My wife and I have been giving to our parish, but with all the crap going on with the bishops lately, we want to diversify somewhat.  What are some good (non-liberal, genuinely helpful) Catholic charities or ministries to give to?

Thanks!

St Vincent DePaul

I am sure there is a priest legal defense fund for the true believers.

Latin American Wall Jumpers League?

Always a good choice

Also does your church have an attached school?  If so how’s its quality?

FSSP

There are some good pro-life groups that actually help women decide to have their baby and put it up for adoption.

St. Vincent is good.

Find out if there is a ministry in your parish you agree with and see what materials they need.  Buy the materials and donate them.  Cash usually goes into the general fund where it's never heard from again.

FSSP
Little Sisters of the Poor
Glenmary
Franciscans of the Immaculate
Look for local pro-life ministries

I would not donate to Catholic Charities USA.

Can't emphasize this enough.

My parish has a community outreach ministry which helps folks with food and bills. If your parish has a similar ministry it may be a good option for you.

What do you mean by that?

See, that's what I'd like to avoid donating to.

Thanks, and I concur.  Already came to that conclusion, hence the "non-liberal" allusion in the OP.

Yes, we have a school.  I don't have kids so can't attest to its quality firsthand, but I think it's pretty good.  Recently won some award.  The parish is well-supported, as I understand it, by relatively wealthy northern Virginia types.

I'm not Catholic. Why do some of you feel strongly about this one? High overhead and expenses? Where does the money supposedly go?

Good idea, Rider_No2! Always good to "spread around" the bounty.

As noted, some good choices are the Poor Clares, St. Vincent DePaul, and the like.

Me--I take a different tack--I call it "Direct Giving." I'm just plain tired out of sending money to here-there-and-everywhere. Our concept of "subsidiarity" rules with me. It takes me back to the "good old days" of my youth and even early Christianity!

Our Parish has a "Visit A Senior" program. You simply join up and they identify which Parishioners are either bed-ridden at their own homes or at local Nursing or Assisted-Living Facilities. Even if your Parish doesn't have a formal program, just ask them: "Which Seniors need help?" and they will usually tell you.

I'll find such a local Senior Citizens facility; visit it; find out what "essentials" these Catholic residents need; buy a bunch and personally deliver it. This can be bar soap, tissues, socks, blankets, pillows, a robe, hand lotion, nail polish, a walker or wheelchair storage bag--whatever. The list is endless. Even crafts or puzzles (colorful jigsaw and sudoku ones seem to be the choices here.) Be creative. Make cute baskets for the gals and even little metal buckets for the manly-guys filled with goodies!

Believe you me--walking back in to a facility carrying boxes of "goodies" for the needy--you should see their faces light up at the sight of "stuff" they truly need, yet most can hardly afford. Brings tears to my eyes sometimes. It doesn't take much to keep Seniors happy--and tremendously grateful! Some are in assisted-living and some are in skilled nursing--take your pick--needs differ!



You could always go to the other end of the "Life Spectrum" and find some local orphanage or even your county's Child Placement Center and do the same. Me--I'm "playing the back nine" (in my 70s) so I gravitate to my kind of "people."

It gives me pause to see where I'll be in future and how I will be coping.

Plus--it's awful humbling. I've seen a few of my area's uber-rich folks abandoned by their own families in their old age, chucked into a facility, never visited by family or friends. The mantra these days seems to be: "You're old and not fun any more!" Just a visit and a few kind words to those folks means a lot. Money means nothing to them.  So I just visit and, on occasion, spread "The Good News" to them!

"Advanced Course--Music Therapy & Memory" Buy a headset and inexpnesive player and ask the Residents to share:

Music & Memory

December is always: "Santa For Seniors"


I'm blessed where I live to have a wonderful Catholic Nursing Home/Health Care Facility where I can donate my time and treasure. I'm sure there are a few in your area!

Regina Health Center

They actually get most of their dollars from the government, and are basically hippy Catholics.  The organization is laced with scandal.

I'll go ahead step out on a limb and add the St. Thomas More Society, who are the group of Catholic attorneys putting up the legal fight for David Daleiden, among other public interest cases.

If you believe in the importance the religious life, monasteries are good to donate to.  They usually run pretty thin on finances.  Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey near Tulsa, OK, is a one of kind place in the U.S.  I love that place for my retreats.

But really, what org you donate to depends on what kind of work you want to do.  Most parishes have second collections throughout the year and that money goes to the prescribed org for that collection.  So that's a very convenient and easy way to give to different orgs without breaking the bank.

Una Voce supports the Latin Mass throughout the country.
Opus Bono is a pro bono group of canon attorneys for poor priests who need the help.

The list is endless really.

Man, great ideas!  Thank you for posting that.  Touching.

Some really excellent suggestions here - thanks, guys.

Your Welcome. Our pleasure, Brother!

...walk with God...

Lots of good ones here.

Where are you in VA?

I'm in Fredericksburg and we donate regularly to Mary's Shelter http://www.marysshelterva.org/ Pro-life ministry that helps women in crisis pregnancy situations and their kids (many women's shelters won't take kids). Get's them counseling, supplies, has rules, gets them to the point where they can not need help anymore.

You'll often have these small charities that do good work flying under the radar.  There's a few others near us that do similar work.

I'd also recommend looking for good orders to support. Examples would be the Dominican nuns in Summit, NJ. They're cloistered, wear habits, all the good stuff. They also have a store: https://www.summitdominicans.org/
We're trying to transition our soap purchases to them. Why support somebody like Unilever when you can support nuns?

Same thing with coffee. We get ours from Mystic Monk (https://www.mysticmonkcoffee.com/),  made by these Carmelites: http://www.carmelitemonks.org/. They're terrible about updating their blog, but their new monastery is pretty badass. Old world European style, and if you go looking around their websites there's a picture of them giving a tour of their property (before building) the the local bishop. They're all in, as befitting of Carmelites in Wyoming, Carhartts and one has a rifle.

The trick, of course, is finding the good orders. Look for traditional outfits and talk about Latin.

I'm inside the Beltway.  These are all good tips.  Thanks!

Catholic Relief Services

Nope.

https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/catholic-relief-services-is-a-major-funder-of-contraception-lobbyists

http://www.lepantoinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/CRS-AXxess-Report_Final.pdf

I was not aware of that.

I recommend:

The School Sisters of St. Francis

and/or

The Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls

The reason that I recommend them is because all of those sisters are getting old & there are very few new sisters coming in.  They are downsizing & selling off their adjacent properties in some cases & they can use the help to support them in their old age.

I'm sure there are plenty of convents that could use the financial help so maybe you can find one in your area that works better for you.

They will appreciate it & they are very frugal.  They won't waste your money.

Good luck with your choice.

Check this video out.  It's good all around, but skip to 11:00 and then to 1:07:00 for the USCCB funds.

Add the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to the evil list.  Many sources for this, but a good one is here.

I personally give to my church obviously (keep it local). I also give to Caritas of Birmingham, St. Michael's Media (Michael Voris from the Vortex on Youtube), EWTN Catholic Radio and Unbound (Catholic approved charity who sponsors less fortunate children around the world in poorer countries).