Where Should You Donate This Holiday Season? We Have Some Ideas.

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As we prepare to enter the holiday season, I’m excited to report that the Opinion Giving Guide is back for its second year, with recommendations from the writers you regularly find in our pages. Its inaugural outing showed nearly instant success, thanks to our generous readers, who gave to several worthy causes — in some cases, doubling or tripling annual philanthropic funding, changing the trajectory of nonprofits doing great work.

This year, we’re delighted to present a new slate of organizations. Over the next week, you’ll hear about a fund focused on supporting Black farmers, a group devoted to welcoming refugees to the United States and some impressive education initiatives, among others. We hope you’ll consider donating again.

I’ll kick off the conversation. For last year’s Giving Guide, I wrote about the innovation that nonprofits were bringing to the media industry, especially on the local level. This year, I am focused on other important ways to solidify the future of journalism.

Mentorship has always been important to me. I have benefited in my own career from the advice and guidance of those who have come before, and I try to pass on what I’ve learned. Having conversations with young reporters who are out in the field, practicing the craft every day, is incredibly rewarding and reminds me why I became a journalist in the first place.

Please consider donating to two fellowships that support journalists as they set off to learn more, seek further training and connect with experts: the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting Fellowship and the Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship.

Ida B. Wells was a brave investigative reporter who in the late 19th and early 20th centuries wrote unflinchingly on racism and lynching in the Deep South and wrote editorials in the newspaper she co-owned and edited, The Memphis Free Speech and Headlight. In her memory, the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting has a fellowship program that is a yearlong, intensive, no-cost training program that brings people to New York City to learn in-depth reporting techniques from some of the country’s most accomplished journalists. Read more here and donate here.

Elizabeth Neuffer was a correspondent for The Boston Globe who died while reporting in Iraq on May 9, 2003. After her death, a retired U.S. Army major general, William Nash, who oversaw American troops in Bosnia, paid her the highest compliment when he said, “She educated me, both in her writings and in her questions.”

In collaboration with her family and friends, the International Women’s Media Foundation started the Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship to honor her legacy by providing academic and professional opportunities to advance the reporting skills of women and nonbinary journalists who focus on human rights and social justice. (For full disclosure: I’m proud to serve on the selection committee for the fellowship.) Read more here and donate here.

I owe a debt of gratitude to the many who have pioneered in this industry and fought for what they believed in. As a small token of thanks, I highlight these two extraordinary women’s work today. Their namesake fellowships are two great ways to support the hard-working journalists who have come after them, are passionate about their work and want to improve their craft.

My colleagues and I hope that Opinion’s Giving Guide can serve as a starting point for those looking for donation ideas. Some disclaimers: There are many worthy organizations deserving of support; the ones we’re highlighting here are a few that have come to the attention of our writers over the past year. The authors have no direct connection to any organization unless specifically mentioned in what they’ve written. If you’re interested in any organization mentioned, please go directly to its website. Neither the authors nor The Times will be able to address queries about the groups or facilitate donations.

Stay tuned for more additions to our 2022 Giving Guide. The writers you’ll hear from are passionate about a variety of issues and are grateful for whatever you can give.