saving fuzzy creatures, protecting books and historical places, encouraging the arts, aiding literacy, promoting women's rights, giving scholarships... All very good causes, to be sure. And I was looking at this website, Charity Navigator, which rates charities on how efficiently they use their money and such... Which ones are actually doing something and whatnot. The sight also offers lots of other information; it's been quite handy.

I was leaning towards the Boys & Girls Clubs of America -- they seem to be doing some good stuff. But the CEO makes nearly half a million dollars. Yeah, that's only a small percentage of their revenue, but still... It bothers me, for some reason. Most of the other charities' CEOs get around $200,000. I can deal with that. And it's not that I have anything against people making half a million a year. It's just... Well, you're working for a non-profit... So, why are you profiting so much? Sure, maybe a lot of the money ends up going back into charity. But still. It nags at me.

And then came the question of what really matters to me, what cause I'm most concerned about. For so very, very long, that has been women's rights, in one form or another. Equality, suffrage, independence... Those things matter to me greatly. And right now, I perceive one of the largest threats in the area of women's rights to be sexual health/reproductive rights. Abstinence-only education is being promoted/enforced by this administration, and it's not helping anything at all. Aid programs that even mention abortion as an option (just an option - not the best course of action) are getting funding cut and so on. Pharmacists aren't filling Rx for birth control, for the morning after pill. It frustrates me, it angers me, it even sickens me a little.

So. Planned Parenthood? Looking good to me. Only not the US branch. Their CEO, again, makes nearly half a million. Also, it seems like they're not handling their money as well as perhaps they could be... Expenses growing at 4 times the rate that the revenue is increasing? That's not good. But the idea, the cause? Important to me, definitely. International Planned Parenthood Federation - Western Hemisphere region, then. That seems to be where I'm going. Revenue growing while expenses stay steady; decent CEO pay; seem to be doing some good.

I'll make my final decision tomorrow (er, later today).