Not the most effective but a charity that does work and can show you exactly where your donations are going is the Maryland book bank. Their goal is promoting literacy for all age groups so they’ll give books to community centers, schools, libraries and direct to homes as well. If you have a bunch of old books in good shape I’d recommend sending them there.

This org is amazing!

This will be my 5th year riding and I absolutely love it. They now have several distances to choose from for those who don't want to be riding all day but even the longest ride is doable for a wide range of skill levels. I just ride my single speed bike that I use to ride around the city.

I have no idea how you can judge effectiveness between charities servicing different needs, but we give yearly to Wide Angle Youth, Thread, and B'More Clubhouse. Also occasionally to WTMD.

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screen cap for those of us who haven't seen it yet?

Yup, that’s how it was at Avenue Sushi as well (the restaurant before that) which was owned by Mystic Burrito’s brother!

I like Black Yield, they’re an organization that tries to promote food sovereignty by growing vegetables in the city and selling them directly to underserved communities

I’m thinking about riding! I’m like 30/70 on riding but I’m like 70/30 on helping fundraise. I’m planning on attending that open house on Saturday!

I volunteered in the kitchen recently and felt really good about the whole mission and I’m hoping to be a regular volunteer.

BARCS

Habitat of the Chesapeake is pretty great! They’ve renovated over 770 homes including communities of high need like Sandtown and McCabe. This city has a very unique problem (more vacant houses than there are unhoused people) which allows $ to go a lot further by renovating than other Habitat chapters which deal mostly in new builds. They also have a political advocacy wing that lobbies for housing reform legislation both in Annapolis and DC. Plus Habitat ReStores take furniture donations which reduces waste, sells them to community members at fairly reasonable prices, and then dumps every dollar back into the organization. Finally, they usually score really well on charity watchdog websites with more than half their board filled by non-salaries positions and less than 6% of their annual “income” going to administrative expenses (75% to programs, 19% to fundraising). The only downside is their religious foundation which I feel like could be a little weird on the international level, but in my experiences volunteering with them in Baltimore it’s never been mentioned

Moveable feast does simple yet extremely effective on the ground work all over Maryland. They deliver reliable and healthy meals to our most vulnerable and isolated, housed residents. If you want to support their mission you can donate to their largest fundraiser of the year, The Ride for the Feast, coming up in May.

https://moveablefeast.salsalabs.org/RidefortheFeast2023/index.html

If you want to be really cool you can pick a random rider lower on the fundraising list to boost their fundraising efforts.

Health Care for the Homeless

not really a mcmansion, since it was built in 1925.

Fourthing this.

<PEARL CLUTCHING INTENSIFIES>

Didn’t know they were BYOB. Delicious burritos.

Off the Rox is also an excellent nearby source of drinks.

Blue Water Baltimore

They use people who have been through the criminal justice system and lived through the worst of what people grow up with in Baltimore. They survive a penal system that is designed to punish, and not rehabilitate. And as we saw with the GTTF, they also have to deal with cops that have every reason to throw them away. And with all of that, you are worried that they might be carrying a gun or might be involved in some drugs?

I guess I see it as one of the hardest jobs in the world, and I am not worried that they aren't choir boys. And they are doing this on a tiny fraction of the budget of the BPD.

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Marian House

Yea, they are doing a heck of a job keeping the streets safer. Murders would be over 300 a year without them.

Different than Kumari in Mt Vernon?

BARCS

How do you quantify success with this group?

The idea seems nice in conception. But seems like there are a decent number of paid volunteers who are playing both sides against the middle. It eludes me, but isn't there even a term they have for this phenomenon and Safe Streets?

Anyhow, I'm curious what metrics are you using when you say they are the most successful non-profit?