My sister-in-law recently raised money for an animal shelter. It was great news for her town. When it comes to anything related to animals, they are usually the first charity I will give money to than the other ones out there that go mostly directly to the executives. Unfortunately, a lot of the animal shelters up here do not disclose the amount of money they spend on every item so the donations could be abused.
I donate anything I can to my shelter on Stock Island. If I have any food or toys that my cats are sick of, they go to the shelter. I even tried to donate an old chair to them, but they did not have room for it. I will help them any way I can even though I cannot donate money right now.