Which charity?

Resurrecting this one because having given it a great deal of thought I am no nearer making a decision. The small local charities are a concern - I know they do some wonderful work but given this may be up to 20 years in the future, not sure about their longevity.
I decided to cover working horses (PFK), horses in general (WHW because my horses are bequeathed to them,) dogs (Dogs Trust because my dogs with be bequeathed to them) and victims of famine etc in the developing world (Tear Fund because they consist of evangelical church members and as such their own interests come second).
Given that there may be a significant sum, unless I have to spend it on my own care, from property, any other suggestions for some that are very deserving but not well supported? Cats are an animal I haven't covered, or Age UK, or Air Ambulance..................any thoughts on those, or another general area such as homeless in the UK?
 
Auslander said:
Err - Hillside isn't a charity. I would be very interested to find out a bit more about their operations, as it flummoxes me how they can have around 1000 large animals on 3 smallish sites, and still provide a decent level of care. My impression of them is that they are hoarders on a grand scale, who are constantly tugging on the heart strings with posts about how desperately they need funds/hay/bedding, whilst taking in more and more animals. Along with a bit of light activism on the side. I don't feel comfortable about how these people operate.
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Because they rely on the charity of local landowners, hide much of the operation from the public and conveniently forget to correct anyone that calls them a charity (they are a ltd company). I wish we had taken pictures of a couple of the fields they used to keep horses on - guarantee they would've made people think twice before donating hard earned money that way.

JillA - I give money to the local Air Ambulance, and have been considering them for when I redo my Will. Mainly on the basis that as a horse rider/partaker in a risk sport, you never know when you might need them!
 
The donkey sanctuary I don't yet have a will but I donate to them monthly and have also visited them and it's a lovely place and they seem to do such good work.
 
The Cinnamon Trust - they were wonderful when my Mum died leaving a very difficult cat who was rehomed within the week (I know it was a suitable home as I took her although they were very reluctant for me to do it-too traumatic-and it was). I also support PFK, Redwings and a local dog rescue.
I think a local rescue to you is a good cause.
 
Crazy_cat_lady said:
The donkey sanctuary I don't yet have a will but I donate to them monthly and have also visited them and it's a lovely place and they seem to do such good work.
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please not the donkey sanctuary. I met them at a show. The amount of money wasted on the horsebox, matching rugs and other totally unnecessary items was beyond belief. There was little doubt they were rolling in far too much money. I would prefer to see money paid to horse charities going on feed, wormer, hay, rugs and vets etc.
 
My regular donations got to Age UK. They do very good work.

I would struggle with regard to a horsey charity - I might consider the BHS, and state where I wanted the money to go (welfare, bridleways etc). Like you, I'd want longevity.

I also support a local rescue that gave me my cats, and another local horse charity.

What about those schemes where horses are used as therapy? Those look very worthwhile.
 
I would want to give to the Dog Aid Society Scotland, the Equine Grass Sickness Fund and The Red Cross. I fund raise and donate regularly to all three, have personal experience of all their work (had a dog from the first, was funded by the second and extended family benefitted from Red Cross accommodation in Scotland during a family crisis.)
 
paddy555 said:
please not the donkey sanctuary. I met them at a show. The amount of money wasted on the horsebox, matching rugs and other totally unnecessary items was beyond belief. There was little doubt they were rolling in far too much money. I would prefer to see money paid to horse charities going on feed, wormer, hay, rugs and vets etc.
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I check the state of their finances on the Charity Commission website. I don't feel (apart from the ones struggling with huge problems such as starvation and disease) those with an income of £millions need my support, I'd rather help those trying to make a difference with just a few £thousands. That said, the Red Cross is a great charity, thanks for the suggestions everyone
 
What about Medical Detection Dogs?
https://www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/
I met one of their speakers recently who told a lovely tale about a diabetic chap with a medical alert dog (who lets him know when his blood sugar levels are getting low) who was on an information stand about the charity at an event. Three teenage girls approached him and the dog ignored two of them but jumped up at the third. Chap with dog asked her if she'd had breakfast that morning - she hadn't. Dog had sniffed out her low blood sugar levels.
 
Horse wise I would choose the Veteran Horse Society - I've always had older horses and they have given me very helpful advice.

Pet wise - Cats Protection; I don't like dogs and have Cats Protection cats.

Human wise - St Martins in the Fields Vicars Fund - they make small grants to people very quickly to stop their situations escalating into a crisis
 
The grass sickness fund
The animal health trust
Animal care Egypt ACE

The likes of the dogs trust and cats protection league are insanely wealthy anyway.
The animal health trust benefits all types of animal as does ACE, grass sickness fund because that's the first thing my vet mentioned when my daughters mare fell ill, it wasn't grass sickness but we lost her and I know (and have just been reminded) that grass sickness was something my vet was very concerned and involved with.
 
JillA said:
If you were going to leave a significant bequest to charities in your will which three would you choose? Since my nieces clearly don't want to have anything to do with me and I have no other relatives, I would rather the proceeds of my house and yard went to a deserving cause, ideally to help stop animal cruelty. PFK is on my list and a good dog one (maybe Dogs Trust because they offer a home to any dogs that I leave), any other ideas? Obviously we all need a crystal ball because I'm not planning to shuffle off in the next few years but.........................
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PFK GHADT SPANA are the top of the list for me


3 non animal charities


Altzheimers
Cancer research
RNLI
 
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Welsh Horse and Pony Rehoming Project. They slog their guts out and have helped so many ponies, some at deaths door but they never give up! My lad is a rescue from them. I help when I can. An amazing bunch of genuine people, who now have full charity status.
 
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